Topic: Slumped glass: Pettis Studio

[Anne]

This is a new one on me... brown smoked glass, smooth on the top, textured on the bottom, decoration is a drawing of two fox cubs which looks like it's inside the glass?! It's certainly not on the top surface, not does it appear to be on the bottom surface. Boxed, labels on the piece itself say: PETTIS STUDIO HAND MADE IN BRITAIN and SHEILA MANNES ABBOTT  © 1978

A bit of Googling brings up Sheila Mannes-Abbott as a wildlife and botanical artist with her own site here: http://www.countryside-direct.com/ but no mentions of Pettis Studio other than the eBay sales.

Plate:    http://yobunny.org.uk/gallery1/displayimage.php?pos=-1036
Label on front: http://yobunny.org.uk/gallery1/displayimage.php?pos=-1035
Label on back: http://yobunny.org.uk/gallery1/displayimage.php?pos=-1034  is unclear pic but you can see the label shape

Two more examples of Pettis Studio glassware from eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190074926796
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190094350164 Links dead

[glassaddict]

There is a contact for Sheila Mannes-Abbott on her website Anne.

Some of her commission work is listed there too.
Maybe one of these commissioned the glass and could shed some light on the Pettis Studio? .... Royal Society for Nature Conservation; Worldwide Fund for Nature.

Just a thought.
Hil

[Anne]

Good thinking Hil, thanks. I'll try dropping her a line and see if she can help at all.

[Anne]

I've just found a mention of another listing of Pettis Studio in Melbourne, Australia - so can anyone down-under throw any light on this studio please?

[David E]

Just to confuse things, there is also a Pettis Studio in Victoria (Aus), but it does greeting cards.

Searching for this line in Google does whittle it down (remove minus if you want all the eBay links)

"Pettis Studios" +glass -ebay

But not a lot really...

[Anne]

Thanks David, I'll keep looking.

[Frank]

No reason for not putting the design between two sheets of glass when slumping, inspecting the rim should confirm.

[glassaddict]

Did you ever have chance to contact the Sheila Mannes Abbott mentioned earlier Anne? If it is one of her pieces she may be able to shed some light on it.
Hil 

[Anne]

Yes I did Hil.   I had a lovely response back from Sheila's partner Edward, who explained as follows:

During the late 70's, early 80's when our giftware and stationery business was in full swing, we were approached at a trade show by a chap called Edourd Sefton who was the sales manager for the manufacturer of Pettis Studio glass.  We can't remember the name of the owner of the glass company but he was then in his late fifties, then, so I'd guess, therefore probably long since retired.  Edourd asked for a license in Sheila's line drawings to decorate the glassware; apparently the guy that did the work had invented a unique system for getting reproductions of line drawings into the glassware and as Sheila's pen and ink work was full of detail they wanted to use it. We still have a cake stand here (very nice one) with Sheila's drawing of a Red Squirrel. That, I am sorry to say, is all that comes to mind 30 years later.

Armed with that I went looking for the Edouard Sefton (note correct spelling), and have found him running a new business, so have dropped him an email to ask if he can tell me any more about the studio, etc. Will keep you posted.