GLASS CIRCLE
NEWS
EDITORS
David Watts
27 Raydpan Road
BARNET, Herts.’ ENSIAN
John Towse
25-27 Curtain Road
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London, EC2A 3PH.
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No. 42 September 1988
GLASS CIRCLE ANNUAL OUTING TO WHITTINGTON COURT ….September 24th 1988
On only a very few occasions in the past has the Glass Circle annual outing been
troubled by wet weather;
It was, perhaps, a strong possibility that, in the
wake of hurricane Gilbert, rain would come our way; and so it proved.
Nevertheless, the destination, Whittington Court, and the hospitality of Robert
and Joan Charleston proved such a draw theta good turnout was ensured.
About
forty joined the coach in London and nearly twice that number eventually shed
their macks and umbrellas in the capacious entrance hall of Whittington Court.
However, the first objective was Fairford, in Gloucestershire, to see the only
parish church in the country still resplendent with most of its late
.
15th
century stained glass.
Although some panes have been replaced and, after a
ferocious storm in the 19th century, half the west window, the overall
impression of the original, with its pictorial message, still remains.
The
windows were presented by a wool merchant, John Tame, and are mainly attributed
to Barnard Flower – the Flemish/German master who succeeded John Prudde as the
King’s Glazier and began the Southwark school of glass painting.
The
resplendent red, blue and green (an unusual feature) colours are of pot metal,
while the yellow is silver staining. Much of the wealth of detailed drawing,
particularly of the hands and faces, is carried out in a brownish pigment.
This has suffered considerably in places, particularly the windows on the north
side.
As well as the religeous story the windows convey a realistic touch
with, for example, fish being barbecued on a trivet, and boats and a swan plying
one river in the background.
Most dramatic though, is the original scene in
the great west window with St Michael presiding over the Last Judgement. While
the goodies gracefully ascend the golden staicase to paradise the baddies are
carted off (one literally in a wheelbarrow) by purple demons to be cast into a
well-stoked furnace, supervised by The Devil himself. He is a terrifying figure
in red with a round face that has the ruby glass mouth abraided away to create a
gleaming row of evil triangular teeth.
Other features of the church included
the jolly, carved undersides of the choir stalls, one showings cat stealing
milk from a jug while the negligent mistress is spinning.
The vicar made The Circle. most welcome and because of the weather we were
invited to picnic in the stalls where the parable of the IoaVes and fishes was
re-enacted.
Enough food was produced
to
feed half of Fairford!
Rejoining the coach, the party completed the short journey to Whittington Court,
situated in rolling green countryside a few miles east of Cheltenham.
The
Elizabethan Manor House, in a fair degree of dilapidation, together with its
adjacent church and village encompassing some 600 acres came as an unexpected
bequest to Joan through an old school friend, almost coinciding with Robert’s
retirement from the V & A.
Younger people might have been overawed by the
magnitude of the problems but Robert and Joan sold up their premises in Richmond
and, supported by their daughter and son-in-law, Mr and Mrs Stringer who now
occupy an upper floor of the Manor House, moved lock, stock and barrel to take
up the challenge created by decades of neglect both outside and in. As one who
was privilaged to be shown round in the early
f
demolition” stages I can only say
that the achievements. during their short occupancy are little Short of a
miracle. The great front hall (or dining room) and the drawing room, with its
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magnificent carved stone fireplace, have been restored to their former grandeur,
while the back rooms have been ingeniously reconstructed as luxurious private
.quarters,• with
.
delightful views over the expansive back garden, and a ‘den’ to
house Robert’s comprehensive library of glass books where he can endeavour to
meet his never-ending commitments for yet more articles on glass.
Extensive collections of glass, belonging to the family, were on display, with
very nice examples from the 18th century from grandson, Hugo’s, collection being
modestly presented by their owner.
The family continuity of glass expertise
could Well be in safe hands.
In the Great Hall, in pride of place on the
sideboard, stood our massive presentation goblet, in no way overawed by the
dignity of its Surroundings.
Here tea was served, an abundance of delicious
home-made sandwiches and creamy sponge-cakes washed down by an endless supply of
the life-giving fluid, presided over, by Mrs Stringer who, in between times,
dashed round taking photos.
Other cameras were clicking merrily. and we look
forward to seeing the results.
Outside, a pile of dressed stone waited to join its fellows as restoration
steadily proceeded under the skillful hands of the masons.
Sadly, because of
the weather, few members chose to explore the grounds with its pond and massive
tythe barn, but most made the few steps to the church, its homely simplicity
concealing an architectural complexity that reflects more than half a millenium
of change.
We entered by the sidee>>>>>1<<<<<<
NEW MEETING VENUES REQUIRED •
One problem with meeting in London is the progressively increasing rental of
meeting premises which now usually cost well over a pound per head.
Your
committee is reluctant to introduce a meeting charge at the present time and we
are activelysearching for premises to accommodate. about 60 persons with
catering facilities. and, if possible, projection facilites. If any member has
suggestions for a meeting venue, preferably in the central London area, would
they please send details to the Hon. Secretary or any member of the Committee.
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A BIG THANKYOU FROM ROBERT AND JOAN FOR THE PRESENTATION GOBLET
Robert writes;
Since the November meeting I haVe tried to write personally to as
many members as I could, to thank them for their part in the magnificent
presentation which was made to Joan and myself on that occasion. The task is
inevitably incomplete and time runs on, so
I
must not delay longer to write to
the members of the Circle corporately, to thank them for their generosity.
Peter Dreiser's magnificent goblet stands on a shelf in our living-room, top lit
and visible from both sides, and is universally admired, not least by such
members of the Circle as have visited us in the past five months.
The Circle has always been a genial society, and we have invariably felt
ourselves among good friends on the occasions
when it
meets.
Your wonderful
gift will always be here to remind us of this warm friendlinesa, and all will be
welcome . to see it if they chance to pass through Gloucestershire (although a
little advance notice would be appreciated).
Joan joins her thanks to mine.
Yours
very sincerely,
Robert J. Charleston
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NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURY COMMEMORATIVE GLASS
By Barbara Morris
Barbara Morris began her lecture by saying that it would have been better called
19th and 20th century commemorative souvenir glass as some of the
pieces
were
souvenirs or momentoes of an event or visit rather than being strictly
commemorative.
It was obviously impossible to provide a comprehensive survey
of such a vast subject and the choice was to some extent determined by the
availability of illustrative material, with a slight bias towards Scotland.
The extensive display of slides (using double projection) which followed were
grouped according to subject matter rather than in strictly chronological order
although a pattern emerged in the style of decoration used.
In the early 19th
century
wheel engraving
predominated while in the latter half of the century
press moulding was the favourite medium.
Acid etching appeared in the 1880s
and coritinues to the present day.
In the 20th century until World War II most
English glasshouses used wheel engraving for their Royal Commemoratives but
after the war, apart from special commissions and the work of individual
artist-craftsmen, this was replaced by or combined with cheaper sand-blasting
(or sand-etching as the manufacturers prefer to call it!).
The first slides were commemorating glasshouses.
A large punch bowl in the
Bristol Museum, c. 1815, depicted the brick cone of the Phoenix
Glass
Works at
Temple Gate, Bristol, operated by.Henry Ricketts from 1814 to 1853. On the
reverse were the words "PEACE AND PLENTY"
.
within a wreath, probably to celebrate
the cessation of hostilities with France in 1814.
The second piece, a mammoth
allOIMErnesseill),
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A MESSAGE' FOR VISITORS FROM OVERSEAS
We should be pleased to hear from members who are proposing to
visit the
UK in
the future and might be interested in giving a lecture to the
Glass
Circle.
Please contact the Hon. Secretary or any other member of the committee giving as
much advance warning as possible.
It would not be possible to arrange lectures
at short notice.
goblet 34.5 cm high in the Corning Museum, also had a somewhat naive engraving
of a glasshouse and was inscribed "Cottage Glass Works" with the Royal Coat of
Arms and the'initials J. & M. MC L.
This
glasshouse belonged to John McLachlan
& Co. of William Street, Lambeth and seems to have operated from-1855-1886,
Although the glass could date from 1860 the surrounding wreath was very much in
the 18th century tradition and probably the work of a native rather than a
Bohemiail emigre worker.*
Neladn's victories at sea were illustrated by a jug engraved with allegorical
figures of FaMe, Brittania etc. and signed "John Williams, engraver, Newcastle".
He is recorded in the Newcastle directories from 1824-1827 although the jug with
its basket of flowers, a typical early 19th century motif, was more
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characteristic of an
earlier
date.
Road transport featured The Rockingham Coach, exhibited in our Strange and Rare
:Exhibition
.
(q.v.).
In similar vein was the London to Aylesbury Coach engraved
- by William Herbert and made at the Dudley glasshouse of Thomas Hawkes. This
was operated by Joseph Hearn - mis-spelt as "Hearm"
.
on the coach door! The
glass, which was probably ptesented to the driver James Wyatt upon his
retirement in 1831, was shown at the 1968 Glass Circle Exhibition.
Bridges
naturally followed and included, of course, the Sunderland Bridge and the 'more
rarely depicted Newcastle High Level Bridge. From further north, the Forth
Bridge was shown on a pressed plate and a tumbler. The first train was driven
over it in January 1890 by the Marchioness of Tweeddale -
the
first lady train
driver?
A mystery glass depicting the Forth Bridge also has
the words "EAST
END INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION" which could be for the Edinburgh International
Exhibition opened by Prince Albert Victor on: May.6th4 1886, or, perhaps, for the
East London Industrial Exhibition held in the Drill Hall, Whitechapel Road, on
May 4th, 1885, and opened by Princess Louise.
It is difficult to explain the
Forth Bridge in
the
latterecontext except that it was one of
the
wonders of the
age.
Of related interest were two fine. Railway glasses, huge goblets or bowls
in the Science
Museum, both engraved with Stevenson's
"Rocket" and thought to
have been made in Bristol.
The north is also associated with disaster glasses, a particularly moving one
relating to the death of 186 children crushed in the rush to get free toys at a
conjuring show at the Victoria Hall, Sunderland, in 1883.
Exhibitions were a must for commemoratives and lesser known examples were shown
from 'those at Edinburgh in 1886 and 1908 - the Scottish National Exhibition,
Glasgow, in 1888, 1901, 1911 and 1938 - The Empire Exhibition with its 300ft
*Further research on this little-known. London glasshouse revealed that the firm
was established in 1807 although the first record of the premises at 24, William
Street, possibly newly built at the time, is in 1855.
The description in the
London
Directory is "Flint Glass and Opal Colour Maker, Perfumers Bottles &c."
The firm is only ever referred to as John McLachlan and it
seems probable that
the engraved reference to "J & M" reflects a betrothalaer marriage.
This would
fit in with Barbara's suspicion of earlier engraving so that the glass could be
before the original limiting glasshouse starting date of 1855.
If so, the
engraved glasshouse is unlikely to have been in London.
The reference to "Opal
Colour Maker...&c" was gradually dropped although "Flint Glass Maker" was
retained throughout.
Between 1881 and 1883 additional premises were taken at
97, Cannon Street and this may explain the only adVertisement found, in the
Directory for 1884.
As shown below, it also features Portland cement!
The
expansion seems to have been short-lived for Cannon Street is not mentioned in
the 1886 Directory.
In 1887 there seems to have been an upheaval in the whole
William Street area. William Street, and its eastern extension, Thomas Street,
were combined as Coral Street which can be seen on the map today by the Old Vic
Theatre.
A new road, Baylis Road , was driven across the middle of William
Street to link with Lambeth North, and John, by now an old man, must have been
driven out of business, died or retired.
D.C.W.
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PORTLAND CEMENT MANUFACTURERS,
MERCHANTS AND COLONIAL AGENTS.
Contractors to the Admiralty and India Office. •
WILLIAM STREET, LAMBETH, S E ° and 91 CANNON STREET
t
cli,
N.B.—Liberal
commission paid for introduction of profitab;e. business.
AU 'Goods
at ':.!FIEAPEST. RATES compatible with BEST QU4LITY
,
•
Ad'vertisement from the 1884 London Directory
tower by architect, Thomas Tait, and Alexandra Park, North London in 1872.
Commemoratives of politicians and other notables included those for Disraeli - a
bUst 14 John Ford of Edinburgh, George.Peabody and Churchill, of the sportsmen,
John Hanlon, the poet, Robert Burns, as a sulphide also by John. Ford, as well as
in pressed wares, and various military commanders and victories.
Last came the royal commemoratives from.Victoria to:QE II. Well! not quite last
as Barbara Morris completed an
;
enthralling evening with our own latest
commemorative by Peter Dreiser for:. presentationto Robert and Joan Charleston in
appreciation of their devoted service to the Glass Circle on the occasion of its
Golden Jubilee.
The lecture was given on April 21st, 1988, in the Guy's Hospital Tower lecture
theatre (which has its own, high altitude record) by the kind invitation of Dr
and Mrs'Watts.
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UIS AND THAT
Our own member, Frans Smit asked us to quote unaltered his finding relating to
catalogue item No.86 in Strange and Rare:
"NIL NOVI SUB SOLE - The date of the (presumed English) glass cannon which
decorates the cover 'of Strange and, Rare is given as. circa 1823.
A:rather
similar (complete with trunnions, rings
,
and a few. prunts) but a little shorter
(18.7cm as against 23.56t) glass' cannon barrel was found - apparently quite
intact although showing its age - in material from an old cesspit, excavated in
Amsterdam in 1981.
That material contained'much (broken) glassware originating
from local glass houses and the
cesspit
is stated to have been in use from 1592
till 1596 only! (vide: J.M. Baart, 1982, Holland 14 (5): fig. 15)."
I should also mention that Frans has written and published a substantial and
profusely illUStrated volume of 194 pages: entitled "Frans Greenwood 1680 - 1763,
Dutch Poet & Glass Engraver". Owing to the late arrival of this work it is not
possible to review it in this issue.
However, we shall endeavour to give it
full coverage in our next issue.
Suffice it to say that about 60 years have
passed since Wilfred Buckley published a treatise on the glass engravings by
Frans Greenwood and numerous hitherto unpublished facts' fully justify the
reassessment of the works of this great glass engraver.
Our member, the well-known glass dealer and author John Brooks asked us to give
publicity to his plan to publish a book on commemorative glass up to the year
1900.
He is looking for suitable subjects for illustration which have not been
previously published.
The topics he proposes to discuss include Royalty,
historical, political, naval and marine, military, personalities, industrial,
architectural, geographical, transport, sporting activities, clubs and
associations and so on.
He would like to include as much new material as
possible and would be grateful if any members prepared to co-operate would
advise him of items of glass in their possession falling into any of the above
categoties.
His address is John A. Brooks, 2, Knights Crescent, Rothley,
Leicestershire.
Tel. Leicester (0533) 302625.
As most of us know by now, Mr Nigel Williams, the British Museum's chief
conservator of ceramics, is about to break the Portland Vase, worth several
million pounds, into more than 200 pieces and then put it together again.
As
The Times reported, this blue and white glass vase, made by the sculptor
Dioscourides, was smashed to pieces by a drop-out from Trinity College, Dublin,
while it was on show in the British Museum in 1845.
It was then pieced
together by the museum's restorer, John Doubleday, but 100 years later the glue
began to weaken and in 1949 the vase was re-assembled by the conservator, James
Axtell.
It appears that this last adhesion has become brittle and yellow and
Mr Williams explained recently how he will take the vase apart and achieve a
near perfect restoration that is expected to last 200 years.
Scores of tiny
fragments left out by Doubleday will be included.
Mr Williams will begin by encasing the vase in a paper mould and placing it in
an atmosphere of solvent which will release the joins. With the vase still in
its mould the tapes placed over each crack inside the vase will be removed and
each piece "fished out", numbering and recording their positions.
He will then
replace the pieces after painting each edge with glue that will not become fast
until he is satisfied each is in exactly the right position, held by sticky
tape. The tiny extra fragments will be positioned using tweezers which hold
each piece with compressed air.
When the vase is complete it will be "shot"
with ultra-violet light to activate the glue. A monumental task deserving all
admiration. We are grateful for these details to The Times.
The 75th Anniversary of the founding of the Orrefors Glass Factory, deep in the
Swedish forest, brought home to Swedish collectors the desirability of owning
some of its artistically avant-garde products.
At Bukowski's saleroom in
Stockholm one collector paid 950,000 kroner (E86,000) for a vase made by Edwin
OhrstrOm, setting a new auction price record for Swedish glass.
According to
Geraldine Norman, Sweden got into the art glass business very much by chance.
In 1913, Johan Ekman bought the glass works in Oerebro because he needed the
forest for his cellulose factory.
However, once he had assessed the
glassworks, he and his staff became fascinated with the process and gathered a
team of artists and technicians to work there.
They were mainly inspired
by
the French, especially Gang.
OhrstrUm's heavy-bodied vase with a flaring neck is decorated with a chameleon
and butterfly among stylised foliage in bright metallic green and orange.
Only
two examples of this type of decoration are known.
The collector who ,paid
950,000 kroner for the example mentioned (against an estimate of 150,000 kroner)
had bought the other one last October for 5601000 kroner (E51,000), the ptevi60
record for Swedish glass.
FOR PRESSED GLASS BUFFS
David Hill (Fine Glass) circulates a monthly Sales List (in the form of a postal
auction) specializing in Pressed Glass, where articles can be bought, sold or
advertised for.
For further details apply to 96, Commonside, Pesnett, Brierley
Hill, W.Midlands.
