Glass Message Board
Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => British & Irish Glass => Topic started by: neilh on September 09, 2010, 01:05:50 PM
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A snippet from the Molineaux Webb pressed glass catalogue...
There is one area where the pressed glass catalogue overlaps with the higher quality items in the pattern book, and that is in the area of candlesticks. All the pressed glass designs here were also made in non-pressed models, bar number 497.
The pressed glass drawings look more angular compared to the curvy pattern book drawings. I would date the designs to the 1850s.
It is unclear if any pressed pieces were coloured, but the pattern book versions certainly were, and they were nearly all given names like so:
492 = "No. 2 Piano" (pale yellow)
493 = Regina (amber)
494 = Florentine (white)
495 = Cambridge (pale green)
496 = Balmoral (white)
498 = no name given (sapphire blue)
So far I have only seen a single example of a Molineaux Webb candlestick, and it is from a photo sent to me by Dave Peterson of the Regina model 493. You can see it on the following page of my website:
http://sites.google.com/site/molwebbhistory/Home/pattern
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All the pressed glass designs here were also made in non-pressed models
Neil, could you elaborate on what you mean by this please as I'm a bit lost... ?
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Hi Anne,
I'm showing my ignorance of glass terminology here - I'm not sure whether the candlesticks in the pattern book are "mould blown" or cut glass, or whatever! There are no pressed glass pieces in the Molineaux Webb pattern book - it's all cut, engraved, etched etc.
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I have a Regina candlestick, battered but much loved. ;D ;D ;D. (My suspect was Boston and Sandwich, but now I know) It's pressed in two pieces and then joined with a wafer. There's no cutting. I also think it's in what they call canary flint. It weighs a ton.
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There is one area where the pressed glass catalogue overlaps with the higher quality items in the pattern book, and that is in the area of candlesticks. All the pressed glass designs here were also made in non-pressed models, bar number 497.
The pressed glass drawings look more angular compared to the curvy pattern book drawings. I would date the designs to the 1850s.
Neil
I don't quite follow.
Are you saying that the candlesticks are in the pattern book? Or that there are patterns with the same numbers as these candlesticks in the pattern book?
If it is the latter, are the patterns the same/similar or different? Can you provide a couple of examples of the pattern pictures associated with the candlesticks?
Sid
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Hi Sid,
Both the Molineaux Webb pattern book and the pressed glass catalogue have a range of candlesticks which are numbered from 490 upwards. They are clearly the same designs but one set is pressed and the other is cut or mould blown or some other technique! I can't publically show the pattern book ones for copyright reasons, but they can be viewed by anyone who goes to the Manchester Art Gallery as the candlestick pages are printed out and on their display wall. If you email me via the contact email on my website I am happy to show you, or anyone, a copy of the pattern book candlesticks for private viewing.
http://sites.google.com/site/molwebbhistory/Home/contact---updates
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It is possible that they are in both pattern books because they are lead crystal. They either hand made and then cut, or pressed. Mould blown is not an option, at least with mine.
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... They [were] either hand made and then cut, or pressed. ...
Christine & Neil — The above has unjustifiably eliminated the cut pressed blank option. I'm starting to conclude that what I used to believe was posh dealer pomposity about pressed glass — you know: "Handmade is good (expensive), pressed is rubbish (cheap)" — has its origins in Victorian times and was initiated by the glassworks themselves to keep it simple for the trade buyers. What actually happened on the factory floor may have been and, in my opinion, often was rather different.
Bernard C. 8)
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I have been chatting to Jon Clark from the EAPG site and he has very kindly sent me a photo of a piece in his collection which we now know to be one of these Molineaux Webb early candlesticks. This is pattern 495 named Cambridge.
Jon states:
This candlestick is 5" tall and pressed in one piece. There is no cutting/polishing of the candlestick detail per se but the underside of the base was ground and polished at the factory in my opinion.
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Regina candlestick here http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Large-Uranium-Cut-Glass-Candlestick-old-staple-repair-/260774812112
Even more battered than mine, which I must photograph
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Here is a link to my Regina 493
http://lustrousstone.co.uk/cpg/displayimage.php?pid=921
And I have just picked up a 498, also in canary flint, though it isn't quite as acidy yellow. Pics to follow
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Here is the 498 in canary flint
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Found in an antique shop in Bath today, 493 Regina candlestick, 8 inches tall, first one known in plain flint, weighs a ton - yippee!
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Congratulations Neil - lovely find ............ but I'm unsure why the expression 'canary flint' is used - I know of course what each word implies, but doesn't that make for a contradiction of terms? Were flints used instead of sand for these pieces, and isn't the word flint confined to describing clear glass - but then only if made using flints? :)
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I always thought it was an American term.
It's explained here:
http://www.justglass.com/documents/articles/reyne/canary.html
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ooh that's beautiful Neil. So if it's heavy, would it be lead crystal? I'm just thinking about the 'becher' question.
and what date are we talking for these? Christine I absolutely love that colour - it's fabulous.
m
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thanks Neil - am sure your understanding is correct - perhaps we might wish it had stayed there - unfortunate how some misleading phrases and expressions rub off and spread around. ;)
P.S. never mind, only a few more ink wells to go ;)
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ff, I would say the date for these candlesticks is 1850s
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Hi Neil
I found this pair of Molineaux Regina uranium glass candlesticks yesterday.
Condition is pretty good a couple of chips to rim and a slight fracture
Height 8.5" and weight for the pair 2.25kg.
Roy
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A pair of the No 494 Florentine candlesticks in canary flint.
Height 5.5"
Weight for the pair 1150gm
Roy