Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. > British & Irish Glass

Stuart Crystal 1917-1921 notebook of patterns

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bOBA:
I thought I would post a link to this unusual notebook, found in the possession of a family member, that I had a chance to photograph recently. I have permisson to take these pictures and to use them for research etc. The pages are drawn by Mr Corfield of Wordsley who was a senior cutter at Stuart Crystal during and after WWI. He also taught cutting at a college in the Stourbridge area. He has indicated in his drawings of bowls, glasses, jugs, etc.. how much time each piece would take to cut, the wages due to apprentices and adult cutters at the time. He also lists many pattern numbers for items and some specific designs cut for specific customers. I hope this is of some interest to collectors of English cut glass pieces, as an interesting piece of social history,

I have not posted a link before, so this is a test!

http://picasaweb.google.com/RobertLBJ/StuartsCrystalGlassGlassCutterMrCorfieldSPatternDrawingsEtcC19171921?authkey=Gv1sRgCK3c9dnFp-bSIA&feat=directlink

I will have to take this link down in a couple of weeks but I will deposit a copy at Broafield House museum thereafter.


Robert (bOBA) 

Sid:
Robert

That is fascinating and will be read many times before it can all be taken in.

Thank you!

Sid

David E:
Thansk Robert: Absolutely fascinating and the correct thing to donate it to Broadfield House (or do you mean just digital copies of the pages?)

I would always recommend taking these photos in the highest resolution, at the best quality possible, purely to preserve them for posterity should anything happen to the original.

These pattern books are invaluable to researchers, so many thanks for sharing.

bOBA:
Thanks for the comments David and Sid.

English glass is not my area, but I could see, at the very least, this is an important document relating to one senior cutter's experiences at Stuarts in circa 1920, and so I have arranged for digital copies at pretty high resolution, circa 5 meg each, to go up to Broadfield. It is a part of a family archive and as such has to remain so, which is a decision out of my hands. I am pleased to have managed to get permission to copy the document. I am interested in what Stuart historians may make of it, the patterns are mostly well known I should think, but there are odd things too, one jug in the notebook appears to have been made specifically at the request of a Mr "F. H. Stuart" for example... and other specifics relate to the exact cutting time 40 or 50 patterns were expected to have been produced in. This kind of information I would not necessairly expect to find in offical documents, but as I say, it is not my research area! I am pleased that some enthusiasts can see the merit in preserving the document and I will get a cd up to Broadfield asap... It is an interesting thing and I hope to leave the link running for at least a couple of weeks or more,

Robert (bOBA)

Paul S.:
My thanks also for this contribution to the archives.    It is worth commenting for the benefit of anyone who may look with a cursory glance only, that not all pattern Nos. are shown, and much of the writing, unfortunately, is illegible on the screen  -  whether the better copies sent to Broadfield house would be available for public viewing I don't know.     What would be of immense value would be a cross reference between the pattern Nos. and the Registration Nos., (and, dare I say it - the design names i.e.  Waterford - Villiers etc., although I'm not sure there were that many designated for cut glass).      For me it is definitely the Pattern Nos. that remain mostly unknown - rather than the Rd. Nos., which do, of course, appear occasionally on the glass.       However, with bOBA's notebook this will help with identification, hopefully.          In an effort to start the ball rolling, and to support Leni's request for a 'Cut Glass' section on the GMB, I have just found an example of the bowl shown in photograph No. 47 of the notebook (a sort of lattice work cut border with the 'Stratford' rings below and a star cut base) - with a 'Stuart/ENGLAND/Rd. 681309'  back stamp - as shown in the picture.  First registered in February 1921, along with several other designs, although haven't a clue when my piece was made.   So, one down, and a few hundred to go - if only the workers could have put the Rd. No. on all of their pieces ;)

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