Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass Paperweights => Topic started by: Simone on April 11, 2006, 07:10:50 AM
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I put my Jack Allan weight for sale on Ebay and received some very interesting information about Jack Allan that could help fill in a few blanks for Frank and Kev.
Hi...Just saw your very nice Jack Allan pwt but thought you'd like to have this info...Jack did indeed start at Vasart in 1948 at the age of 16 but he was an apprentice to all three of the Ysarts not specifically just Salvador. In 1953 at 21 Jack went away for his National Service duty and didn't return until sometime in 1955, by this time Dave Moir was also a new apprentice hired in 1954 at age 15. NO one but the Ysarts were allowed to make pwts and NO one was allowed to use personal signature canes except for the Ysarts. After Salvador died in 1955 and Auggy in 1956 things became very tough at Vasart financially and a local Glazier used to give Auggy and later Vasart his leftover colored cut pieces of Vitrolite which Vincent/Vasart used to make canes and glassware decorative colors. According to Dave Moir it was in late 1963 or early 1964 at the old Perth Vasart works that he and Jack made Jack a few JA signature canes out of this Vitrolite glass while Vincent was out sick one day. According to Dave Vincent frowned on anyone making friggers on their off time and when Vincent went home for lunch or dinner so did everyone else. In all likelihood your JA pwt, as with mine, was made by Jack after Vincent left Strathearn in 1965 and most likely between 1965 and May of 1968 when Jack left with Stuart Drysdale to form Perthshire... otherwise it could have been made early on at Perthshire as Jack had a lot more leeway there to experiment on his own. It also appears that your JA weight has both Vasart and Czech or Bohemian canes in it as Jack, Dave and Auggy used to go out to lunch and beer with Frank Eisner and Jack could have gotten some of these canes from him. Regardless, JA signature cane weights are very rare and highly collectable. Just thought you'd like to have this additional info. Best wishes and good luck on your auction... Richard More
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I am very interested to read that some of these canes may have been made from Vitrolite. Has anybody else come across this before? In that context it seems to have been a very resourceful way to go about making ends meet, and is almost a piece of social history - recycling long before it became fashionable!
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Thank you for all that interesting information Simone. Here is another snippet - it seems for some reason a batch of glass was made with imperfections in the early days at Perthshire and rather that waste this they coloured it black then rolled pieces of cane in it and from this Jack made paperweights and perfume bottles they called "Witches Ball". Here is a picture of mine whihc has a JA cane in the base
Dave
http://i1.tinypic.com/v689p5.jpg
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The Vitrolite story has been known for a long time but as there has been no corroborative evidence, not published. Richard's information was sourced from Dave Moir so is reliable and also moves the date of the story to later in time.
However Dave Moir has also said that friggers were made almost every day but that there is no way to identify them.
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Just found that it was mentioned on the site, under hearsay. I will update this page with Dave's info.
http://www.ysartglass.com/Ysart/Hearsay.htm
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What I failed to realise at the time is that Vitrolite is coloured glass :-[
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From the US trademark database. No longer a glass trademark, but gives some info
Word Mark: VITROLITE
Goods and Services: COLORED, OPAQUE-FLAT OR BENT GLASS. FIRST USE: 19070101. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19070101
Serial Number: 71434797
Filing Date: August 8, 1940
Registration Number: 0384005
Registration Date:December 31, 1940
Owner: (LAST LISTED OWNER) LIBBEY-OWENS-FORD GLASS COMPANY CORPORATION OHIO TOLEDO OHIO
Type of Mark: TRADEMARK
Live/Dead Indicator: DEAD