Glass Society Glass Matters_No.4, Feb 2019

February 2019

Issue No. 4

1SSN2516-1555

Editorial

M
Uany pages are dedicated to Carnival glass in this issue, bring-

ing its story to the present day and linking with a major col-

lection of Carnival glass at Himley Hall. Bill Millar, a volunteer,

working many hours to unwrap, photograph and list the Dudley
Council collections has written an article to engage your help in

the process — do contact him or the curator.
Caroline Weidman and Linda Norris, working in contempo-

rary glass, show what can be achieved by expressing ideas in

new formats; both of their artistic life journeys are inspiring.

Simon Cottle shows how much can be gained by the desire to

have a valuable piece in your collection even though damaged
and Sue Newell from the enjoyment of the stories that surround

a particular glass.
The next issue will publish letters from members, with

comments on articles — please keep them coming. We’d also

be delighted to print a story of your favourite glass — the one

you missed as well as the pride of your collection. If you have
particular areas of glass that you’d wish to see more of in Glass

Matters — please inform us.

Contents

ISSN 2516-1555

Issue 4, February 2019
Jointly published by The Glass Circle and

The Glass Association.
© Contributors, The Glass Association and The Glass Circle

Editor:
Brian J Clarke

[email protected]

Design & layout:
Athelny Townshend

athelnygraphicsc’agmail. corn

Printed by:
Warners Midlands plc

www.warners.co.uk

Next copy date: 30th April
E-mail news & events to newscrcglassassociation.org.uk

“Neither the Glass Circle’s nor the Glass Association’s committee
members bear any responsibility for the views expressed in this

publication, which are those of the contributor in each case.
Copyright is acknowledged for the photographs illustrating articles,

though neither the Editor nor the committees are responsible for

inadvertent infringements. All photographs are copyright the author

unless otherwise credited.”

THE GLASS ASSOCIATON COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
The Glass Association Registered as a Charity
No.326602 Website: www.glassassociation.org;

Charles Hajdamach:
Life President;

[email protected]; David

Willars:
Chairman:
[email protected];

Judith Gower:
Hon. Secretary;
Maurice Wimpory,

Membership Secretary & Treasurer:
membership@

glassassociation.org.uk:
150

Braemar Road,

Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands,
B73 6LZ;
Nigel

Benson; Paul Bishop:
Vice-Chairman;
Brian Clarke:

Publications Editor;
Christina Glover; Alan Gower;

Bob Wilcock

THE GLASS CIRCLE COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Website: www.glasscircle.org;
Simon Cottle:

Honorary President;
Susan Newell:
Chairman:

[email protected]; Laurence Maxfield:

Honorary Treasurer:
[email protected];

Vernon Cowdy:
Website Manager:
web@glasscircle.

org; Geoffrey Laventhall; Anne Lutyens-Stobbs:
Meetings Organiser;
James Peake; John P Smith;

[email protected]; Athelny Townshend:

Graphic Design;
Anne Towse; Graham Vivian

GLASS MATTERS EDITORIAL SUB-COMMITEE
MEMBERS:
Nigel Benson; Brian Clarke; Susan Newell;

AthelnyTownshend; Simon Wain-Hobson; Bob

Wilcock

FRONT COVER:
Sanagi –
An example of Toru Horiguchi’s Edo

Kiriko glassware.
Sanagi
means

Pupa.

BACK COVER:
Engraved late 18th/early 19th century drinking

glass. Can you identify it?
Chairmens’ message

Livery Company Glass
Fitzwilliam Museum:

Batchelor Collection

Emanuel Hauptmann:

Bohemian Engraver

In Memoriam

Beilby Repair

Caroline Weidman
Lampwork

An artist’s move

to glass

Carnival Glass part 2

A rare Bottle Seal
Notley-Lerpiniere

Carnival glass collection

Book Review:

The Decanter

Dudley Council

Collection News
Diary Events
Sue

Newell

Sue Newell &
David Willars

Diane Irvine
& Sally Haden

Simon
Cottle

Anne
Lutyens-Stobbs

Linda
Norris
3

Eil
20

David Richards
26

Jill Turnbull

Bill Millar

Graham
Cooley

Chloe

Winter-Taylor

Bill Millar
32

38
38

Glass Matters Issue no.
4, February 2019

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front image courtesy of Liquan Wang
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cambridgeglassfair.com

Future Fair Dates

The National Glass Fair

Sunday 10 November 2019

Chairmen

M
ESSAGE

Susan Newell,
Chairman

of The Glass
Circle

W
elcome to 203.9. As

we look forward

to the New Year, it

seems the right time to take

a few moments to reflect
on the events of 2018. Both

groups, The Glass Cirde
and The Glass Association

began the year with stated

ambitions to merge.
Glass

Matters,
our first combined

magazine, was ready to go

to press, and the level of
dialogue between the two

groups was set to move up a
gear. After canvassing your
opinions, either by EGM or

ballot, it was overwhelm-
ingly agreed that we should
join forces. This sentiment

was subsequently confirmed
at our respective AGMs in

October, and barring some

legal niceties, we can now

go forward as one body. The
main tasks ahead for your

committee are:
. Our application to become
a Charitable Incorporated

Organisation (CIO),

•
The formation of a new

constitution,

. The merging of our
finances.

So if 2018 was a year of tran-

sition, 203.9 will be the year
we start building our group

from the foundations up,

and with your continued
support we will succeed.

Collecting continues to

dominate our thoughts. The
Batchelor Collection demon-

strates what can be achieved
with patience, taking advice
and adding glass items to

a collection on a relative-

ly modest budget. Sir Ivor
and Lady Batchelor concen-
trated on less fashionable

areas that were perhaps not

as well documented at the

time and consequently less

expensive to acquire. Parts

of this collection, featuring
early English and Spanish

glass, as well as ceramics and
pictures, are being exhibited

at the Fitzwilliam Museum
in Cambridge until 3 March

2019. These examples show
that by forming a collection

and subsequently refining

and embellishing it, you
soon become expert in your

chosen field and may go on

to become an authority.
The international charac-

ter of our glass community

is well reflected in this is-

sue. Consider for example
Emanuel Hauptmann, who

went to Japan in the late

nineteenth century with

the intention of imparting

western industrialised glass
making techniques to the

local glassmakers. Carnival

glass, a further niche col-
lecting area, is also featured

and links factories in North

America and Europe. While
most of us are aware of the

iridescent orange dishes

and bowls, do take a look

at the crisply moulded high
relief designs in blue, green

and red illustrated in Trudy

Auty’s article. We are de-
lighted to have a truly in-

ternational programme for

our forthcoming season of
London lectures. Taking us

further back in time, Ming

Wilson, the Senior Curator
in the Asian Department

at the V&A, will speak on
early Chinese glass. A rare

Venetian glass object will
be discussed by the inde-

pendent scholar and cu-
rator Elisa Sani and Dedo

von Kerssenbrodc-Krosigk,
Director of the Glass Muse-

um in Dusseldorf, will give

the Charleston Memorial
Lecture on ancient Roman

glass. The dates for your di-
ary can be found inside the

final page of this issue.

While our forthcoming

speakers are impressive, rest

assured, you don’t need to
be an international curator
to address the group. We

know there is a huge amount

of latent talent within our

grasp among our member-

ship with its wide-ranging
interests and expertise. This

is your society and we need

you to come forward with

ideas for artides and venues
for meetings. Even better,

please consider proposing

a visit, giving a talk and/or
showing a group round your

own collection.
David Willars,

Chairman

of The Glass

Association

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

DUTCH ENGRAVED GLASS

A RESEARCH CONUNDRUM

An
intriguing
glass belonging to a

CITY OF LO\DM
livery company

Sue Newell

Si n c e
2 0 0 0
have

been associ-

ated with the
Innholders’

Company, one of

the City of Lon-
don’s smaller livery

companies. These

companies or guilds,

often founded in the

medieval period, were
originally formed to reg-

ulate the apprenticeship

system and strengthen
the rights of skilled artisans

practising a particular trade.
Some hold considerable histor-

ic collections and, with regard to

glass, members may recall our vis-
it to the exceptional Walter Hale
Collection of glass at the Gro-
cers’ Hall in 2016. The Innhold-
ers have a small but choice group

of lath and early 19th century

glass, including a Jacobite portrait

glass, a fine Beilby enamelled

glass and some good Dutch and

French engraved glasses. Some

time ago I had the pleasure of

curating a display of the glass

and this article will examine one
of the items there that intrigued

me. In fact, the glass belongs

not to the Innholders but to the

Cooks’ Company, a sister compa-
ny that today has no Hall of its

own. The Cooks have had a close

association with the Inn-
holders, meeting on

their premises

and housing
their trea-

sures with
them for at
least a cen-

tury.
The glass

is a large

example of

the so-called

`Newcastle’ light

baluster

type

dating to the mid-

18th century.

is engraved on one

side with the arms

of the Cooks’ Compa-

ny; clusters of ginger

of the variety known

as columbine, and an

`engrailed chevron’, sur-

mounted by the Company’s

crest of a bird, here depicted

as a dove with an olive branch,

but usually given more correctly
as a pheasant.’ The other side
bears the toast ‘Prosperity to

this Company’ above a kitch-

en scene that would appear

to derive from an Early Modern

period woodcut: a pastry cook in
Tudor-style attire is busy prepar-
ing a dish, game hangs from a
circular iron rack above and a

dressed peacock pie stands on

a table to the side. The first time

I handled the glass I resolved to

investigate it as I hoped such an

important commemorative item

would be traceable in the archives.
When starting my research, I

was pleased to find that a helpful
history of The Cooks’ Company
had been published by the

historian Alan Borg,
formerly Di-
rector of the
Victoria and

Albert Mu-

seum. As
Engraved light

baluster wine

glass, h. 24cm
Photos © the Wor-

shipful Company of
Cooks

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

DUTCH ENGRAVED GLASS

expected, the glass was il-

lustrated there with a note

saying that it had been pre-

sented by a former Master,
a Mr. H.H. Tickler.’ The
Court Minutes dated 27th

November 1963 record the

presentation by Herbert

Harry Tickler, at the end of

his year in office, of ‘a Glass
Goblet bearing the Insig-

nia of the Company which

was about
200

years old’.
3

There was no mention of

where Mr. Tickler had ob-
tained the glass from but

as it was still a very active
time for specialist dealers, I

imagined it must have been

sourced from one of them,
perhaps Howard Phillips,

Cecil Davis, Alan Tillman,

Aspreys, or Arthur Chur-
chill.

My first step was to use

archival sources to prove
the existence of the glass at
the Cooks’ Company in the

eighteenth century, for it

was possible the glass might
have entered private owner-

ship in the intervening cen-
turies, perhaps housed for

safekeeping with a Compa-
ny official. The Company’s

history would suggest it is

something of a miracle that
any artefacts survive today.

Although the Cooks’ Hall

was situated in Aldersgate
Street, north of the City’s

boundary, it was damaged

in the Great Fire of 1666 and
required repairs. Despite

these, a complete rebuild

was necessary in 1674 and

this second Hall was in turn

burnt down in 1771, oblig-
ing members to meet in a
tavern or coffee house. Alan

Borg has drawn my atten-

tion to the fact that shortly

before its final destruction,
the Hall was leased from

the Company in 1767 by one

Thomas Dobbs, ‘a manufac-
turer of glass’, of St. Paul’s
Churchyard. Dobbs stated

in an advertisement that

`having fitted up in a most su-
perb manner Cooks Hall…the

greatest variety fine lustres
and Girondoles, and all oth-

er fine cut glass to be seen at
Cooks Hall aforesaid’.
4
While

this glass connection is in-

triguing it does not help pin

down the Cooks’ glass, and

similarly the Company’s
own eighteenth-century

inventories list glass only

in a cursory way, giving no

indication of special pieces.
5

I then looked into more re-

cent sources in the hope of
tracing the later provenance

of the glass. Despite my

best efforts, to date I have
found no trace of the glass

in auction house glass sale

catalogues or trade adver-
tisements of the period or

in early glass publications.°
This documentary glass ap-
pears to have emerged on

the market with no record

of its provenance prior to
Mr Tickler’s presentation.
I also turned my atten-

tion to the scene on the

glass in the hope of tracing

a source print that might

shed light on the date of the
glass. However, the kitchen
depicted on the glass was
clearly not contemporary

with the eighteenth century
origin of the glass. It seems

to depict a late medieval or

Tudor period kitchen, but
my enquiries with Early
Modern print and food his-

torians have not yielded any

possible sources to date. An
eighteenth century engrav-

er might have found an

early woodcut that has not

survived or it is reasonable
to suppose that he was sup-

plied with a design intend-

ed to evoke the foundation

of the Company in the me-

dieval period! It was a short

step from there to consider
that the engraving might

not be contemporary with

the date of the glass, indeed

that it might date from the

mid-twentieth century, in

other words from the time

of its presentation to the

Company.

The practice of engraving

on earlier glass has a long

pedigree. Many of us will

be familiar with the con-
troversy surrounding the

Williamite and Jacobite

glasses produce by Franz
Tieze, a skilled Bohemian
engraver working in Dublin

in the late 19th and early
loth century, whose work

was undoubtedly intended
to deceive. Our Honorary

Vice-President,

Dwight

Lanmon has also drawn

my attention to a group of

glasses engraved with his-

torical scenes in the George

Horace Lorimer collection

at the Philadelphia Museum
of Art collected in the twen-

tieth century interwar peri-

od, that are now thought to
be suspect. However, the
engraving of early glass is

by no means always under-
taken with the intention

to deceive, although this

practice is frowned upon
in some quarters. Indeed,

one of the two glasses pre-

sented by the Glass Circle to
our retiring Chairman John

Smith last year was an eigh-
teenth-century piece dec-
orated by a contemporary
engraver.
8
It occurred to me

that in 1963, the Master of

the Cooks’ Company might

have supplied a design to

a competent engraver and
commissioned him or her
to engrave an antique gob-

let in just the same way.
I then invited a contem-

porary glass engraver, Glass
Circle member Katharine

Coleman, to look at the

glass and share her thoughts

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

DUTCH ENGRAVED GLASS

on the tools used to achieve
the engraved designs.
9

twentieth-century engrav-
er could of course use cop-

per wheels consistent with

eighteenth-century prac-
tice but an eighteenth-cen-

tury practitioner would

obviously not have had
access to later techniques

or machinery. In Katha-

rine’s opinion, the chevron

on the Cooks’ shield had

a semi-polished matt ap-

pearance consistent with

the use of either a diamond

burr in a drill or a narrow,
rounded copper wheel fol-
lowed by a semi-polish, us-

ing cork wheels and pumice

abrasive powder. Such dec-

orative matting was more
commonly used by Bohe-
mian engravers in the late

nineteenth century. The
treatment of the colum-

bine/ginger was also suspi-

rary practitioner’s insights

into tools and techniques.
1
°

In terms of engraving, the

value of Katharine’s experi-
enced opinion is particularly

helpful, because as a point

and copper wheel engrav-
er herself, she is interested

in many historic engraving
techniques. She suggested

that running sessions for

members demonstrating

different engraving tech-

niques and allowing us to

try them out for ourselves,

might be of interest in terms

of understanding engraving

and cutting on historical

glass.
11

Rest assured, I hope

to hold her to this offer at

some not too distant future
date.

I am grateful to the Cooks’

Company for allowing me

to investigate their glass,

the Innholders’ Company

for granting me access, Alan 10.

Borg, Paul Herbage (Past
Master, Cooks’ Co.) and our

Hon. President, Dwight Lan-

mon, for helpful discussions
regarding this research, and

Katharine Coleman for her
11.

insights into the engraved

decoration.
6.

DUTCH ENGRAVED GLASS

ENDNOTES

1.
John Bromley,

The Armorial

Bearings of the Guilds of

London,
1960, pp. 52-54.

2.
Alan Borg, CBE, FSA,
A

History of the Worshipful

Company of Cooks,
2011,

fig.

3o. An earlier history also

illustrated the goblet,
see

Frank Taverner Phillips,
A

Second History of the Wor-

shipful Company of Cooks,

1966, Plate IX ‘A Newcastle

goblet c. 1745 presented to
the Company in 1963 by
Past Master H.H. Tickler’.

3.
Guildhall Library, Cooks’

Company General Court

Minutes 27/11/1963.

4.
See Borg (note 2), p.

121.

Retailers of ceramics and

glass were often loosely re-

ferred to as ‘manufacturers’

ciously like that of polished

diamond drill engraving and

unlike wheel engraving. The
`frames’ to the scene and the

arms had been achieved us-

ing copper wheels and a lead

wheel had been used for the
polished dish on which the

peacock pie sits in the kitch-
en scene. The treatment of

the body and wings of the

dove crest also had a decid-

edly 2oth century feel to it

and the engraved decoration
conveniently covered sever-

al of the much earlier deep

scratches. As Katharine
pointed out, top 2oth cen-

tury engravers such as Pe-

ter Dreiser would have had

an extensive range of tools

and skills at their disposal
enabling them to achieve

different effects as appro-

priate.

This project exemplifies

the ups and downs of re-

search when the documents
fail to turn up any conclu-

sive answers, but neverthe-

less the process of explor-
ing different avenues still

illuminates the subject in

various ways. While Kath-

arine would stress that her
opinions do not prove when

the glass was engraved, we

can learn much from the

comments of contemporary

craftspeople at such mo-
ments. William Gudenrath,

glassmaker and expert in

historic glass techniques,

has contributed to many

scholarly catalogues on his-
torical glass in his role as

Resident Advisor at the Stu-

dio of the Corning Museum

of Glass. In the previous is-

sue of Glass Matters, Dwight
Lanmon’s collaboration with

William Gudenrath showed

how the origin of a glass in

the Corning Collection, once

thought to be English mid-

17th century, could be inter-
rogated using a contempo-
at this period.

The Guildhall Library: 1746,

1752, 1760, 1766. The 1746
Inventory is cited in full

by Borg (see note 2), ‘A
Schedule of the Plate, Im-

plements, Goods and Things

belonging to the Worshipful
Company of Cooks, London

taken in the year 1746’, sim-

ply lists ‘twenty-five wine

glasses’.

No trace of the glass has

been found in Churchill’s
published notes.

Archival evidence records
the existence of a guild of
cooks as early as 1311 and

a Charter of Incorporation

was granted by Edward IV

in 1482, see Borg (note 2).

Lesley Pyke engraved the

goblet, see Susan Newell,
The Retirement of John P.

Smith,
Glass Matters 1,

January 2018, pp.5-6.

Katharine Coleman http://

www.katharinecoleman.
co.uk

Dwight P. Lanmon and

William Gudenrath
A

remarkable iridescent goblet

with a double-walled, silvered

bowl: 17th or 19th century?,

Glass Matters 2, July 2018,

PP. 7
-11

As well as doing her own

work, Katharine also teach-
es at The Studio at Corning

Museum of Glass, BildWerk
Frauenau and Morley Col-

lege, London.

THE AUTHOR
Susan Newell, Chair of the
Glass Circle since Novem-

ber 2017 and now joint chair

of ‘The Glass Society, has

worked as a decorative arts cu-

rator and specialist for many

years. She is currently a Phd.

Candidate at the University of

Leeds.

Susan would welcome hearing
from any reader who can shed

some light on the research

questions raised in this arti-

cle. Please contact her via the
Editor at
:-

brianjdarke@btinEmetcom

Glass Matters Issue no, 4, February 2019

NEWS

The
Collection
of Sir Ivor and Lady Honor Batchelor

Glass Circle visit to the Fitzwilliam Museum : 25th April 2018

I
n 2015 the Fitzwilliam

Museum in Cambridge
received an exceptional

collection of drawings, ce-
ramics, bronzes and glass

from Sir Ivor and Lady Hon-
or Batchelor through the

Art Fund. Earlier this year
we were privileged to in-
spect glass items behind the
scenes at the museum prior
to a special display of the

bequest later this year and

together with Glass Associ-

ation members, we assisted

with recognition of a num-
ber of the glass exhibits.
Ivor Batchelor was clear-

ly a born collector, recall-

ing how as a school boy a

stuffed alligator, an emu’s
egg, the tail feather of a

snipe and Japanese sea-
weed were all stored away in
a cabinet given by an uncle.

As a student, his interest
in pictures was awakened

when he purchased a land-

scape in oils by W G Gilles,
with money given for his

21st birthday. Gilles was

later to become President
of the Royal Scottish Acad-
emy. When good drawings

became hard to find and
too expensive, the Bache-

lors collected pottery and

when English 18h centu-

ry pots likewise shot up in

price they collected mostly

glass. In glass they had an

eclectic taste, having no

wish to put on parade rows

of English drinking glasses.

A fascination with Spanish
glass, initiated by reading

Alice Fotheringham’s book,
prefaced their purchasing
examples many years later.
Whether it was pictures,
ceramics or glass Ivor Batch-

elor was quick to praise the
role dealers play as being

the unsung heroes of the

collector’s world. It is they

who do most of the hard
slog, trawling the auction
rooms, both on the internet

and in reality, travelling the
country finding pieces to

sell. A quick search through
the key items of glass in

the bequest indicates how
much reliance was placed
upon one particular advi-

sor, Howard Phillips of Lon-

don.
More specifically the

collection can be broad-

ly divided into segments:
English glass, Continental

glass excluding Spanish,
and Spanish glass. Predom-
inantly the glass consists of
eighteenth and nineteenth
century pieces, although

there are several outliers at

either end of the timespan.

Fig
1
shows one of the old-

est items in the collection,

a German mid-16th century

pale olive-green glass goblet
decorated with raspberry
prunts. Several of the items

will feature in a display at

the museum later this year
and Fig 2 shows a display

mock-up of mainly seven-

teenth and eighteenth cen-

tury pieces. In addition to
examining glass from the
Batchelor collection in store

at the museum, Research
Curator Helen Ritchie gave
us a tour of the galleries
taking in the Art Nouveau

glass on loan from the
Frua-Valsecchi collection

and of course, the cases
containing the exceptional
Beves Collection of glass.

The Batchelor Exhibition, The
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cam-

bridge December 2018 — 3

March
2019

Thanks to Dr. Victoria Av-

ery and Helen Ritchie of the

Fitzwilliam Museum
LEFT:

Fig.2

A
group

of mainly

17th-century

glasses grouped
together to show
how they might

be displayed

LEFT:

A German mid-

i6th century

pale olive-green

glass goblet
decorated

with raspberry

prunts.

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

RICH BOIEMIAN ORNAMENTAL GLASS.

—

The
&MEMBER begs to intimate, that in addi-

tion to his ustally largo Stock of flichly Coloured;
Gilded, Cut, aid Engraved BOHEMIAN GLASS,

he has received (first for tho Season) and is just ro.

ceiv lug large importations of every thing ‘New iu Style

and Design connected with this beautiful art ; and in

making this announcement, he has no hesitation in

asserting, that an assemblage of FOREIGN ORNA-

MENTAL GLASS so
varied,

unique, and extensive

as this, is not -.4) be met with in the kingdom.

A few DESSERT SERVICES quite unequalled.
An early .nspection is respectfuly invited.
JOHN FORD.

NORTII BRIDGE,
Edinburgh.
Cour

tesy
o
f
The

Sc
o
tsman
Pu

blica
t
ion
s

BOHEMIAN GLASS.

QMAIL & CO. have just received other Two

k7 Cases of BOHEMIAN GLASS, containing

about 400 Vases of Various elegant Shapes and

Patterns, the Prices are very much lower than the

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1VIIOLESALE AND RETAIL WAREIIOUSES,

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MERCHANT STREET.

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Cour
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o

f
The

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tsman
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blica
t
ions

TRAVELLING BOHEMIAN GLASS ENGRAVER

Emanuel Hauptmann:
Itinerant glass

ENCRAVE1?

Diane Irvine and Sally Haden

T
his is the story sur-

rounding

Emanuel

Hauptmann (1848-

1924),
an
ordinary Bohe-

mian glass engraver from

Newcastle-upon-Tyne who

lick-started’ modern glass

decoration in Japan.

INTRODUCTION

Together with Thomas
Walton, Elijah Skidmore and

James Speed, all working

at the Shinagawa Glass
Works, Tokyo, Emanuel
Hauptmann was one of

four British glassmakers

invited to Japan to help

develop the country’s glass

industry as part of Japanese

modernisation during the

late 19th century. Their
contributions are detailed

in a series of articles by

Sally Haden published in
The Glass Cone, and in

The Journal of The Glass

Association.
Emanuel was a very or-

dinary glass engraver. His

story is that of a common-
place young Bohemian ar-

tisan, one among many in

Britain at the time, who left
the slums of Newcastle-up-

on-Tyne to spend a while

in an exotic, exciting and

fast-developing world far

across the oceans. His en-

graving is largely unknown
and cannot rival that of fa-
mous Bohemian craftsmen

in style and execution, but

the impact of his brief spell

in Japan resonates today in

an industry which owes its
foundation to those four

men who gave instruction

there between 1874 and

1883.
INTEREST IN BOHEMIAN GLASS

Bohemian glass has
travelled around the world

since the 17th century.
For example, Georg Franz

Kryebich from Kameniclqr

Senov made twenty one

journeys between 1685 and

1719 carrying glass all over

Europe, travelling first by

foot then by horse-drawn
cart.

Bohemia developed a

strong culture of training
for glass decoration. Found-

ed in 1856 and 1870, the

professional glass schools

in Kamenic4 Senov and
Novy Bor not only provided

a professional base build-
ing on centuries of learn-

ing through local industry,

but also shaped the future.

While not all Bohemian en-

gravers had the opportuni-
ty to attend one of these or

other glass schools, those

with skills, enthusiasm and
a sense of adventure must
have been interested in

travelling to different coun-

tries, including Britain,

where pay for Bohemian

engravers was at least four

times that available in Bo-

hemia.

During the 19th century

a combination of circum-

stances ensured opportu-
nity for Bohemian glass

engravers in Britain. Bo-

hemia, a land of shifting

borders, was assailed by

wars with the young men
facing years of national ser-

vice. It also had a history
of salesmen travelling the

continent bringing back

glass and often engraving

it on the spot. Between
1876 and 1880 nearly $3m

worth of Bohemian glass

was imported to the USA.
Likewise, large amounts of

glass were imported to Brit-
ain. Bohemian glass and the

skills to make and decorate

it spread from Bohemia
right into Scotland. Sales

of Bohemian glass were fre-

quently advertised in 19th

century newspapers.
These two advertise-

ments (below) in The Scots-

man newspaper illustrate

the kind of interest Britain

had in Bohemian glass:-

THE BOHEMIAN
CONTRIBUTION

Britain witnessed the rise

of a new wealthier middle
class eager for the trappings

associated with rich people.
Cut or engraved glass was a

manifestation of wealth and

Bohemian glass was prized.

In his book ‘British Glass

1800-1914’

Hajdamach

speaks of an ‘obsessive fa-

scination’ with Bohemian

glass during the 1840’s and
BELOW:

Fig .

Advertisements

in the
Scots-

man,
dated
20

March 1847, and
7
February

49.

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

TRAVELLING BOHEMIAN GLASS ENGRAVER

thereafter.
Franz Tieze, a Bohemian

engraver born in 1842, kept

a design notebook (now
held in the V&A archives),
in which he recorded the
names and addresses of
twenty Bohemian engrav-
ers working in Britain. The

1871 Scotland Census shows
at least thirty five Bohemi-

an-born engravers working
in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
There were dozens more in

other parts of Britain.
Many of these immigrant

craftsmen were drawn to
the Edinburgh workshop of
J.H.B. Millar but some also

worked for Hauptmann &

Co, an important engrav-

ing business as yet unrec-
ognised by glass historians.
Ignaz Hauptmann came to
Edinburgh about 1837 and

set up a glass company at

22
Greenside Place with

his brother Franz in 1842.
The 1871 census states
that Ignaz employed ’40

men, boys and girls’, a large

business and it remained
in operation for forty five

years. The most famous of
their Bohemian employees

was Emanuel Lerche who

worked for them between

1853 and 1861. Ignaz and

his brother were part of a
close-knit family and many

relatives joined them, in-
cluding nephews Franz
Hauptmann, Emanuel Al-

bert, Edward W Albert and
Francis Albert, and Ema-
nuel Hauptmann himself,

all born in Bohemia. Some
of the elder children of

Franz also worked for the

company.
Ignaz made quite an im-

pression in Edinburgh and
in the world of late 19th cen-
tury British glass. An obitu-

ary in the Pottery Gazette,

1 April 1887 commented :
‘Mr Ignaz Hauptmann died
at Edinburgh on March 17,

at the age of 69. He was a

native of Bohemia, and it is

claimed that he was the first

to introduce engraving on
glass in this country [Scot-

land], about 5o years ago. He

was a man of considerable
culture and artistic taste,

and endowed with great per-

severance.’

EMANUEL HAUPTMANN
Emanuel Hauptmann was

born 14 June 1848, in Strob-

nitz, Bohemia, Austria, now
known as Horni Stropnice
in the Czech Republic. His

father, a commercial trav-
eller, was born in 1821 in

Wolfersdorf, Bohemia and

his mother, Anna Thun-

hart, was born in Strobnitz
in 1820. Emanuel left home

in the 186os to work with
his uncles Ignaz and Franz

Hauptmann in Greenside,

Edinburgh. They were also
born in Wolfersdorf.

Emanuel’s marriage cer-

tificate gives his occupa-

tion as a Glass Engraver
Journeyman. A University

of Edinburgh’s description
of a cutting and engraving

shop in Edinburgh observes
that apprentice engravers

served a term of seven years
to become journeymen. This

suggests Emanuel began
training before he was six-

teen, possibly much earlier.
His home as a young boy

was four kilometres from

Nove Hrady glassworks in

the North and a similar

distance from Stare Hute

glassworks in the South.
Both of these were later ac-

quired by the Stolze-glass
empire although it is not

known if he worked at ei-
ther of these. He could have

undertaken all his training

in Edinburgh.
Fig.2

Emanuel in his

workshop, in

either Dog Leap
Stairs or Castle
Garth, Newcas-

tle-upon-Tyne

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

TRAVELLING

BOHEMIAN

GLASS ENGRAVER

GLASGOW
Hauptmann & Co was

subject to a number of se-

questration (bankruptcy)

proceedings over the years

and it is possible these led
to Emanuel moving away

from Edinburgh. He left

for Glasgow at the age of
twenty two and lived in

1871 in Canal Street, a part
of the city full of heavy in-
dustry. Amongst his close

neighbours were a number
of other young Bohemian
engravers, many of whom

are now recognised for their
fine craftsmanship. They

include Angus Carelbauer,
Friedrick Eiselt, John Kel-

ler, Vincent Keller, Hierony-
mous Keller, Joseph Lavert,
Franz Marschner, Joseph

Marschner, Anton Patzelt,
Peter Raltass, Joseph Rich-

ter, Edward Rickter, August

Samphreat, Kenzel Schle-

gel, Ignatz Schlegel, William
Klempeter and Wilhelm
Pohl. It is not known for

whom Emanuel worked in
Glasgow, but James Couper

& Co was a short walk from
Canal Street.
Emanuel married Bir-

mingham born Catherine
Harbone in 1872. Her fa-

ther, Thomas, is recorded on

their marriage certificate as

a commercial traveller, and

as a labourer or porter at a

glass works in Birmingham
in the censuses of 1871-

1901. Hauptmann and Co
had a number of dealings

with firms in Birmingham,
so the link between the
Hauptmann and Harbone

families may well have be-

gun through glass.

NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE

Aged around twenty three,
together with his young

wife and first child, Thom-

as, he relocated to Newcas-
tle, another very important
glass-making area. Their

second son, Albert, was

born in Newcastle in 1874,
followed by Joseph in 1876,

whereas their daughters

Ada and Frances were born
in Gateshead, in 188o and

1888 respectively.
In her thesis on the

North East’s glass industry

1700-1900, Catherine Ross
deals extensively with the
changing fortunes of the

glass industry in the North
East. Discussing how blown

flint glass fell slowly into

decline there later in the

19th century, she argues
that this was due in part

to the great rise of the ar-

ea’s pressed glass industry.

There remained, however,

some demand for blown ta-

bleware and consequently a
need for engravers even if

on a small scale. The most

significant firm for blown

ware in the North East was
the Northumberland Glass

Company but Ross also lists

some smaller blown flint

glass makers in Gateshead;
David Martin, W. & R. Fer-

ry, Robert Gray of Pipewell-

gate and Thomas McDer-
mott trading as Albion Flint
Glassworks of Pipewell-

gate. In Newcastle were J.
Swanston and the Wright
Brothers. Sowerby’s, one of

the big pressed glass pro-

ducers, attempted to mar-

ket a range of blown glass

during the 187os and again

produced some engraved

glass as part of their artis-
tic production in the 189os.
Emanuel lived at various

addresses in Gateshead and
Newcastle, often very close

to these businesses. He will

have known all these pro-

ducers and when he was not

employed by them, would

have been working on his
own account, probably en-

graving/cutting their glass,
either as a factory outwork-

er, or engraving/cutting for

high street retail shops, or

selling directly to the public
from his workshop.
His uncle Ignaz had con-

nections with glass man-

ufacturers and dealers in
Newcastle and the sur-

rounding area. The detailed

sequestration papers of

1866 relating to I. Haupt-
mann & Co include George
Ratcliff, Davidson and

Eggleston as debtors and

Jas Hartley & Co as a cred-

itor. Sequestration papers

from 1881 show Haupt-
mann & Co owing money

to Davidson & Co, Heppell

& Co and Tyne Plate Glass,

in addition to being owed
money by people with ad-

dresses in the Tyneside

area.

Emanuel’s many address-

es in this area, catalogued

through censuses, Birth,
Marriage and Death cer-

tificates and trade directo-

ries, indicate he lived close

to glass manufacturers in

streets where there was
easy movement between

Gateshead and Newcas-

tle across the High Level

Bridge which led directly

from Pipewellgate into the
Castle Garth area.

AN INVITATION FROM JAPAN
In what must have seemed a

great upturn in fortune for
him, Emanuel was offered

a post in far-off Japan to
train Japanese craftsmen in

cutting and engraving at a

new factory in Tokyo.
It is not known how he

was selected for the job. The
Iwakura Mission, a large

delegation of top Japanese

government officials in
search of Western know-

how, left Japan in December

1871 to tour American and

European countries. Start-

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

TRAVELLING BOHEMIAN GLASS ENGRAVER

BELOW:
Fig.3

An
example of

Toru Horigu-

chi’s Edo Kiriko

glassware

Name :
‘Red

and Black’
Size : 235square
x 122MM

Material : Soda

lime glass

Year of creation:

2008
Method: Cut

and use of
Adhesive
ing their British tour upon

landing in Liverpool in Au-

gust 1872, their itinerary in-
cluded places that Emanuel

had connections with: Ed-

inburgh, Glasgow, Newcas-
tle and Birmingham. Along

with a fascinated public,
Emanuel probably followed

their movements with in-

terest in local and national
newspapers and perhaps
read that they wanted to de-

velop glassmaking in Japan.

Alternatively he may simply
have answered an advert,

heard of the opportunity

by word of mouth within
the industry, or even been
recommended for the job

by James Speed who had
worked in Greenside, Edin-
burgh, and almost certain-
ly would have known the
Hauptmanns.
What is known for sure

is that Emanuel travelled
to Japan in the spring of

1881, leaving behind his
wife and four children, not

to arrive home again until

Christmas 1882. The con-

tract arrangements made

for one of the other four

British men working at the
Japanese glassworks, Elijah

Skidmore, show that part
of Skidmore’s wages were
paid direct to his wife, so it

is quite possible that Cath-
erine Hauptmann received

regular payments.

JAPAN
By the time Emanuel ar-

rived at the recently con-

structed Shinagawa Glass
Works in Tokyo on 17 May

1881, the manufacture of

modern Western-style com-

mon glass was getting un-
derway, thanks to the pre-
ceding efforts of his three
British colleagues, Walton,

Skidmore and Speed. They
had overseen the estab-
lishment of Japan’s first
modern Western-style fur-

naces and begun training

Japanese glassmakers in all

areas of factory operation

and types of glassmaking.
The Japanese government

supported the project close-

ly, running it as a model
company to pioneer the
mass production of every-

thing from window glass

to bottles, and tableware
to pharmaceutical glass. Ja-

pan needed Western glass
technology to help build
the economy and allow the
country to enter world mar-

kets.
Ahead of Emanuel’s ar-

rival, engraving machines,

stone and wooden wheels,
emery powder and polish-

ing sand were imported so
that he could give instruc-
tion in Western-style glass
decoration. With this equip-

ment, cutting troughs and

wheel-engraving benches
would have been set up for

his trainees, at least some
of whom already had expe-
rience elsewhere in Japan.

This was, however, their
first exposure to a West-
ern-style factory dedicated
to mass production and the

division of labour which

such work involves. Before
the Shinagawa Glass Works,

Japanese glass was care-

fully crafted in small work-

shops scattered across the

country – luxury and fragile

products for the wealthy
elite and for sacred pur-

poses. Decoration of it had

been in imitation of a few
items of European cut glass
(British/Irish or Bohemi-

an), which had found their

way into Japan through Na-
gasaki during the centuries
of `Sakoku’, Japan’s period
of self-imposed isolation

from the rest of the world.
Those copies were cut,

one scientist claims, by the

hand manipulation of flat

iron bars. This technique

would have been extremely
time-consuming and why
rotating wheels would not

have been used when the

lathe had been known for

centuries in Japanese lapi-

dary work is a curious mat-

ter which is much debated

and needs further careful
research. There is no direct
evidence of the use of steam

power in the Shinagawa

glass decoration depart-
ment, so cutting was proba-
bly powered by hand or wa-
ter. The first clear examples
of Japanese steam-powered
cutting date to around the
turn of the century, with
electric power following af-
ter that when electricity be-
came affordable in the early

loth century.
The apprentices’ exposure

through Emanuel to the

new efficient engraving and
cutting machinery, together

with Western designs, stim-
ulated some of them, after

the closure of the Shinaga-

wa Glass Works in 1883, to

go on to establish their own
workshops or substantial
businesses. They developed

a unique Japanese form of
engraving known as Kiriko,

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

TRAVELLING BOHEMIAN GLASS ENGRAVER

RIGHT:
Fig.4

Large jug

engraved

Hauptmann
especially in Tokyo where

it is known as Edo Kiriko

and sells as a very exclu-

sive product. The impor-
tance of this craft heritage

is very obvious in Japan

today, as shown in the high-

ly acclaimed work of Toru

Horiguchi
(See fig.
3

opposite

page)
of the Tokyo compa-

ny Horiguchi Kiriko Inc.,

whose ancestor was trained
by Tokumatsu Oohashi,

who in turn was trained by
Emanuel himself.

RIGHT:
Fig. 5

Footed bowl

engraved for

Granddaughter
RETURNING TO

NEWCASTLE

Emanuel’s return from Ja-

pan, at the end of 1882,
must have been something
of a culture shock for him,

and within a year he was

admitted to Durham Luna-
tic Asylum suffering from

psychotic depression. He

admitted that he began
drinking in Japan and this

probably continued on his

return to England. He had
exchanged a life where he

was paid probably more
than he ever earned in his

life and was feted for his

skill, experience and contri-

bution to the birth of mod-
ern glassmaking in Japan,

for the prosaic everyday
problems faced by a family

in a poor area of Newcas-
tle. He struggled to find

sufficient work, having to
rebuild his connections at a

time when the glass indus-

try in the North was begin-

ning to decline. Discharged

from the asylum in Febru-

ary 1885, he was readmitted
May-August 1890 and for a

third time June-September

1891.
According to historical

directories, while living in
Devonshire Street, Gates-

head, Emanuel established

a workshop in Dog Leap
Stairs, Newcastle, in 1888,

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

TRAVELLING BOHEMIAN GLASS ENGRAVER

BELOW:
Fig.7
Tumblers

engraved for

family
a bustling area around the

castle full of tradesmen. The

Newcastle Guardian and

Tyne Mercury described

this locality at the time

as being ‘one of the many
retreats for the low and

profligate’. He was working
then for George Ellis, a local

china and glass dealer, until

he was charged with ‘steal-
ing therefrom decanters,
jugs, tumblers, a quantity

of other glass and a biscuit
box, value £5, the property

of George Ellis’. This offence
led to a gaol term of three

months with hard labour.
Further local directories,

dated
1901
and
1.906,
list

him a Glass Engraver and

shopkeeper at 4
–
5 Castle

Square or Castle Garth,

which was also the family
home. This address no lon-

ger exists but contempo-
rary maps indicate it would

have been part of a building

between the Moot Hall and
the Bridge Hotel, both of

which still exist in Castle
Garth. This seems to have

been a more settled part of
his working life.
That he had a strong work

ethic is evident from the

asylum case notes, which
indicate that ‘want of work’

contributed to bouts of

depression and his health

improved following work

in the asylum’s tailor’s

shop. Things must have

been tough for him but his
resilience seems to show

RIGHT:

Fig.6

Dish with lid
engraved for

Granddaughter

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

TRAVELLING BOHEMIAN GLASS ENGRAVER

through in a photograph

taken some time after Ja-

pan, looking proud in his

new workshop. Although

none of his children fol-

lowed him into the glass

business, one of his grand-
children worked for a while

in a glass factory in New-
castle in the 19oos. Eman-

uel would be surprised to

find that, through his son
Joseph, he has over eighty
descendants living today

across England with one in
the USA.

Emanuel died 25 May

1924, aged
75,
outlived by

his wife Catherine. He is

buried in Saltwell Cemetery,
Gateshead. This was a good

age for that time given that
his life was characterised

by poverty, struggles with
those in authority, poor

health and never quite find-
ing a stable home until old

age. He didn’t need to claim
British citizenship because

his marriage to a British
person made him a British

Subject but for the thirty

years he lived in Newcas-
tle, he had at least fourteen
different addresses. Also, in

his lifetime he had lived in
many countries – eastern

Europe, Scotland, England,

even Japan, but at least he

had one constant through-
out his life – his glass en-

graving. His contribution to
the development of the fine

glass in Japan is much cel-

ebrated today, securing his
place in the history of glass

making.

A number of pieces of

glass engraved by Eman-
uel have been retained by

his descendants, including

items engraved for Fran-

ces’s daughter Catherine or
Katie Fox. Photographs of

some of these, taken by Bri-

an Clarke, accompany this

article.
FOOTNOTES

1.
Who Made that Glass,
Sally

Haden, The Glass Cone

issues
102, 103, 107, 109,

2013 – 2016

2.
They Went to Larn ‘Em,

Sally

Haden, The Journal of the

Glass Association, Vol.10,

2014

3.
Glass its Makers and its Pub-

lic,
1975, Ada Polak p.107

4.
Curiosities of Glass Mak-

ing, 1849, Apsley Pellatt

p.126

5.
Old Glass, European and

American, before 1984,
N

Hudson Moore p.59

6.
Ignaz Hauptmann natu-

ralisation papers, National

Archives, 1857

7.
Victorian Table Glass and

Ornaments,
1978, Barbara

Morris, p.89

8.
http://www.artisansinscot-

land.shca.ed.ac.uk/items/
show/5o.

9.
Information from Ritsuo

Yoshioka, Manager of
Japan Uranium Glass Col-

lectors Club (JUGCC)

io.Ancestry.com. 1871 Scot-
land Census [database

on-line]. Provo, UT, USA:

Ancestry.com Operations
Inc,
2007.

11.
http://hdl.handle.

net/10443/192
The devel-

opment of the glass industry

on the rivers Tyne and Wear,

1700-1900, Catherine Mary
Ross, 1982, Newcastle

University

12.
National Records of Scot-

land Ignaz Hauptman Edin-
burgh, CS318/10/175, 1867
and CS318/25/234, 1882

13.
Glass Cutting from the Last

Third of the Edo Period to

the First Third of the Meiji
Period. J.Tanahashi, The

Bulletin of Shoin Women’s
University, Shoin Women’s

Junior College, no.29, 1987,

pp.1-76

14.
27 January 1888 – Newcas-

tle Courant – Newcastle-up-

on-Tyne, Tyne and Wear,

Police Courts — Page 8

15.
The National Archives

of the UK; Kew, Surrey,
England;
Lunacy Patients

Admission Registers; Class:
MH 94;
Piece: 27
16.

For example, the website

www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/
en/webmagazine/2015/o1l

edo.html

THE AUTHOR
Sally Haden is a historical

researcher with an interest

in glass and has contributed
articles on the ‘four men from

England’ who helped to in-

stigate the modern Japanese

glass industry. Diane Irvine
is Emanuel Hauptmann’s

great great-granddaughter,

her meeting with Sally Ha-
den awoke an ambition for

her and her family to discover
more about about their emi-

nent ancestor and engraved

glass.

THANKS
With thanks to Brian Clarke

for photographing the Haupt-

mann family’s glass collec-

tion. More on the glassworks

at Shinagawa can be found at
www.hadenheritage.co.uk
Fig.8

Wine

glass

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

SOCIETY OF GLASS TECI NO

LOGY

Serving the Ulm Commatutu

Our
History and Heritage Seminar is scheduled for Wednesday 4th September,

and we are privileged this year to have four excellent Keynote Speakers whose
combined expertise spans the full spectrum of glass-related fields of study. Their

initial specialisms range from nuclear chemistry to archaeology and from hands-

on architectural conservation to system engineering and engineering manage-

ment. Brought to a focus in the multifaceted arena of glass heritage these skills

can turn a confusion of mundanity into a splendour of insight.

Whatever your special interest in glass, we’d be glad to welcome you to join us

at Murray Edwards College, Cambridge – for the whole conference, or just for the

History and Heritage Seminar.

Details are on the conference website at https://cambridge2019.sgt.org, where

you’ll find information about how to register, offer a paper and of course, infor-

mation about our Keynote Speakers.

We look forward to hearing from you!

IN MEMORIAM

RIGHT:
Tim’s
favourite

glass: a
Bohemian

beaker

BELOW:
Tim Udall

with his

collection

in 2011.
Tim Udall

1924-2018

I
am so sorry to deliver

sad news. For those

who knew him, Tim

Udall died just before

Christmas 2018, aged 94.

The last day of December

would have been his 95th

birthday. He had been
living in a residential
home for some years, as

his wife Maria died many

years ago and he had no

surviving family.
Tim was a long-stand-

ing member of the Glass

Circle (GC); he collected
jellies and sweetmeat

glasses, was extremely

knowledgeable about his

subject and was notable

for not minding chips

and cracks on what were
otherwise good speci-

mens. He disposed of his

collection in 2011, but
then started down a dif-

ferent path of glass col-

lecting, following up his

late wife’s Austrian con-
nections. He felt a huge

loyalty to the society and
served on the commit-

tee of the GC, from the

late 70s until the early
90s, many of the years

as Hon.Treasurer. He in-

troduced many members
to the Circle in the days

when members had to

be “sponsored” and did
much to help the Circle,

much of it quietly and

without publicity.

Remembered by
Anne Towse

of the GC Committe

Peter Lole

1929-2018

A
ntony Lole informed us

hat Peter passed away

in November 2018. He was

learned, wrote and spoke
beautifully on a range of

18th century glass along
with the social history of

the times and was always
open for discussion. He’d

been a member of the

Glass Circle for many years

and composed many well
researched essays, pub-

lished in Glass Circle News
under the heading
‘Limpid

Reflections’.
Alongside Da-

vid Watts, he’d been joint
editor of Glass Circle News
from March 1994 to April
2005, helping to establish

an eagerly awaited news-

letter. Peter’s sons are fi-
nalising the arrangements

for the 9oth Birthday party

that he booked last au-

tumn. He had stated quite
clearly to both the restau-
rant and to Antony and his

brothers that the ‘do’ was

to proceed whether or not

he could attend!

Brian Clarke, Editor
LEFT:

Peter during

the Berlin

airlift

BELOW:

Peter

inspecting
Jacobite

glasses at
the recent
exhibition

at the
National

Museum of

Scotland

ADVERTISMENT

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

GLASS RESTORATION

On the Ron to
Repair
A

RESTORATION TECHNIQUE REVEALED

Simon Cottle

I
n my experience, a col-

lector’s attitude towards
a damaged or restored

object is often determined

by its value. A noticeable

decrease in its worth due to

an unsightly chip, crack or
other loss is an important
consideration. For a few col-

lectors though, this consid-
eration can be softened by
the rarity of the piece or an

appreciation of its age and

connection with the past.

An antique will not neces-
sarily always be perfect and
is naturally knocked around

during its lifetime of use;
this can be a further attrac-

tion. Understandably, when

acquiring an item where
the cost to one’s pocket is

high, a collector will think
carefully about the acquisi-

tion’s potential resale value.

Investment is of course an

important factor for any

collector. However, with-

in all collecting categories
there is a plethora of dam-

aged objects – either fully

or partially repaired or left

untouched. Many of this

group are still legitimate
collector’s pieces. Like any

item uncovered through

archeological excavation, it
may be a piece of a jigsaw

which makes sense of a sub-
ject or of which it provides

a better understanding.
Safe in the knowledge that

such items are unlikely to

be sold in the future, public
museums will have pieces in

their collections which have

been restored. Nonetheless,

as custodians of our heri-

tage, their role in conser-

vation plays an important
part. Presenting a whole

or incomplete object often
helps to decipher the nar-
rative history of an indus-

try. Restored early Greek

terracotta pottery and red

and black figure vases, with
their obvious orange infills

denoting missing pieces,

are a significant testimo-
ny to this approach. This is
true of most items removed

from archaeological excava-

tions where sections are re-

built to show their original
forms.
Several years ago, for a

very small amount of cash, I

was delighted to acquire an

18th century opaque-twist
wine glass decorated with
a band of fruiting vine in

white enamel by the Beil-
bys, Fig.i. Sadly, the bowl

had been broken into sever-

al pieces and had not been

repaired. Nonetheless, all

the pieces were present and

I thought could be rejoined.
For me, at that time, the joy

of owning the glass as an

example of the work of the
Beilby family was more im-

portant than its condition.

It gave me the opportunity

to study the artistry and the

technique much more close-

ly. Living with the piece gave
me more of an instinctive
reaction to others thought

to have been produced by

the Beilby workshop. If it

could be repaired, I would

be even happier. Often, bro-

ken glasses are discarded

by their owners. Over the

years, I have come across
some horror stories of im-

portant glasses that have

been accidentally damaged
and have been swept up and

thrown away. In my years of

modest collecting I have of-

ten acquired a glass with a

chip or a crack. For me, one

of the most important as-

pects of glass appreciation

is to preserve the integri-
ty of the original object as

best as possible or to repair
it in such a way that it can

be respected by generations
to come. A collector’s piece
can become part of the

family, treasured as much

for the thrill of the origi-

nal find as for its aesthetic

appeal, or for completing
part of a well-thought-out

collection. As fragile and

vulnerable items, antique
glass will inevitably be lost
to us as and when unfor-

tunate accidents take their

toll. My mind is cast back

to the time in the late 197os

when a scaffolder acciden-
tally swung the pole he was
BELOW:

Fig.i

Complete Beilby

glass before
restoration

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

GLASS RESTORATION

RIGHT:
Fig.2

Detail of old

repair of the
bowl
carrying on his shoulder

through an entire display
case of glass in a museum as

he turned around to talk to

a colleague. The sight of the
destruction resembled what

a bull in a china shop might

equally have achieved!
Coming back to the Beilby

wine glass, though having
no skills as a restorer at the

time, I repaired the bowl

to the best of my abilities,

Fig.2. In this condition, the

glass remained stable if a
little unsightly. I appreci-
ated its significance even if
others, including my family,
just saw it as an item of bro-

ken glass. The stem and foot

were untouched and acted
as a pedestal for the work-
manship I was seeking to

preserve. So when the glue
that I’d used began to disco-

lour, even greater attention

was drawn to my original
rather poor repair.
In my years of work as an

auctioneer of ceramics and
glass I have occasionally
had to call on the services

of restorers for clients. Con-

sidering the rather danger-
ous state of the bowl, with
its glue deteriorating, I de-

cided to have my wine glass
professionally restored. I

turned to Sarah Peek, one

of the best restorers of glass

and ceramics in the UK.

Trained at West Dean Col-

lege in West Sussex, with a
team of colleagues, Sarah

has run her own workshop
in Brighton for a number

of years. It occurred to me
that a record of this simple
repair might be inspira-

tional for those collectors

who discard their broken
glasses too easily. It might

also be of educational use
in illustrating the modern
techniques now used in res-

toration and conservation.

Sarah very kindly agreed

to photograph the glass at

each stage and provide a

commentary of her work.

At the end of the day I now
own a wine glass where the

bowl has been professional-

ly repaired, with the break
areas still visible, though
I am confident that unless

I drop it, the bowl will re-

main intact for generations

to come, with its integrity

preserved.
From her initial report,

Sarah recognized that the

bowl of the wine glass had
been broken into sections
and was held together with

a previous, unknown, but

now discoloured adhesive

When considering re-

placing old repairs on glass
the following points are as-

sessed:-
•
Is the previous repair un-

sightly or detracting from
the overall aesthetic of

the object?

•
Are the broken sections

out of alignment?

•
Does the old repair cover

the original surface?

•
Is reversing the old repair

going to cause damage?

•
Is a modern repair going

to add aesthetic value?

•
Will a new repair allow

the object to be handled

safely?

In the case of this wine

glass, Sarah assessed that it
could be improved without

any destruction.
The resin she chose to re-

pair the wine glass, Hxtal
NYL-i, has good light-fast

qualities (non-yellowing),

low viscosity and a long
curing time of
7
days. The

low viscosity and long cur-
ing time allows the resin to

saturate the joint during
the bonding process. Ide-

ally, the resin will be a good
match to the refractive in-

dex of the glass, allowing

the light to travel equally
through the glass and the

breaks, resulting in the
damage being less obvious.

The resin fills the air gap

within the breaks and the
light travels straight. If the
profile of the break edge
is complex or the glass is

bruised it will be difficult
for the resin to saturate
completely which results

in the damage remaining
more visible. Tight cracks
can also be difficult for the

resin to penetrate, Fig.2.
The old adhesive was

tested to find the appro-

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

GLASS RESTORATION

RIGHT:
Fig.3

Beilby

glass during
restoration,

with the bowl

and four broken
pieces after

cleaning

priate solvent. Acetone on

cotton swabs were placed

along the break lines in
order to reverse the old

repairs. Once the sections

were apart the break edg-
es were cleaned thorough-

ly, again using acetone on
cotton swabs, Fig.3. The

sections were then closely

aligned using narrow strips
of scotch tape. The Hxtal
NYL-i resin was introduced

to the joints via capillary

action, Fig.4. Excess resin

was removed after a couple
of days and the tapes were

removed once the resin was

fully cured. Further resin

was added to fill small loss-

es between the cracks. Res-

in fills can be carefully pol-

ished to a glass-like surface

in order to complete the
repair, Fig.5. Polishing the

fills, however, can be chal-

lenging as we do not want
to scratch the adjacent sur-

faces.
The end result Fig.6, was

an imperfect yet sturdy and
complete piece. Its battle-
field injuries had been re-

paired and whilst the resto-
ration was visible the glass

has retained its integrity.
My message to collectors

who unfortunately break
their treasured glasses or

who come across a forlorn
example in a junk shop, is
that it is never too late to

salvage the item. While it
may come at a small cost,

for those collectors who

love their glasses it is a price

worth paying – at least it has been in my case.
ABOVE:

Fig.5

Complete Beilby

glass, restored
and polished

BELOW:
Fig.6

Detail of new
repair of the

bowl

RIGHT:
Fig 4

The bowl pieces

taped into

position, with
resin in the
cracks

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

FIGURATIVE LAMPWORK

Caroline Weidman..
Journey

to the
FIGURE

Anne Lutyens-Stobbs.

Fig.i

Fire Eaters

TALK TO THE GLASS CIRCLE,

15 MARCH 2018

C
aroline Weidman is a

glass artist working
from a studio at

Barleylands Craft Village

(Billericay, Essex), where she

teaches, makes figurative

lampwork sculpture and
stained glass commissions
and repairs. Her account
of her journey there from

a fine art training at

Birmingham School of

Art gives an unfamiliar
overview of the state of this
form of glassmaking.
Birmingham in the early

198os was in decline (the
period of the Handsworth

riots) but the art school was

lively with leading artists

visiting: names like Anish
Kapoor and feminists such

as Helen Chadwick and

Alison Wilding. Caroline
was encouraged to switch
from painting to ‘making
things’. She used materials

like folded, torn and glued

paper, cardboard and string

– in their natural colours
for truth to materials – to

make non-representational

abstract sculpture and
installations, considering

pieces in the round and
in relation to each other

and often supporting their
own weight (in contrast to
the Birmingham tradition

of cast bronze figurative

sculpture). Her work was

well received and in

1984 works in paper

were exhibited in part

1 of ‘Paper Trails’ at the
Bluecoat Gallery, Liverpool,

alongside the first Garden
Festival.

Cut to the 199os when

Caroline, with a demanding
non-art day job, started

attending the mason Jim
Davis’ stone-carving class

at Shoeburyness (this is

where I met her). This work
was direct carving (i.e. no
preliminary models) in

limestone, mainly of the
female figure, working

in the round. In 2004

she started working with

glass, mainly traditional
leading, fusing and copper
foiling. She took a City &

Guilds qualification before
turning full-time, taking
a studio at Barleylands in

2008, and started bead-
making in 2010. She took

a class with Julie Anne
Denton at Creative Glass

in Rochester after she

saw her demonstrating
figurative lampwork in soft

glass and borosilicate at

Art in Action, and began

practising making figures.
At this time she was

finding it difficult to source

Lauscha glass (rods) for

encasing her beads, so took

a holiday there in 201o.
Lauscha, in Thuringia, East

Germany, was the home of

the Christmas-tree bauble

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

FIGURATIVE

LAMPWORK

Fig.2

Ballerina

on point

— in the
1920$
Britain

imported two million a

year — but after the second
World War the Russian/
East German government

stopped the frivolous bauble
industry, all production

utilities being appropriated

for the state. Caroline

found a depressed town rife

with alcoholism and
Stasi-

fostered family rifts, where

the only English-speaker

was Carol Ann Beckmann,

a Canadian beadmaker and
she had the only kiln in
the village. One working

bauble-maker,

Michael

Habeland, was self-taught

using moulds hidden by

his grandfather in his shed.

There were wonderful pieces
by the lampworker Zinner

on sale, where customers in
the café could see colourful

lampwork birds made and

sold for just five euros.
It was however a sight

online of the Murano

glassmaker Lucio Bubacco’s

work that really showed
her the expressive potential
of glass. Also in
2010,
she

took a holiday in Venice and

sought him out, booking

into his next classes the
following May — three days

with him and three with

Julie Denton’s teacher
Emilio Santini, visiting his

Murano roots from America

— and again in
2012.

teaching foreigners, they

were breaking away from
Venetian tradition where

Maestros were male,

lampwork ranked below
blown glass and women

were only good for glass
decorating.

However,

the times were tough for

the glass industries with

cheap Chinese competition

flooding in, the financial
crash and then 9/11. Many

furnaces and studios closed,

some after hundreds of

years of family tradition.
The students enjoyed

studio visits, among others,
to Vittorio Constantini,
Pino Signoretto, Davide

Salvadore,

beadmaker

Davide Penso and the

Effetre glass factory.
The Maestro system

of Bubacco’s workshop

had students watch a

demonstration – Caroline

watching

the

fast

movements from behind

his shoulder, then trying
to repeat it later with no
comments given by the

teacher. The glass rods were

pre-heated in the flame and

stresses ‘drawn down’ as

he worked, cooling parts
not returned to the flame

to avoid shattering. Unlike

in Lauscha, the pieces

were annealed in the kiln
on completion or part-

way through. Bubacco had
raised lampworking to an

art form, collaborating with
chandelier-making studios

being a mark of his success.
His figures were often drawn

from classical mythology,

but Caroline sought to

learn his technique, not his

style. He was a rigorous
perfectionist: ‘medium no

good, perfect, perfect, ‘ so
if one must ‘fail again, fail
better’.

Back home Caroline

practised after hours and

behind the scenes, calling on
experience of life drawing as

she developed glass figures
from imagination, learning
different viscosities and

how to overcome tiny

legs withering and heads
dropping off — her pieces

small at first, simple,

without what she calls
Venetian `frou-frou’. Her
pieces started in plain

white or ivory, but now
she uses expressive colour,
returning to childhood

preoccupations:

little

ballerinas explore how

it feels to dance, while

Flower Fairies have gained

increasingly

botanical

settings. Visitors watch

her work ‘like a seaside

pier-end lampworker’ of an

older generation, leading

to interactions she relishes.
Pieces displayed in her

window have developed
themes and ensemble

narratives, and she has

gained commissions for

this art form as for her

others. Enjoyment of

her work shone through

her talk, finding a focus
for her interest in light

and translucency in this
demanding form.
Fig.3

Freedom

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

A CLEARER VISION

An
artist’s
move to
GLASS

Linda Norris

Fig.i

Linda Norris –
portrait.

Photo credit, Brian
Clarke

Fig.2
Gruel
B

orn in Sussex and

having lived in Wales
for over 3o years of my

life, my work has always

been firmly rooted in the

landscape. I have been
a painter since leaving

Aberystwyth University in

1982, moving to London to
take up a post as Artist in
Residence at a drug project

in Kingston on Thames.
In 1993 I left London and

moved to Pembrokeshire
to concentrate on my own

work as a painter.
I live in a remote, rural

area and am never short
of inspiration from the
place where I have chosen
to live. Pembrokeshire has

a spectacular landscape,
it is saturated with

ancient sites and signs of
habitation across millennia,
has a purity of light and

an intensity of weather
suited to its position on the

westerly shores of the UK.
It is a beautiful, quiet and

sometimes solemn place

to live and offers me the

space and opportunity to

immerse myself in my work.
I have always maintained

a socially engaged aspect to

my work and created this

glass sculpture,
Gruel (fig.2)

in 2016.
Gruel is currently on

show in Narberth Museum,

Pembrokeshire. Cast in
glass from the ladle used

to feed the inhabitants

of Narberth Workhouse,
`Gruel’

references

less

celebrated Pembrokeshire

lives and has a timeless
relevance to poverty and

destitution.
Currently I teach art and

craft for two days a week to

young people with complex

learning needs and autism
at Plas Dwbl College in
Pembrokeshire, part of

Ruskin Mill Trust.
Having made my living as

a painter for many years, I
began to want to do things
I could not do with paint

alone. I was drawn to glass
because of the possibilities
it offers to work directly

with colour and light, and
the potential it gave me to

make work that was more

sculptural and conceptual.
So in the past nine years I
have begun to explore glass

as a medium.
In 2008 I approached

Steve Robinson who at
that time had a studio
in Pembrokeshire. Steve
mainly makes tiles,

splashbacks and some
fused glass bowls. He uses

enamels fired between

layers of float glass. I asked

Steve if he would give
me a masterclass in glass

fusing and to my surprise

he agreed. In exchange for

a painting, Steve taught

me the basics of how to
cut glass and apply enamel

powders; he then gave me

a space in his workshop

and let me come in and
experiment. I have not

stopped

experimenting

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

Fig.3

December Wind.

Editor’s collection

TV
n
01011011.70

,
111″

.P•sarr

—..

..”””

since then!
(fig.3)

After covering the basics

with Steve, I went on a
one-week introduction to

glass processes at what was
then called Liquid Glass
(now the Glass Hub) in

Trowbridge. This was an
excellent introduction to
many different techniques,

with days for fusing, glass
blowing, sand casting, bead
making on a mandrel and

another for casting. On this
course I met a very young
James Devereux, with
who I have been working

at Northlands Glass more
recently.

I have no formal

education in glass; rather,
I have learned what I need
to know in order to make

the work I want to make.

In
2010
I went on a short

course on deep fusing with

Jeremy Lepisto at Warm

Glass in Bristol. Jeremy is an

American artist now living
in Australia and he had a

whole wealth of technical
knowledge, in particular
about working with Bullseye

Glass, which I found

fascinating. Armed with
the technical input gleaned

from Jeremy I explored
how I might translate my

painterly vision into glass

and how glass might give
me possibilities lacking in

paint. (fig.4)

In
2011
I went to North

Lands Creative Glass in

Caithness to attend a

masterclass with American

artist Michael Rogers. For
me this was a very important
time, not only did Michael

teach me to make moulds

and cast glass, it began my

relationship with North

Lands which continues

to this day, working there

more recently with James
Devereux.
Inspired by all the

techniques and possibilities

at my disposal, I quickly
decided that I needed to

buy my own kiln. It was a

small desktop Skutt kiln,
in which I really learnt to

control the glass and make

work in my own studio. I
continued to make endless

tests and experiments,

some of which I turned
into jewellery this being an

attempt to recoup some of

Fig.4

A glass

painting
A CLEARER VISION

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

A CLEARER VISION

me enough money to buy a
new kiln and a sandblaster

and grinder which I share

with my friend, glass
painter Rachel Phillips. It

also enabled me to take
some time to develop new

work in my studio.
North

Lands

has

also introduced me to
inspirational artists from

across the globe, including
Silvia Levenson, Jeff

Zimmer and Carrie Fertig.
In 2014 I organised a

residency for myself in

the Glass Department

Fig.5
Fused

Glass Jewellery

2011

Fig.7
Bonne Maman.

Exhibited at

the 2015 British

Glass Biennale.

Collection Louis
Thompson
my expenses

(fig.5).

A piece I began to work

on at North Lands,
(fig.6)

Her House is Air,
went on to

win the Warm Glass Prize in
2012
and subsequently the

Adrian Henri Poetry in Art
Prize in 2014. These awards

were pivotal for my career
in terms of encouragement,
recognition and support.
The Warm Glass Prize

was a place on a symposium

at North Lands with Jane
Bruce, a British artist who

lives in the USA. Every time
I go there I get inspired,

enjoy some time completely

away from my normal
routine and meet other
artists who are committed

to giving voice to their

passions and ideas while

at the same time often
pushing the boundaries of

glass as a medium. While
there, I formed enduring

friendships with Emma

Woffenden and Alison
Kinnaird. North Lands

may be in a remote part of

the country, but it is a vital

hub for glass art in the UK

and attracts visitors from

across the globe. At North
Lands, I also studied with

British sculptor Richard

Wentworth,

Australian

glass painter Deb Cocks and
British artist Helen Maurer.

The Poetry in Art Prize gave
at Swansea University. I

worked with the students
on a project in exchange
for attending lectures and

studying surface pattern
modules.
My work was selected for

the British Glass Biennale

in 2015 and 2017 and both

exhibitions have given me
the opportunity to show

my work alongside many of

the most interesting artists

working in glass in the UK. I
love the Biennale event, the

lectures and workshops and
the opportunity to meet up

with my “glass friends”.
The jar
(fig.7 left)
is

embossed with the words
Bonne Maman, engraved
Fig.6

Her House is

Air. Cast and

blown, engraved

glass, feather
and pen nib.

2012

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

A CLEARER VISION

Fig.8

Profile. Sand

etched mirror
2017
Exhibited at the
British Glass

Biennale 2017
Currently on

display at Oriel
Linda Norris

Gallery.
with a ‘tooth fairy’ and

contains a tooth and a

one pound coin. It was
made in 2013 before being

accepted for the British
Glass Biennale in 2015 at

the Glasshouse Arts Centre

and Ruskin Glass Centre,
Stourbridge. It was also

later exhibited at London
Glassblowing Studios in

August 2015 as part of their
“Essence” exhibition.
This work
(fig. 8)
examines

global connectivity through

social media and mobile
networks. The work
consists of
120
individual

pieces of mirrored glass
in the shape of mobile

phones, each bears the

portrait of someone who
is connected to the artist

as Friends on Facebook.
The work references the

contemporary

`selfie’

culture and Victorian

silhouettes, and examines
the timeless human
fascination with the self,

mirroring, friendship and
reflection. Featuring the

instantly

recognisable

portraits of real people
(literally in profile) this

work highlights how today

we carry our loved ones
and friends in our pocket
in much the same way

as people have carried

photographs or miniature

portraits and love tokens
for centuries, probably

millennia. Our phone is

an intimate object. Our
online relationships are

often criticised for being

lacking in depth and can

be a poor substitute for
human contact, but these

networks can often sustain

us in a real way and allow us

to feel connected to a wider
network, in a sense it puts

the world in our pockets.
My practice is now diverse

and includes glass fusing,
painting,

glassblowing,

architectural installation

and making smaller,
domestic pieces. As an

artist bridging the art-craft

spectrum, I embrace the

traditional use of materials

and craft skills and use these
to make contemporary

artwork, thus making links
between traditional skills

and contemporary practice.
I am currently developing

new work
(fig.

9) in response

to the growing awareness of

plastic waste in the oceans,
climate change and the

Anthropocene.

Through glass I feel I have

found my “tribe”. I work

in splendid isolation in

Wales, and yet I feel part of

an international family of

artists who are profoundly
generous with their
knowledge and friendship

and there is always someone
prepared to Skype call

with me if I am struggling
with a particularly knotty

technical issue. I have

been a member of the

Contemporary Glass Society
(CGS) for the past 10 years

and through attending
conferences and symposia,
I have met Cathryn Shilling,

Angela Thwaites and James
Maskrey, all amazing glass

artists. I’ve exhibited

in several CGS online

exhibitions and have been

showing in their Winter
exhibit at the Pyramid

Gallery in York.

THE AUTHOR
Linda’s work can be viewed

at www.linda-norris.com .

With Rachel Philips, she has

been passionately involved
in stained glass and recently,
driven by the desire to explore
the relationship between her
work in paint and her work

in glass, she has been working
with Louis Thompson at Peter
Layton’s London Glassblow-

ing Studio. A second article

in Glass Matters, will follow
Linda’s progression in glass.
Fig.9

Winter Trees.
Blown glass

and encased frit

design, on show

at Pyramid

gallery, York

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

CARNIVAL GLASS PART 2

EUROPE AND BEYOND

The secondary period of
carnival glass
production

David Richards
The Carnival Glass Society

OVERVIEW

AG
fter wwi the pop-

ularity of Carnival
lass in the USA

started to decline in fa-

vour of the simpler lines of

stretch glass, but its large-
scale production and export
continued throughout the

1920s, right up to the Wall
Street Crash of 1929, to re-

gions such as the UK, Eu-
rope and Australia where
demand remained strong.

This led to the inevitable de-
velopment of home-grown
competitors and Carnival

Glass production was tak-
en up across the globe in
Europe, Australia, South

America and India, to col-
lectively form the second
major period of Carnival
Glass manufacture, during

the 1920s, 193os and be-

yond.

UK CARNIVAL GLASS
PRODUCTION
Following wwi there was

a period of great econom-

ic boom in the early 192os

on both sides of the Atlan-
tic. The UK had nearly full

employment and manufac-
turers were encouraged to
embark on a massive export

drive, partly to repay US

war debts. Working-class

consumers, after years of

austerity, had money to

spend on non-essential
home furnishings. Seeing
the opportunities, Sowerby

Glassworks of Gateshead
England, established since

the mid-18th Century as

producers of decorative

glass wares, entered the
market in the early 192os
with a range of Carnival

glassware that was designed
to be attractive, fashionable

and functional in order to
compete with the popular

imported American glass.
Sowerby had an estab-

lished reputation for finely
crafted pressed glass, hav-

ing been instrumental in
developing pressed glass
technology in the Victorian

period. The quality of their
mouldwork was legendary.

When they commenced
making Carnival Glass they
used many of their existing
pressed glass moulds, some

dating back to the 188os,
including Royal Swans,
Diving Dolphins, the Daisy

Block Rowboat, the Swan

butter dish and the Jew-
elled Peacock. To give added

appeal when using moulds
originally designed with

plain interiors, Sowerby
often added a new interi-

or pattern to improve the

iridescent effect. For this

they copied designs direct-

ly from US Imperial Glass,
using their Scroll Embossed

and Persian patterns.fig.i
Sowerby designs may

be geometric or moulded
into very realistic natural

forms of Swans, Hens and
Dolphins. Where not ‘as

pressed’, items often ex-

hibit highly skilled levels
of hand working to crimp,
flare, cup or reshape, and

bases are frequently hand
ground because of the way
the glass was stuck up after
pressing. Sowerby produced

marigold Carnival on clear

glass, which they called
“Sunglow”, and a darker ir-
idescence they called “Rain-

bow” on shades of amethyst

and blue glass.
Sowerby were not the

sole UK makers of Carni-

val Glass. Others include
Mathew Turnbull, Canning

Town Glass and Molineaux

Webb & Co. There are still
many unattributed Carnival
Glass items which are fre-

quently found in the UK, so

other firms may also have

been involved.

CENTRAL EUROPEAN CAR-
NIVAL GLASS PRODUCTION
The European area for-

merly known as Bohemia

was the birthplace of iri-
dised glass, invented by
Leo Pantocsek in 1856. This
Fig.i

Sowerby Royal
Swans, Ame-

thyst pressed
from a mould

dating from

1862

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

Fig.2

Brockwitz

Blue Imperat

Bowl
(known

by collectors
as
‘Northern

Lights’)

Made as early

as
1910,

shown

in Brockwitz
catalogues from

1915 through

1920s

had led to its production

as a high-quality art glass
product by Bohemian and
English glassmakers in-

cluding Loetz, Rindskopf

and Webb through the last
quarter of the 19th century.

Its popularity with fash-

ion-conscious middle-class
consumers was boosted by

the various World Trade
Fairs of this period, and the

desire of glass manufactur-
ers to expand its penetra-

tion into a mass consumer

market was equally strong

on both sides of the At-

lantic. In the USA this had

led to the development of

low-cost mass-produced
Prime Carnival Glass which

flooded the European mar-

ketplace.

Prior to wwi, Bohemian

iridised glass had been a

high-end product on a par

with the output of Tiffany

in the USA. Post WW1, Eu-
ropean glass making was in

turmoil; there was massive
restructuring of national

boundaries and a drive to
maximise manufacturing

output and exports through

mass production. The for-

mer Bohemian glassmaking
centres were split between

Germany, with companies

such as Brockwitz, and
Czechoslovakia, with com-

panies such as Inwald and
Rindskopf.
Brockwitz was responsi-

ble for a massive output of
the then fashionable Carni-

val Glass during the mid to

late 192os. The Brockwitz
factory was huge, employ-

ing over woo workers at

its peak, producing its own
moulds as well as buying

in moulds from specialist

equipment makers such as

Wilhelm Kutzscher which

was located only a few miles

away. Brockwitz produced

an extensive range of pat-
terns, with glass being ex-

ported to the UK, the rest

of Europe and South Amer-

ica. Their glass is character-

ised by intricate geometric

designs, usually on exterior

surfaces only, normally ‘as
pressed’ without hand fin-

ishing, on clear or blue base

glass. The quality of their
pressings and iridising is

consistently excellent. fig
2

Brockwitz glass was de-

signed for practical ev-
eryday use and is highly

functional. Items include

serving bowls, breakfast
and dressing table sets and
vases, usually in many sizes

and shapes across a com-
mon pattern and often with

items which can combine in

different ways for different
uses.
Inwald and Rindskopf

were the main inheritors
of the Bohemian glassmak-

ing tradition. By the end

of the 192os Inwald was

primarily geared to export-

ing pressed glass, including
Carnival Glass, worldwide.

Rindskopf had a history

dating back to 1878 and

were one of the early pro-
ducers of Bohemian irid-

ized art glass in the late

19th Century. Both firms’
designs are characterised by
CARNIVAL GLASS PART 2

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

CARNIVAL GLASS PART 2

Fig.3
Large

Inwald Fleur de
Lys Charger
simple stylised geometric

and floral patterns on thick-
er glass, a quality which was

largely dictated by the na-
ture of the raw materials of

the country which do not

produce glass suitable for

very finely detailed intri-
cate pressings.
Czechoslovakian

Car-

nival Glass is virtually all

marigold, made as practical

items for general household
use. Inwald’s iridescence

is consistently outstand-

ing with great colour high-
lights, whereas Rindskopf’s
is of more variable quality.
To a lesser extent Central
European Carnival Glass

was produced in Poland
by Hortensja and Zab-

kowice and was also

produced further
West in the Nether-

lands by Leerdam.
All the Central Eu-
ropean firms took

a massive hit from

the 193os onwards

as their export pro-

duction was affected

by the Great Depres-

sion emanating from the

USA and by their output be-

ing switched from decora-
tive wares to utility glass for

the manufacture of defen-

sive items for the impend-

ing
WW2.
Glass researchers

have faced huge obstacles

in attributing much Central
European glass because of

the wholesale destruction

of factory records and sites
during WW2; there are still
many items with uncon-

firmed attributions and
new evidence is constantly

being discovered.

NORDIC CARNIVAL GLASS
PRODUCTION

Carnival Glass was also

produced in the mid-192os

to early 193os in the Nor-
dic countries: in Swe-

den by Eda and Elme and
in Finland by Riihimaki

and Karhula. Collectively

these produced a relatively

small quantity of Carnival

Glass, some of which was

exported to the UK, the
USA and South America.
Riihimaki #5950, Finland.

Two patterns alternate
around vase

Eda produced press-

moulded Carnival Glass

for just four years 1925-29,

but in fact they had exper-
imented with blow-mould-

ed iridised glass as early as

1905, putting them on a par
with Fenton in the USA.
There were close links

between the Nordic glass-
makers and the American

glassmakers, who seem to
have shared and exchanged
technical knowledge, and

in the case of Eda, skilled

glassworkers were trans-
ferred out to work in Ameri-
can factories. Eda also had a

business tie up with Sower-

by in the UK and produced
some of their items such as
the Wickerwork cake plate

under contract. Although
the Nordic glassmakers pro-
duced their own designs,
Fig. 5

Riihimaki
#5950, Finland.

Two patterns

alternate

around vase
Pattern is like
Brockwitz
Tlektra’, mould

likely made by
Kutzscher

Fig.4

Diana the
Huntress

`Golden’
Pattern

Zabkowice,
Poland

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

CARNIVAL GLASS PART 2

South America had been a
major export client for Car-
nival Glass produced in the

USA, Europe and Scandina-

via through the 192os and
early 1930s, which led to the

development of home pro-

duction in the early 193os.
The main firms involved in

Argentina were Cristaleri-

as Rigolleau, Cristalerias
Papini and Cristalerias Pic-

cardo and in Brazil, Esbe-
rard. However, local South

American collectors and
researchers are constantly
turning up new unattribut-

ed patterns suggesting

other firms may have been
involved, both in Argentina

and Brazil and other South

American countries such as
Peru and Mexico.
Designs fall into two cat-

egories. Some are based

very closely on European
patterns, while others are
a unique blend of natu-
ralistic and geometric ele-

ments. The taste for Euro-

pean styles undoubtedly
reflected the huge numbers

of people emigrating from
there in the early 192os. In

some instances, it appears
there was a close connec-

tion with USA companies

such as US Glass, and actual
moulds were traded to press
patterns such as Omnibus

and Rising Sun. Items were
produced mainly in mari-

gold, with
some

blue glass.

Popular shapes were wine,

cordial and water sets, often

with attractive undertrays;
lidded comports; tumblers

and bowls.

INDIAN CARNIVAL GLASS
PRODUCTION

The main producer of Car-
nival Glass in India was the

Jain Glassworks. They start-

ed their production slightly

later than Europe, in 1935.
Their output was mainly of

Fig.6

Marigold

`Swirl Vases’ (3,

5, 7
and
9
inch)

Eda Glass
Works, Sweden,

1905

Fig.7
Deep Purple

Floral

Sunburst

Jardiniere, Eda
Glass Works,

Sweden, 192os
many mould designs and

possibly actual moulds were
obtained from dedicated

mould makers such as Wil-
helm Kutzscher in Germany
or were copied from or trad-
ed with other firms includ-

ing: Brockwitz in Germany;

Sowerby in England and
Dugan, Imperial and Cam-

bridge Glass in the USA.
Nordic Carnival Glass was

produced in marigold on

clear base glass and a darker

finish on a blue base glass,

although very small quanti-
ties of purple, lilac, pink and

white milk glass were also
used. The designs are usual-

ly bold intaglio geometric or
stylised floral patterns, on

the exterior surfaces only,

with a few exceptions. The

glass is of a high quality, the

bases of pieces are ground
and the iridescence is ex-
ceptionally well finished.

Shapes include bowls, vases
and decorative containers.

Vases in particular are fre-

quently shaped by hand af-

ter pressing.

SOUTH AMERICAN
CARNIVAL GLASS
PRODUCTION

The bulk of South American

Carnival Glass was made in

Argentina by firms based in
Buenos Aires and in Brazil.

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

Fig.S

Marigold

‘Serpent’

Vases Made
in Firozabad,
India

FigS.9a & 9b
RIGHT:
Crown

Crystal Glass

Company Black

Amethyst
Master Swan
Bowl

BELOW RIGHT:
Detail

CARNIVAL GLASS PART 2

drinking vessels, tumblers,
jugs and vases in marigold,

with occasional pale blue

glass. The designs are very

distinctive, featuring elab-

orate patterns produced

with dots, diamond shapes

and lines. Patterns are ei-
ther geometric or make
nature-inspired forms of

leaves, fruits or animals.

The subjects are often based

on traditional Indian sym-

bolism, such as the vases
in the shape of hands and

coiled fish. The main export
market was Australia.

AUSTRALIAN CARNIVAL
GLASS PRODUCTION

Australian Carnival Glass

was produced in Sydney by

the Crown Crystal Glass
Company. Australia had

been a recipient of much
imported Carnival Glass
from the USA in the prime

period and later also from
the UK. Crown Crystal

started to iridise glass in

1919, but only started to

terns in 1923, and contin-
ued production into the

early 1930s.
Many of their patterns

feature realistic represen-

tations of the native Aus-

tralian fauna and flora,

with a few purely geometric
patterns. Uniquely, many

of the patterns carry regis-

tration marks which enable

the development of produc-

tion variations to be fol-

lowed. The most common

shapes are bowls and com-

ports, and less frequently,
table sets, water sets and

vases. The colours are mari-
gold on clear glass and dark
on?? purple and black am-
ethyst glass. The bowls and

comports are often ruffled

or crimped in the style of

American Carnival Glass.

Glass Matters Issue no.
4,
February 2019

CARNIVAL

GLASS PART 2

THE DECLINE AND
RE-EMERGENCE OF

CONTEMPORARY

CARNIVAL GLASS
In the early 193os the mass

production of decorative
Carnival Glass virtual-

ly ceased in the USA and
Western Europe. The im-
pact of thei929 US Wall
Street Crash and the result-

ing Great Economic Depres-

sion cannot be overstated.
Millions of working-class

Americans who had been
the enthusiastic purchas-
ers of decorative glass no

longer had cash to waste
on frivolous home furnish-
ings. The market for it dis-

appeared, affecting home
production and imported

goods. Glassware became

simple and practical: the

so-called ‘depression glass’

and any iridescence was
machine applied as a colour

flashing. Popular taste had

also moved on to favour

the new Art Deco style with

its simple clean lines, often

geometrical and with little
detailed ornamentation. In
the US this was manifest as

Stretch glass, still iridised

but without patterning,

and often elaborately hand

shaped and finished.
In the UK and Europe,

Art Deco glass was not iri-
dised but incorporated new

glass formulations and
treatments such as cloud,
opaque and acid-etched fin-

ishes. Much of the Art Deco

glass was high quality, rela-
tively expensive to buy and
directed to the remaining

more affluent sector of cus-

tomers.
The final blow for all dec-

orative glass production

was
WW2
coming at the

end of the 193os. This ef-
fectively curtailed and dis-
rupted the industry until

the early 195os, by which
time Prime Carnival Glass

was decidedly an old-time
product largely overlooked

by the current generation.
Some Carnival Glass was

still made in this period. In

the UK, Sowerby, returning

to decorative glass produc-

tion, reintroduced Carnival
Glass, pressed and iridised
traditionally by hand us-

ing their pre-war moulds,

including some from the

193os not previously used
for Carnival, such as the
Hen and late-version Swan

butter dishes. In the US,
firms including Anchor
Hocking and Jeanette pro-

duced lines of iridised pat-

terned glass on modern ful-

ly mechanised production
equipment.

The revival of interest in

Carnival Glass as a prime

collectable can be traced
to the early 1950s, when a

group of influential Amer-
ican collectors began to
document and disseminate

information about it. These

included pioneer collectors

such as Gertrude Conboy,
Marion Hartung, Rose
Presznick and Don Moore.

Their research and writings

fuelled interest and led to
the formation of dedicated
Carnival Collectors Clubs.

Although this movement
was concentrated on the
original Carnival Glass from
earlier in the century, the
raised profile and demand
Fig.io

Lancaster

Glass Ruby
Lustre Stretch

Glass Lidded

Comport

with Applied
Decoration –

Mid 193os.
Courtesy of Cal
Hackman, American

Stretch Glass

Society.

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

CARNIVAL GLASS PART 2

for the glass stimulated

firms such as Fenton and
Imperial to start making it

again in the 1960s, initial-
ly by reviving old moulds

which were already in their
possession but going on

to produce new mould de-

signs through the 197os,

8os and beyond. This out-
put would become known

as Contemporary Carnival.
Other glassmakers includ-

ing Indiana, Levay, Moser,
Boyd, Summit, L. G. Wright

and Westmoreland all en-
tered the market. Carnival

Glass was made in new co-

lours and in a wide range of

forms not seen in its orig-

inal classic period. Many

of the new designs were
created as novelty orna-

ments or as club souvenirs,

while the reuse of old orig-

inal moulds often caused
confusion with the origi-

nal pressings, much to the
consternation of collectors.
Fen-

ton pro-

duced the

largest range
of Contempo-
rary Carnival

for the lon-

gest

period,

being the
last of the

larger US
producers

to make it
until they finally

went out of busi-
ness in 2016. It is

still made in very lim-
ited quantities by small-
er US glassmakers such

as Moser. Iridised glass,
however, will always hold

a unique fascination as a
bright, attractive home dec-
oration. At one end of the

scale, the iridising process

is often used by Art Glass

producers to enhance very

expensive hand blown pat-
terned and textured glass,

and at the other, super-
market home-furnishing

shelves carry cheap lines

of iridised patterned vases,

bowls and trinket boxes,
made by robots on comput-

erised production lines and

imported from China.
Fig.ii

Modern Fenton
Novelty

Butterfly

Jill Turnbull – writes on findingaspecialBottleSeal
I

ow’s this for a beau-

tiful seal!

Yes, it is rather

special – and I’m hoping
that it will lead to people
realising that there might

be the odd ventilation tun-
nel from the Port Seton

glassworks under their gar-
dens. I took some photos

of glassy stuff dug up at an
early glassworks site a cou-

ple of miles away and one
chap told me he was always

digging up bits like that in

his garden. You never know!
Cockenzie and Port Seton

is a unified town in East Lo-
thian, Scotland. It is on the

coast of the Firth of Forth,
four miles east of Mussel-

burgh. The burgh of Cock-
enzie was created in 1591 by
James VI of Scotland. Port

Seton harbour was built by
George Seton, 11th Lord Se-
ton between 1655 and 1665.

This seal convenient-

ly introduces the first
Glass Society Journal,
our learned publication
that will give room for

lengthy researched arti-
cles on aspects of the glass

world. This will be a joint
undertaking between Bri-

an Clarke and John Smith,
previous editors of The

Journal of The Glass Asso-

ciation and The Glass Circle
Journal and is to be pub-

lished this summer. One

article will be on antique
bottles and their seals, part
of the Eila Grahame collec-

tion, presently in store at
Himley Hall.

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 20 19

CARNIVAL GLASS COLLECTION

The
Notley-Lapiniere
Carnival Glass

Collection

Bill Millar

Fig.2
Northwood

Grape and Cable

Sugar Bowl in
Green
gs

aymond Notley and

Michael Lerpiniere as-

embled an outstand-

ing collection of carnival

glass which was displayed at

various locations through-
out Britain, ending at
Broadfield House. The col-

lection was then placed on

permanent loan at Broad-
field House and now forms

a permanent part of the col-

lection, currently in storage

at Himley Hall.
Given the interest that

will be generated by the
specialist second article on
carnival glass in this issue

of Glass Matters, the Not-

ley-Lerpiniere collection is

worthy of some publicity.

As a recorder of the collec-
tion, embracing some 1,000
items which have not been

on display for some time,
my first objective is to make
you aware of the scale,

range and importance of

this collection.
One thousand items in

nine cabinets with well over

loo feet of closely packed

shelving should give you an
idea of the size of the col-
lection. Fig.i helps define

“closely packed” although
there is space for more on

the top shelf. The range

of items includes plates,
bowls, vases, decanters,
tumblers, glasses, hat pins,

hat-pin holders, advertising
items, beads, a handbag,
condiment sets, milk jugs,

sugar bowls, butter dish-
es, punch bowls, novelties

and more. If it can be made

from glass it’s probably in
the collection. There are

items from all of the carni-

val glass makers in the USA

and a selection from makers
in Australia, Czechoslova-

kia, Finland, Germany, the
UK and possibly a few more
that until now have been

overlooked. Figs.2 to 6 illus-

trate just a few items from

the collection; the caption
information is taken from

the collection inventory.

When last displayed, the
collection was accompa-

nied by the claim that “this

forms the world’s largest
and only systematic muse-
um study collection of this

type of glass” – so unless

another collection has been

assembled elsewhere, this is

a ‘must see’!
My other objective is to

explain the work that has

yet to be done on the Not-

ley-Lerpiniere

collection

and canvas for volunteers.
The collection is securely

stored but has yet to be ac-
cessioned: items accepted

into the collection must be
allocated and marked with

a museum number and an
entry then made in a paper
register. A computer record

must then be generated

with a full description and

details of the item, includ-
ing location in the store or

its display area. Finally, a

photograph must be taken

and loaded to the computer
system for identification.
Fig.i.

Two shelves
packed with

over 4o pieces of

carnival glass.

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

CARNIVAL GLASS COLLECTION

All of this will take an aver-
age of an hour per item. It

does not need Einstein to

work out that a single vol-

unteer working one day a

week would take over three
years to complete the task.
We need more volunteers

for this task to be started

and then to be finished.
What an opportunity for
carnival glass enthusiasts!
If you just want to work

with glass there are many

other tasks we are working

on, so do not fear you would

be condemned to three

years of carnival glass. Can

you spare a day a week or

even once a month? If so,

come along and see how you

could help. If you are inter-

ested please contact Chloe
(see below).

NOTE
Chloe Winter-Taylor, Keep-

er of Glass and Fine Art for
Dudley Council, is usually

at the reserve collection at

Himley Hall near Dudley on

Mondays and Tuesdays. See

her ‘Letters from the Museum
Stores’ in this issue of Glass
Matters. Contact her if you

wish to see the collection.

Chloe.Winter-Taylor@Dud-

ley.gov.uk

BELOW FAR

RIGHT:

Fig.5

A dish with scal-
loped edge and
eight crimps.
Pansy design,

with brilliant

electric blue high
lustre, details

softened by con-

stant re-heating.

Made as and

still known as a

“pickle dish”. By
Imperial

BELOW:
Fig.6

Northwood

Grape and Cable

Hat Pin Holder,

with moulded
Scarab and
Rooster Hatpins

in Jet glass and

a superior iri-

descence. Made

in Bohemia,
pre

1918
LEFT:

Fig.3

Art
Deco

Seagulls Vase

in Marigold, by
Libochovice in

Czechoslovakia

LEFT:
Fig.4

Moulded, two

handled Lov-
ing-Cup orna-
ment in green.

With saw-tooth

edge, orange
tree design and

a Peacock Tail

interior. A beau-
tiful object from
a technically

brilliant mould.
By Fenton

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

The Decanter

Ancient to Modern

Andy McConnell

BOOK REVIEW

New edition
DECANTER book

reviewed

Review by
Dr Graham Cooley

The Decanter,

Ancient to Modern

Andy McConnell
544 pages
2nd Edition 2018

ISBN:
978-1-85149-840-6

ACC Art books
Price £100

(Reduced price £60 + p&p

diirect from the author
for signed copies.)

I
consider this to be an

important book and a
delight. Its basic func-

tion is to document the
history of the decanter; or,

more accurately, to tell the
history of glass through the

lens of a single, previously
neglected object. Yet this

heavyweight tome is far

more subtle and more im-
portant than simply ‘a book

about decanters’, or anoth-
er history of glassware. It

gains greater significance by
charting the history of de-

sign from the birth of glass
to the post-modern era.
The best books have the

potential to influence our

vision in a way that is impos-

sible via the internet or TV.
Their pages encourage us to
re-examine and re-evalu-

ate objects and to position
them in social and aesthet-

ic contexts; this book does

precisely that. They un-
dermine ‘received wisdom’

and make us reconsider our
preconceptions. Previous

glass studies of this stature

are rare, but perhaps Albert
Hartshorne’s Old English

Glasses, 1897, offers worthy
comparison. Hartshorne

has stood the test of time
and Andy has written a clas-

sic that I think will be sim-
ilarly regarded over future

decades.
Andy has quite literally

given birth! His baby,
‘The

Decanter, Ancient to Mod-

ern’
is the result of eighteen

years of focussed thinking,
research, writing, sourcing,

collecting and photography.
It distils 41 years’ experi-

ence in glass into 165,000

words on 55o beautiful-
ly than 3,500 objects. The
book is overflowing with
clear, bright images, perfect

for identification purposes.
The author himself con-

tributed the largest num-

ber, having reputedly pho-

tographed every decanter

he had found ‘interesting’

for twenty years, including
over 600 he sourced for an

American billionaire collec-
tor. Corning supplied near

150 images, some of which-
were of objects previously
not photographed. Overall,

the photographs have been

sourced from more than

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

BOOK REVIEW

1475-1700.
Spanish,

Austrian,
Bohemian &

German Venise

decanting

vessels.
Page 20.
500 of the world’s major

institutions, archives and

private collections. The

book also has an excellent

glossary, bibliography and
index. And if that’s not

enough, its cover was de-

signed by Jasper Morrison!

`FIRST GLASS’
TO

RAVENSCROFT

The book opens with a ba-

sic history of ancient glass-
making from The First Glass

through Renaissance Venice

to chapters on Coal Furnac-

es, The English Bottle and

Early English Wine-Drink-

ing. These culminate in the
technical achievements of
George Ravenscroft and his

Italian glassmakers.
Andy underlines the fact

that Britain’s first major

contributions to interna-
tional glassmaking precise-

ly coincided with the rising
quest for science and tech-

nology during The Enlight-

enment. These were, firstly,
the introduction of coal fur-
naces, which led to the rev-

olutionary, robust ‘English’

bottle, and secondly, Raven-
scroft’s perfected formula
for lead crystal. The period

also saw the foundation of
the Royal Society in 166o,

and the Company of Glass
Sellers, 1664. British glass
remained styled in the
facon

de Venise
until 1700, but it

was on its way to forging its
own national identity.

THE 18TH CENTURY
The late-17th and 18th cen-
turies witnessed an explo-

sion in the wine trade and
improvements in its qual-

ity. This vast subject is an-

alysed through the lenses
of two key advances in the

history of glass. The first

was the advent of the cylin-
drical bottle in c1765, which

allowed wine to be literal-

ly laid-down’ for the first
time. This prolonged the

shelf-life of wine by keeping
corks moist and in so doing,
enabled it to mature in the

bottle. The second is the
fascinating history of how

specific bottle types evolved
into decanters, and the evo-
lution of stoppering.
The following section

unfolds into another ad-

venture, full of considered
insights into socio-politics.

This was the era of Adam

Smith (1723 – 9o), sup-

ply-&-demand economics,
the birth of market forces,

tax-driven behaviour and

the role of glassware within

it. So, we follow the emer-

gence of the Merchant-Dec-
orators, the Glass Excise

Duty and the continuing

evolution of European

glass.
The great 18th century

design movements of the

Rococo, Neo-Classicism and

Regency are charted along-

side reviews of technologi-
cal innovations in Engrav-

ing, Enamelling, Gilding,
Steam-Cutting and Mould-
ing. The accelerating force
of fashion is also notable

in the chapters on Flasks,

Cordial, Liqueur, Spirit De-
canters, Decanter Frames,

Cases, Coasters and bright-

ly coloured glass. The rise
of self-conscious ‘design’

begins to be noted towards
the end of the 18th century

with the ‘Rodney’ or Ship’s

Decanter and the Nelson or
Cylinder.

THE 19TH CENTURY
This section is perhaps the
most significant in terms
of understanding the
Fig.2

1740-88.
German,
Bohemian &

Boheme

decanters.
Page 130.

Fig.3

1900-10.
British Arts

& Crafts/Art
Nouveau claret

juges. Page 319.

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

BOOK REVIEW

Fig.4

1959-78.
Decanters

Iittala, Finland.
evolution of the industri-

alisation of glassmaking.

The century was a ‘boom-
time’ when traditional

craftsmanship continued to

flourish during the advent
of the machine age.

The periods covered by

chapters on the Commis-

sion on Glass Industries,
the Industrialisation of
Glassmaking and the End

of the Excise, 1845, saw

glassmaking establish new

levels of design, innovation

and wealth generation. The

sections on the Richard-

sons, Webbs of Stourbridge
and Whitefriars (James

Powell & Sons) of London

illustrate the breath-taking

achievements of the Brit-
ish glass industry in the

Victorian Age. The Great

Exhibition, 1851, the Goth-

ic and Venetian Revivals,

the Aesthetic, Arts & Crafts

and Art Nouveau move-

ments take the reader on

the amazing roller-coaster
ride of design movements

that rose and fell during the

latter 19th Century.

THE 20TH CENTURY
The treatment of loth
Century design in this
book is perhaps the most

interesting for me. To

a design collector, the

period from the late 19th
to the early loth century

is perhaps the most
formative period in the

decorative arts. The book

gives an introduction to

loth-Century glass and its

evolving styles, then covers

the significant movements

of Art Deco, Pre-War
Modernism,

Post-War

Modernism and the illusive
Post-Modern period. It

benefits from extensive

access to the Rakow Library

at Corning, the Finnish
Glass Museum at Riihimaki,

the Swedish Glass Museum

at Vaxjo, then the factory

archives of Orrefors, Kosta

&
Boda in Sweden and

Holmegaard, Denmark.

This is as comprehensive as

it gets! I was also delighted
to see production numbers

and design names stated in

captions.
In 2006 I had the pleasure

of collaborating with Andy

and Circa Glass on an
exhibition devoted to ‘The

loth Century Decanter’ in
Rye. It occurred to me at

the time that in the entire

cannon of glass objects

available to the designer,
the decanter is the most

difficult and expensive
to make. This is mainly

because the neck and

stopper form an airtight,
cold worked joint.
Interestingly, the decant-

er in any designed range is

never as sought-after by
collectors as the vase. Vas-
es are used, decanters rare-

ly so. According to current

received wisdom, decanters

are ‘functional’ and there-
fore lesser objects than vas-

es, which are ‘decorative’.

Perhaps Andy’s book will

change this perception and
result in both being treated

equally as design objects.

Andy McConnell’s first

book on the subject, “Ihe

Decanter, An Illustrated

History of Glass from 165o’,

was published in 2004. It
has been highly sought-af-

ter, with copies advertised

for up to E400. This new
edition borrows some of its

texts but 9o% of the imag-

es are new, 25 new chapters

have been added and every

single page redesigned. The

book’s resulting combina-
tion of design and content

is a delight, both to the eyes

and to the intellect. It con-
tains such a wealth of infor-

mation that just one or two
purchases, informed by its

contents will surely more

than cover its purchase

price. It is hard to imagine a

richer mine of information.

It may even become a col-

lector’s item itself.

REVIEWER

Graham Cooley is a collector

of loth century art and design

with a particular interest in
researching and reassessing

previously unknown or forgot-

ten artists and designers. The
Cooley Collection houses over

10,000
objects including glass,

ceramics, metalwork, furni-

ture and paintings collected
over the last
3o

years. Graham

was a board member of the

Kings Lynn Arts Centre Trust,
founder of the Cambridge

Glass Fair and is a life member

of the Glass Association.

BOOK OFFER

The list price of
‘The De-

canter,
Ancient to Mod-

ern’ by Andy McConnell is

£loo, but you can buy au-

thor-signed copies for £6o
(+shipping) from:

[email protected], or
Glass Etc., Rope Walk, Rye,

TN31 7NA, 01797 226600.

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

DUDLEY NEWS

Letters
from the
MUSEUM

stores

A place for regular updates and stories edited by

Chloe Winter-Taylor,
Keeper of Glass and Fine Art for Dudley Council.

2
o19 will be a very exciting

year for the museum ser-
vice. We hope to be fitting

out the new White House Cone
Museum of Glass, unveiling

new interpretation at the
Red House Glass Cone and of

course, preparing for the Inter-

national Festival of Glass.
Last year we launched a proj-

ect to collect oral history in-

terviews from those involved

in or connected to the Stour-
bridge glass industry; we are

looking to continue this proj-
ect and aim to showcase some

of the recordings and findings

at the International Festival of
Glass in August 2019.

The glass industry in Stour-

bridge was established at the

beginning of the 17th century

by glassmakers from Lorraine
in north-eastern France, who
were attracted to the area

by the rich natural resourc-

es. The availability of coal for

fuel and fireclay for making

furnaces and melting pots
made this area a perfect loca-

tion for glassmaking. Towards

the end of the 17th century,

a new structure appeared in
the area: the distinctive cone-

shaped glasshouse that soon
dominated the landscape.
Glass cones became one of the

greatest technological innova-

tions of the glass industry as

the giant chimneys sucked air

into the furnaces making them
hotter. The best surviving ex-

ample in the UK is the Red

House Glass Cone in Wordsley.
The industry expanded and

evolved for the next 275 years

and glass from Wordsley, Am-
blecote and Brierley Hill was
some of the finest glass pro-

duced in the world. The Victo-
rian period became the golden

age of the glass industry when
firms introduced a dazzling
array of cameo, coloured glass

and crystal.
In the decades following

World War II the fortunes of
the glass industry slowly de-
clined. The cones began to dis-

appear from the landscape and

for many this was symbolic of
the end of the glass industry.

We would like to keep the

glass industry alive by collect-

ing and preserving people’s

stories of life working in the
glass industry. The Glass Her-
itage Centre, in partnership

with the British Glass Founda-

tion and Dudley Metropolitan
Borough Council, is launching

an oral history project,
‘Voices
from the Cones,

with the aim of

collecting over loo interviews

with those who were or are
involved in the local glass in-

dustry. If you are one of these

people we would love to hear

from you!
If you are interested in being

interviewed please contact

[email protected]
If you are keen to find out

more or to get involved please
contact Chloe Winter-Taylor.

We are always looking for new

volunteers to help. If this is
something you are interested
in please don’t hesitate to get

in touch!

Chloe.Winter-Taylor@Dudley.

gov.uk

Chloe Winter-Taylor
Keeper of Glass & Fine Art
Dudley Museums Service

Views
onThe Dudley Council Collection

Bill Millar

Few museums are able to dis-

play all items in their collec-

tion. Regrettably, the Dudley

Council Collection is excep-
tional in that none of the items

are currently on display follow-
ing the closure of Broadfield

House. The sooner the new

White House Cone museum
of glass (WHCmog) opens, the

happier we will all be. Even

then, it is unlikely that the new

museum will ever be able to
display more than a quarter of

the collection at any one time.

As a volunteer working on the
Dudley Council Collection, I

enjoy access to the entire col-

lection (grown-up version of a
child in a sweet shop!) and feel

beholden to share information

on the collection with Glass
Society members. The Dud-

ley collection can be thought
of as comprising a series of
specialist collections. Some

of these specialist collections

were acquired, gifted or loaned
in their entirety, others have

been accumulated piecemeal.

The articles on the Eila Gra-

hame collection in issue 1 of
Glass Matters and the Kny
Family Cameo Glass in Issue

3, describe two totally differ-

ent collections. There are many

others, so there is more than

enough material for a series of

articles.
Few of the specialist collec-

tions have been or ever could

be displayed in their entirety.

For most visitors to WHCmog,

a display of selected items
from specialist collections will

be sufficient to tell the story.
For the collector with specific

interests, visibility of the all

items in a specialist collection

is more important. My aim is
to produce an article on each

of these collections, bringing
specialist areas to your notice,

informing you of the amaz-
ing extent of glass currently

hidden away in Himley Hall.

However, they are not intend-

ed to bring fresh information

or insights — that will be left

to specialist collectors and re-

searchers. The article in this

issue is on the Notley-Lerpin-

iere collection of carnival glass,

a truly amazing collection of

some 1,000 items..
Access to view the items in

Himley Hall can be gained,

usually on a Monday or Tues-

day, by arrangement with the

Keeper of Glass, Chloe Win-

ter-Taylor, (Refer to her ‘Let-

ters from the Museum Stores’

in this issue of Glass Matters

for contact details). Alterna-
tively, you can always offer
your services as a volunteer

and get to know the collection

as a whole. As you will see in
the article on the carnival glass

collection, there is much work

waiting to be done. There are

similar large chunks of work

to be completed on other col-

lections and far too few volun-

teers for all the jobs awaiting

their attention. It is great fun

working as a volunteer; not

too strenuous and with ample

opportunities to look at items
of interest. If you have a day to

spare, regularly or occasional-

ly, why not contact Chloe and
come along to
see
what is in-

volved and whether it might be

for you.
If members have any requests

for articles on specific collec-

tions or subjects I will be happy

to hear from you at:-

[email protected].

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019

77n• !Nage° glose collection

at &min iiihniu &Who

DIARY

Meetings and Events

GLASS SOCIETY
MEETINGS 2019
Held in the Gradidge

room at the Art

Workers’ Guild, 6

Queen Square, London

WC1N 3AT .

Meeting at 6.30pm for

light refreshments,
talks starting at
7.15pm. The charge

is £10 payable on the

night.

Thursday, March 14th
Ming Wilson,
Senior

Curator in the Asian
Department at the

V&A, will speak on

early Chinese glass

Tuesday, April 9th
John Smith,
will

present current

research, leading to a

better understanding of

`Lead Glass in Europe’

Thursday May
9th

Elisa Santi,
on

Venetian glass, in

particular, Renaissance
Lamps
Thursday, June 27th

The R.Charleston

Memorial lecture

Dedo von

Kerssenbrock-Krosigk

will present
‘Aspects of

glass in Ancient Rome

and the Middle Ages’

Tuesday, October 15th
tba

Tuesday,November 12th

Colin Brain,
his talk

is titled
‘In search of

British 17th century

crystal glass’
GLASS FAIR

dates in 2019

Knebworth Fair

Held at: Knebworth

Barns, Knebworth
Park, Hertfordshire,

SG3 6PY

Sunday February 24th

National Glass Fairs

Held at: National
Motorcyde Museum,

Birmingham, B92 OEJ

Junction 6 of the M42

Sunday May 12th

Sunday November 10th

Clays Society Trip to Italy, 2019

T
he preparation

is being finalised

for the 4 night,

5 day trip, centred on

visiting the Diageo col-

lection of glass in Italy,
the first visit abroad for

the Glass Society. The

Chairmen apologise for

the timing – the amount

of background work in
creating the Glass Soci-
ety from the GA and GC

has meant that to be a

success, this visit has

had to be postponed

to September this year.

This is giving time to

ensure a stimulating

and inspiring time for

all participants.

David Willars writes:-

The
Villa Monastero at

Varenna, on the shores

of Lake Como houses a

small but stunning col-

lection of Venetian i9th
century glass. Original-

ly a Cistercian convent

built at the end of the

twelfth century, the es-

tate was developed by

several private owners,
until the Italian state

intervened to ensure
preservation.

In the

1970’s Count Alberto

Cinzano, formed a col-

lection of glass with
the assistance of Bris-

tol headmaster Peter

Lazarus. Today the col-

lection is owned by the

international drinks

conglomerate, Diageo

and is housed at Alba

in the heart of the Pied-

mont, famous for food

and wine.

The provisional

programme
is:-

Thursday 12 September:

Your arrival in Milan.
If flying in, Milan is

served by two principal
airports, Malpensa

and Linate, as well as

Bergamo an hour to the

east. Make your way
to our hotel in Milan,

(tba). Group dinner in

the evening.

Friday 13 September:

Morning tour of the

Brera Gallery in Milan

followed by lunch in the

city. Afternoon travel to

Griante on the western

shore of Lake Como

and dinner. We antici-
pate arriving in Griante
in time to incorporate

a visit to the nearby

Villa Carlotta Tremezzo
by the lake. Amongst

others, the villa houses

sculpture by Canova.

Saturday 14 September:
Cross the lake to
Varenna and spend

the day at the Villa

Monastero. Lunch in

Varenna, dinner back

in Griante. There will

be an opportunity to

visit Bellagio as there

are frequent ferries be-

tween Griante, Bellagio

and Verbenna.

Sunday 15 September:

Transfer to Turin for

a morning visit to the
Fondazione Accorsi

Ometto di Arte Deco-

rative. Lunch in Alba,

prior to seeing the
Cinzano Collection at

Santa Vittoria d’Alba.
Overnight in the heart

of the Langhe, home

of Italy’s premier vine-

yards. Dinner in the

Langhe.

Monday 16 September:
Lunch, followed by

transfer to Milan Air-

port(s). Flight home.
Final arrangements

will be published in the

summer in the next

issue of Glass Matters,

meanwhile please email

our chairmen at chair@

glassassociation.co.uk

or [email protected]
to show your interest in

this first trip abroad for

The Glass Society.

Glass Matters Issue no. 4, February 2019
39

G LASS

M A ‘T
rr E.
R. S

The joint magazine of
THE GLASS CIRCLE
and

THE GLASS ASSOCIATION
Can you Identify?

This glass, thought to be from circa 1820,

has been called a Jacobite and a tumbling glass.

It can’t be all three! If you can help, reply to the editor.

Prow oti.vue the 141n,derstaimAi.wg atA-ct appreoi,ati,oin,
o-f

glass

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Glass Society Glass Matters_No.4, Feb 2019

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