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Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Unresolved Glass Queries => Topic started by: Sid on March 11, 2005, 05:59:44 PM

Title: Amber cased jug
Post by: Sid on March 11, 2005, 05:59:44 PM

Hello:

I have acquired a water pitcher with a swirl body pattern.  It is amber cased over white with acid frosting inside and out.  It has a gound pontil mark on the base.

Any thoughts on maker and time frame?

http://tinypic.com/232oh0

Thanks

Sid

Title: Amber cased jug
Post by: glasswizard on March 12, 2005, 11:07:10 AM

Sid your pitcher closely resembles ones made by Hobbs, Brockunier and company. They were in  South Wheeling West Virginia and operated from 1863 to 1893. That might be a good place to start your research. Terry in Iowa

Title: Amber cased jug
Post by: Sid on March 12, 2005, 03:28:41 PM

Terry:

I started there.   My correspondance with the folks who wrote the Hobbs, Brockunier book has resulted in my posting here because this pattern and shape are not indicative of a Hobbs product.

It has been suggested to me that this jug may have come from England or Europe with Stevens and Williams being voiced as one possibility. I look forward to the thoughts of this group.

Thanks

Sid

Title: Amber cased jug
Post by: Frank on March 12, 2005, 03:45:44 PM

Can you add a picture of the base. Are their a couple of bubbles on the side?

Title: Amber cased jug
Post by: Bernard C on March 12, 2005, 04:20:09 PM

Sid,

My first reaction on seeing your pitcher was that it is obviously American.   A look through H&G book 9, Cranberry Opalescent, shows that H&G had the same difficulties as yourself.    On p68, the caption of the central pitcher finishes which could have been made by either Hobbs, Phoenix, La Belle, Northwood or even in England.

What is easy to forget is that experienced exporters to the USA like S&W, Webb, and Walsh would have made their export tableware to shapes familiar to the USA public.   So, experience with these companies' production for the British market may not be particularly useful in solving your attribution problem.

I did notice that the Northwood handle in colour plate 1 is identical to yours, but that is not enough for a positive attribution.

Your pitcher looks a creamy yellow to me, but my monitor is not very accurate on colours.    Yellow over opaque white is typical of Walsh Primrose, and an all-over matt finish is typical of their Sateen glass.   However Walsh glass is recorded in their factory pattern books, reproduced in Reynolds, and I cannot find any hint of American shapes in their tableware.   So probably not Walsh.

I can't help further.

Bernard C.  8)

Title: Amber cased jug
Post by: Sid on March 12, 2005, 05:21:28 PM

Frank:

Here is a picture of the base:

http://tinypic.com/23jwxc

There are bubbles on the side between the amber and white layers.

Sid

Title: Amber cased jug
Post by: Sid on March 12, 2005, 05:31:50 PM

Bernard:

Thank you for your comments.

Although it looks yellow, the outer colour is definitely amber which can be better seen in the picture of the base that I posted earlier.  In addition it does not have the uranium fluorescence under UV

I wondered about Northwood as well but the example of a Northwood ball shaped pitcher that I have has a marie to allow it to be snapped up rather than stuck up on a punty for finishing.  Here is another picture showing the pitcher from another angle.

http://tinypic.com/23k00h

Sid

Title: Amber cased jug
Post by: Bernard C on March 12, 2005, 06:16:19 PM

Sid,

Reynolds quotes from The Ironmonger of 11 August 1886:

"Walsh striped-sateen ware is available in various shades of crimson, green and golden brown" (my italics).

He also illustrates other examples in blue over white, yellow over white, and just plain white.   So don't eliminate Walsh just yet!   How Eric found that reference beats me.   It is not the most obvious source for glass historians!

Have you tried any of the museums yet?

Best of luck, and please keep us informed.

Bernard C.  8)

Title: Amber cased jug
Post by: Frank on March 12, 2005, 08:23:51 PM

I have an S&W catalogue from c1910 which is only services and includes a lot of pitchers. Not one of the pitchers resembles this and almost all are footed. Also, I did see a variety of handle designs but none that spread as much as this one does.

Perhaps it is European?

Title: Amber cased jug
Post by: Sid on March 13, 2005, 01:10:36 AM

Bernard:  I have a question into the Corning Museum.  I will share what I learn from them.  

Frank:  Thank you for the information on Stevens & Williams' shapes.

Sid

Title: Amber cased jug
Post by: Sid on March 15, 2005, 04:54:21 PM

Below is the response that I have received from Corning Museum of Glass:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mr. Lethbridge,
 
Thank you for your enquiry about an amber water pitcher. I must confess that I am not an expert on this type of glass. Such glass has been made in England in the 1880s, but it was also copied later, e.g. in Italy in the 1970s. Several companies in England shared the earlier production.
 
If you want to do some research in this area, I recommend the Rakow library of The Corning Museum of Glass. The catalog is accessible online (http://rakow.cmog.org).
 
With my best wishes,
Yours,
Dedo von Krosigk
 
 
--
Dr. Dedo von Kerssenbrock-Krosigk
Curator of European Glass
The Corning Museum of Glass
One Museum Way
Corning, New York 14830-2253
Tel. +1 607 974 8312

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am pretty sure that it is not of the 1970s but will have to accept that we don't know who made it or when.   I will place it on my shelf with the other water pitchers and enjoy the view.  If  I come across any other information I will share it with this group.

Thank you to all who contributed their thoughts and suggestions.

Sid