Topic: 1909 Salvador Ysart and Ecole De Nancy

[Mike M]

Hi Folks

I guess this is mostly a question for Frank, but if anyone else can help too -please pitch in. (I've  put this in Scottish glass because is about the Ysarts)

I''ve been doing a a bit of reasearch recently for an article on linkages between the great glass makers. But as always with research there are dozens of books all telling slightly different stories.

As I understand it Salvador Ysart came to France in 1909, and by 1913 was working for Schneider. but does anyone have and definite references that he:

1. Actually came to Nancy -I've seen references to Llyons and Chroisy Le Rois
2. Was one of the '20 or so Daum Workers that left Daum with the Schneider brothers' to help set up their company
3. had attended the Ecole de nancy, which seems to have largely died out in 1909

thanks in advance for anyone with useful tips and references

Many appologies if this is well trodden over ground -just please point me to the past discussions

cheers

Mike

[Angela B]

Hi Mike,
You may have this information already, however, I hope this is helpful.
In his book "The Story of Edinburgh Crystal" H.W.Woodward tells that Stanley Jenkinson (third generation owner-manager of the Edinburgh and Leith Flint Glass Works) visited Paris in 1915 "to recruit French workers, later importing craftsmen from Italy and Spain, one being Salvador Ysart". Frank Andrews in "Ysart Glass" says that George Rae, the company's agent, made all the arrangements of the family's travel from Paris to Edinburgh.

Another book I trust is Victor Arwas "Glass: Art Nouveau to Art Deco" and he writes that Salvador Ysart was a Catalan glassmaker from Barcelona who emigrated to Marseilles, France in 1909, then moved to Lyons and then to Choisy-le-Roi near Paris before going to Edinburgh in 1915. There is no mention of Nancy.

In his later book "The Art of Glass" Victor Arwas states that Salvador Ysart worked in various glassworks in France including Schneider.

There is a detailed history of the Schneider brothers in Edith Mannoni's book "Schneider".  She wrote that although the Schneider brothers appear to have had a retail outlet in Paris around 1911 (the year Ernest Schneider was dismissed from Daum and a year before his brother Charles was dismissed) it was not until 1913 that they bought an abandoned glassworks at Epinay-sur-Seine under the name "Schneider Freres & Wolff" and commenced production on November 25th 1913. The following year, in August, production ceased and the Schneider brothers went to war. Their sister looked after the plant so that it was ready to fire up again in 1917 to make glass needed for the war effort. So if it was the Schneider works where Salvador Ysart was employed, he worked there only a very short time, and he was not working there in 1915 when he was recruited by Jenkinson.
Frank Andrew's book "Ysart Glass" tells us that Salvador was born in Barcelona in 1878 and started at a glassworks at the age of 10. When he moved to France, the link to Lyons is confirmed because his fourth son Antoine was born in Lyons in 1911. When war broke out in 1914 Frank's book records that the Ysart family were in Epiney-sur-Seine and Salvador was a glassblower at the Schneider glassworks.
Apart from the four books I've mentioned, there is a reference in Frank's book to:
Ernest Schneider-Bernard in "Charles Schneider-Charder-Le Verre Francais: Glas Des Art Deco", Christiane Waldrich, Munich, 1987 p 26.

[Mike M]

hi Angela

Many thanks for this I had most of the references but not the Edinburgh Chrstal one -very useful

In Frank's Ysart book, in the Ysart Calendar its tantilisingly says:

1909 During this period many Spanish glass blowers including Salvador Ysart heard of the thriving art glass movement centered around Nancy and emigrated to France.

-the reference is 'Monart and Vasart collectors club member research newspaper archives in Perth and Dundee'!

One schneider book says that Schneided proper, as set up in 1913, was initially made up of 20 or so ex Daum workers - Who presumably had to move from Nancy to the outskirts of Paris. Some where along the way they seemed to have picked up Salvador.

Also there are such clear links in the glass technique that Daum, Schneider, & Monart all employed it would be nice to know more of how the knowledge and skills transfered.

Now probably all lost in the mists of time!

Cheers & thanks 

Mike

[Angela B]

I had always interpreted that reference to Nancy as being the reason Ysart went to France, but not that he went to Nancy.  Nancy was a major centre, but so was Paris, and French glass in general was going through a high. I would have thought with the threat of war, Nancy would not have been a great part of France for an immigrant to choose in the three or four years leading up to the war (say from about 1910).  And its a long way from Barcelona to Nancy, - far more likely that they went Barcelona, Marseilles, Lyon, Paris.
Just my thoughts.
Angela