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Author Topic: 20th Century Glass - Andy McConnell  (Read 10694 times)

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Offline Frank

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20th Century Glass - Andy McConnell
« on: January 31, 2007, 12:12:19 PM »
There are many separate reviews on Andy McConnell's book, I propose to gather these into a single topic although as before each would be distinguished like this:

Quote from: Max
20th Century Glass - Andy McConnell - Millers

Seeing that I've already got books that appear to cover this area, this wouldn't have been my first choice of addition to my glass library.

However, I bought the book direct from Andy himself today in Rye - and I'm more than impressed.  It's a really fine book, absolutely stuffed with photographs including Scandinavian glass that I've never seen in colour before.  Talking to Andy, he certainly seems to have taken a lot of time and preparation in checking details and facts before going to print.

Covering designers from Kaj Franck, Still, Tynell, AHW, Michael Harris, Liskeard, Orrefors, Thrower, Davidson and a host of others.  The write ups covering each section are excellent and I'm actually excited about reading it in detail.  It also gives tips on Collecting by Country, giving key dates in history as an explanation.

It doesn't just cover the usual blurb that has been covered before, it expands on each subject and I think has something to surprise everyone.

This is probably the best book I have seen for new and old collectors alike - I'm really impressed - it's a fabulous book and well worth buying.  :D

Max
Text © Max 2006

Quote from: vidrioguapo  
I too have purchased the Millers 20th Century Glass by Andy McConnell book.  Like Max, I think it is a good buy and packed with snippets of information I have not read elsewhere.

However, it does suffer from the usual Miller's disease of occasional wrong or misleading information, and I am speaking only of the information in this book relating to Whitefriars glass as that is my particular subject.

For example, Page 91, a Whitefriars  Yellow sunspot is given a valuation of £80 when they regularly sell on e-bay for closer to £200. And in a small section of "Whitefriars or not Whitefriars" there's a glaring typical Millers mistake of wrongly captioning the photograph Page 20.  Another photo shows a streaky knobbly vase wrongly described as Streaky Meadow Green - now that would be a rarity!!  I admit I have not fully read the book yet, word for word, but because of my particular glass interest, these errors jumped out at me.  I just wish for once a reference book on glass was actually 100% correct.

However, I would still recommend it as a good and worthwhile purchase for glass collectors at any level.

Text ©2006 vidrioguapo



Quote from: Pinkspoons  
20th Century Glass - Andy McConnell - Millers

Just to add to the reviews of this book - I too think it's an (on the whole) excellent reference guide which contains several small-but-glaring errors and inconsistancies. As Holmegaard is my "thing", I can only really deal with those points. But for every error there are at least 100 snippets of information which will prove incredibly useful to me.

pg. 138 -
J.E. Bang's 'Primula' range consisted of 100 pieces. Should read 108.
States that Michael Bang retired in 2000 - but on pg. 139 states it was in 2002.

pg. 139 -
Incomplete set of label illustrations with incorrect dates. See my take on label dates here - with all guesswork in parentheses: http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,8178.0.html
States that the Kastrup-Holmegaard label was in use until 1979 - should read 1970/71, as the book shows catalogue pages dating 1970 with the Kastrup-Holmegaard logo and then the later logo on the 1971 catalogues. Also ranges available only during the 1970s (Palet, for example - 1970/71-75) are exclusively or mostly found with the later label.

pg. 140 -
Primula was designed from 1930 - should read was designed from 1929, but produced from 1930.

pg. 147 -
1952 Beak & Heart vases were available in aqua and smoke - should also read that the Beak vases were also available in Clear Green, and the Heart vases in May Green and Clear.

pg. 150 -
Holmegaard ceased the application of date-related signatures in 1961 - should read 1962 (or 1963 - I have pieces dated 1962 and they may not have stopped dating them until the end of the year).

pg. 152 -
Shows a Skjold box with a mis-matching lid (Aqua-Blue lid on a Smoke base).

pg. 159 -
(on kuttrolf decanters) "Michael Bang produced a wide range of varients, including one with a crown-shaped stopper" - Holmegaard had been making these since at least 1938, (apparently) designed by J.E. Bang as they are considered by the catalogues to be an extension of his Viol range (c. 1928)
Illustrated kuttrolf is described as an exhibition piece. That shape was a production model.

pg. 160 -
The Gulvase was designed for Holmegaard at Odense - should read Kastrup.

Those are the ones I'm willing to put my name to - but there are one or two other statements within the chapter which I'm dubious about but can't back up.

Text ©2007 Pinkspoons

Quote from: sph@ngw  
As someone who was interviewed by Andy and helped spend two days with him completing our entry, I think he has come up with a ground breaking book, (no, not because he is one of the first to mention Nazeing Glass in any details), but because one can see already on eBay how much better vendors have become informed since the publicaton of this book. Andy has been described (by the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers, no less) as a "Glass Evangalist", and while I am sure in a book of this depth and length there are bound to be a few minor errors, the format of companies, and especially designers (some of whom moved company like Ronnie Stennart Willson!) helps train the eye.
As Andy says, domestic glass is incredibly good value. Because it is so fragile, once a design has stopped being made or a company has folded, there is a continually diminishing amount around, unlike jewellery or silver or teddy bears or furniture, its fragility adds to its rarity!
Well done Andy and it's good to see him pop up on the  BBC Antiques Roadshow from time to time...
I for one will keep my copy of Millers Guide (also bought at its launch from his shop in Rye) near my computer!  ;)
 
Text ©2007 sph@ngw

Quote from: Le Casson
Some corrections to Andy McConnell's book:
 
Page 52:
 
1948
The nationalisation of Czechoslovakian industry took place BEFORE
Klement Gottwald took power.
 
Quote: "mid-1950s Inwald and Heřmanova hut' transferred to new company, Sklo Union ("Sklo" meaning "Glass")"
 
In 1958, "Sklo Union" did not exist. VHJ Obalovane a Lisovane sklo n.p.
did.
 
Quote: "mid-1950s Production at Rudolfova hut' becomes fully automatic"
 
As one of the most productive designers of hand-pressed glass, Rudolf Jurnikl, who started his career in 1960, retired in 1988, having never produced a design for automatic production.
 
1957-1960 Pan Hanuš, left the design centre and during the years cited, he was a designer for Skloexport/Glassexport.
 
Quote: "1958: František Pečeny (1920- 1977) appointed resident designer at Heřmanova"
 
What is not explained is his recruitment to the factory in 1946, nor the
production of the pattern "Halifax" in 1947, nor patterns for his compote set of 1955, well-recorded elsewhere.
 
Quote: "1960: Rudolf (Jernikl) Jurnikl (1928-) replaces Hanuš as
Rudolfova resident designer".
 
Hanuš left in 1958, and Jurnikl's recruitment is not explained.

Marcus Newhall



 

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