Topic: Took a chance and it was!.....Fiesta 1981.

[Lustrousstone]

It that opal glass or white enamelled on the back? Wonder if David has one?

[Paul S.]

great piece of glass Keith :mrgreen:  I didn't know what it meant so have cheated and looked on the web......something about "from God, not by chance".   Hope it didn't costa fortuna' , but I don't see it in the book  -  is it that rare?

[keith]

It's opal glass,David's got one I believe,don't think they're rare and it was less than a fiver if I remember.My Grandfather and his brother worked at Chances,trying to find more details about what they did and have recently found that my Greatgrandfather was also a glassmaker we don't know if he also worked there,I've only one piece 'handed down' and that's one of the Hellenic trays.

[Lustrousstone]

David didn't have one when he wrote the first book and anything in opal glass is scarce...

[keith]

I did email him a while ago with some pic's including this one and I'm sure he said he had one or maybe he meant a picture,he's been going through the archives recently and said he would look out for my grandfathers name(very kind of him) I will have to try and see these archives myself one day,
         Keith.

[David E]

It's opal glass,David's got one I believe,don't think they're rare and it was less than a fiver if I remember.

Yes I have got one. They are not that common, but were not made with opal glass - I think you'll find it was sprayed on the rear. Opal glass only appears to have been used for a very short time for some trays and a very few handkerchief vases.

However, there were two types of opal glass used: solid opal, such as some of the Playing Cards from the mid-1950s - see photo in my book - and are quite scarce. The other is opal-flashed, like Cut Pearl, and some of the earlier trays, like the Vintage Cars. Provisionally, I would date the use of opal-flashed up to about 1962.

"Seeing" the archives (if they let you down into the basement - unlikely) is mind-boggling. You have to make an appointment and request what you wish to see from the archives. Naturally, that's very difficult when you don't know what's available, but there are some employment records. Also, if I do find any mention of your grandfather, I can't tell you if it's documented after 1929 as I've had to sign the Data Protection Act... but I'll hint very broadly 

Remember, as I have said before, there is 30 cubic metres of the stuff for me to wade through over the next year or so. I have already taken over 3,000 photos in 9 visits and am currently working on building a device to allow me to photograph both pages of an open ledger (which cannot be flattened!) in one go.

See Laura Brett's blog: she is the archivist and has done much of the work in reorganising what was shipped down from St Helens.

[keith]

Putting on my glasses I can see it is sprayed on the back as you said,would love to see the archives will get round to it one of these days,thanks for all the replies,
           Keith.

[Paul S.]

David - thanks for posting the link to Laura Brett  -  makes for a very interesting read indeed.    Intriguing to read that (currently) elephant dung is used in the manufacture of paper - 'especially in areas like Thailand where these animals are considered an agricultural pest'.     I hadn't realized that elephants were that common anywhere these days - we hear so much about their decline, but it is good news that they are not all dying out.       Guess you would need a big wheebarrow to collect their droppings though

[Anne]

Anne  -  I'm looking for a woman with 100 yards of free plate rail space in her dining room  -  any takers

Paul, I don't even have a dining room, never mind any spare plate rail space!  :24:

... the attached is just to make you a little green - I think from memory something like 8.5/8 inches in dia., from a flea market in Brighton (Sussex - UK).

Ohhhh I have one of those as well  :thup:  and I had the square plate to match it... sold the latter a while back.    
http://yobunny.org.uk/gallery1/displayimage.php?pos=-804
http://yobunny.org.uk/gallery1/displayimage.php?pos=-805

This was my other intaglio find a while back - a scarce white one...
http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,18839.0.html 

[Ming]

It is not very often you see Chance glasses come up in an auction by itself. Last month there was a set of 6 Norman Thelwell tumblers by Chance went for £45 by Fieldings. Not a bad price.