Topic: Bagley Jetique fired-on floral spray transfer decoration — photos needed please

[Anne]

Ahhhh right, Anne, I see. You had me scratching my head for a while trying to figure out what BT had done with Hotmail (or vice versa!  )  I suspect the problem is filesize of the attachments - I'm not sure what the BT limits are but many providers now limit attachments to 2Mb per email, which is not very helpful! If you sign up for a Googlemail account though you can send up to 20Mb of attachments - it's handy to have such an address purely for large emails.

[heartofglass]

My vase is actually identical to the one in the link that you provided, Bernard.
(I got in a charity shop last year for some trifling sum.)
I'll try my best to get a decent pic to you later next week.

[Bernard C]

Anne — I received your photographs yesterday as attachments to your email.   Thanks.   More below.   The total size was about 6.5Mb, so there appears to be no problem with old BTInternet / BTOpenworld users sending or receiving several ex-camera image files as attachments, and this probably applies equally to Yahoo! users.

Marinka — Yes, please, even if I have revealed my specific subject and initial conclusions, as a web page could well be the outcome, for which we will need the best quality of detail.

Bernard C. 

[Bernard C]

		Bagley 3145 Bristol in Jetique with hand-painted floral decoration This three-piece posy set, dating from the early postwar period, was cold decorated by hand, and, I believe, just allowed to dry.   The decoration was not subsequently fired on to the glass.   Most examples have lost most or all of their decoration while being washed, and it is common practice for dealers to remove all of any surviving decoration, which can usually be done fairly easily on polished glass without damaging the underlying glass.   See this posy vase in the Pontefract Museum collection for a typical sad example. This example is a delight, and is without doubt the finest example of this hand-painted floral spray decoration I can recall seeing on Jetique or any other polished Bagley glass.   It is not without wear, and has suffered from occasional careful washing, but retains enough to be able to see the pattern properly and even to make out some individual brushstrokes. The girls who did this at the Bagley factory were paid just pennies. I've added it in here, although slightly off-topic, as it helps readers appreciate the difference between hand painted and transfer floral decoration. My warmest thanks to Anne E.B. for these excellent images.   The glassgallery link is here. Bernard C.

Images Copyright © 2008 Anne E.B. and Bernard Cavalot

[heartofglass]

What a difference the hand painted decoration makes from the transfer printed items...this is a really pretty item! (And this is not "my" type of glass either) It has a rather charming folk-art look.

[Anne]

This looks like a typical folk art style of painting, similar to canalware but also to American Toleware patterns (on tinware) or Eastern European Folk Art. Usually painted in a formulaic manner, so fairly simple to do (as is canalware). Very pretty, much nicer than transfers for sure, but not so hard-wearing as you've found out Bernard.

Was this actually done "in house" at Bagley or was it decorated externally in the same way as I buy blanks to decorate? I know Angela's Bagley Glass book refers to in-house decorating, and I recall you saying you met the lady who painted the polks dots on Bagley items, but is there actual proof that the cold painting as here was done in house as well?

[Frank]

And how would one distinguish a hand-painted transfer? I do not know to what extent it was used - it is a process that lends itself to, lower cost, out-source to home-workers etc. more readily than decorating the object. The individuality of designs and brush strokes being kept.

It should not be assumed that all transfers were fired either. It is not unusual to find cold transfers used on US glass in particular. Obviously not firing is cheaper and for mass market that would be considered sufficient reason. The caveat "Permanently Fired" as appears on Pirelli labels provides a qualitative distinction that implies that some of the public would recognise it and be willing to pay a little more. Pirelli had their sales outlet in up-market Sloane St., although I do not think it was a retail operation there.

[Bernard C]

Anne — Thanks for your expert contribution.   Yes, I did have the priviledge of meeting the Bagley polka dot lady, just the once, when I was busy, at a fair in Doncaster many years ago.   I recall this tiny elderly lady, quite beautiful, admiring all my Bagley glass, and reluctantly admitting who she was after I promised not to laugh.   It was like meeting royalty.   How can you laugh at someone whose original artwork is owned and admired by more people than any other glass artist on this planet, living or dead?   All painted by eye with no marking up.   I can't recall her exact words, but she gave me the strong impression of a dedicated decorating team, herself and two or three girls, wholly within the Crystal Glass Co. division of the Bagley works, working on the pressed glass that interests many of us today, and quite distinct from any decorating department of the main bottle works.

Frank — I don't know, but it all sounds rather complicated.  :spls:

Bernard C. 

[Bernard C]

My vase is actually identical to the one in the link   ...   I'll try my best to get a decent pic to you later next week.

Marinka — It's now two months on, and, to tell you the truth, I had temporarily forgotten about it.   Did you take those photographs?   If you sent them to me they did not arrive in my Inbox.   I would be most grateful for them.   See my notes at the start of this topic.

If you are having difficulties with the photographs, don't worry, as I can proceed without.   It's just that having copyright control gives me more flexibility, and that Pontefract Museum image is rather small.

Warmest regards,

Bernard C.