Topic: Ferjac-U.S. Fostoria Connection?

[Ohio]

A few weeks ago I received my quarterly issue of All About Glass from the Museum of American Glass in Weston, West Virginia. MAGWV is a very large museum operation that’s focus is American glass from the 1880s through today. Tom Felt is the museum secretary & editor of All About Glass. He was given me permission to use the information & photo (attached) that shows both the fish & the metal mold model.

In the issue was an article on Mr. Walter Przybylek, glass designer & mold designer from the 1920’s 30s & 40s for approximately 20 companies. Pictured were a variety of pieces he designed & the mold models he made. Pictured below is what was titled “Fostoria Piranha” which I thought was being inaccurate as Fostoria as while having produced a wide variety of animal & human figures, never produced this piece. This is an exact I believe in every aspect & detail to a Ferjac (France) fish that may be found in crystal, crystal satin & opalescent versions.  Mr.  Przybylek’s son Jerry estimates that during his father’s career (beginning in  mid 1920s)  his father designed patterns & molds that numbers over 2,000 that he sold to glass companies. He also worked closely with Ruben Haley & Ruben’s son Ken Haley of the Consolidated Glass Company which produced one of the most extensive lines of Art Deco glass ever introduced in the U.S. between 1926 & 1931.

I asked Tom Felt if he would contact the author (Larry Woods)
Pertaining to the attribution & he agreed. Mr. Przybylek’s son
Jerry responded that “The best I can recall is my dad saying it was made for Fostoria way back in the days when Reuben was alive and his design shop was still operating.Many of the plaster models stored on shelves in my dad's shop were there for nostalgic reasons. Some like the "'Dancing Nymph's" were designs he had worked on when he was in his twenties. Also it was very common for companies to add new pieces to older, popular designs that originated in Reubens shop My dad was always called upon to complete the models and patterns for these new pieces. I don't ever recall any conversations about Reuben doing work for French glass companies. It may be possible Fostoria sold the mold to someone else. I do know that Reuben and his crew were greatly influenced by glassware from Rene Lalique. They attended a Lalique show at the Fort Pitt Hotel as a group in the mid twenties that produced an avalanche of designs for Consolidated and other firms. “
 
True the surface may only be scratched at this time if the number of mold designs (2,000) is accurate, but I thought this may be of some value to the European history of glass as well as the work he did for American companies. Pictured below is the finished fish plus the mold model used that was  labeled Fostoria.  I know we are always taking about where molds or the influence for molds may have come from & was wondering if this might fit.   Ken
 

[Ivo]

When I first studied the Fostoria book I was shocked at the shameless copying of designs from various European manufacturers that has appaently been going on in that company. So I would not be surprised if they re-designed <clears throat> Ferjac designs too.  Not wishing to accuse anyone in particular - but it seems to fall within the culture of the company to look closely at competitors and borrow.

[Ohio]

Ivo...perhaps, however Fostoria never produced this piece...thats what started my correspondence with Mr. Felt since while this was attributed to Fostoria in the Quarterly...Fostoria never produced this nor did any other U.S. company & since it certainly resembles Ferjac (and with so little known about the Ferjac operation) who is to say that this mold did not change hands during the 20s? I do however appreciate your point of view & am certainly not in total disagreement since obviously Consolidated & McKee both copied Lalique designs which is documented. If I had found this to have been produced by any U.S. firm this post would not have been submitted.

[Ivo]

Here is a little fish, made by Ferjac in the 1920s. I have also seen it in clear, and online you may see it in opalescent. Some of the samples I have seen had a sticker "Fabrication Francaise" and "Ferjac" - so there is not much of a question whodidit.  Thank you for bringing this story to light :-)