Topic: Greener pressed uranium basket

[Paul S.]

Henry Greener uranium handled basket with grape and vine pattern, although don't know whether it was intended for grapes.      Lozenge mark too difficult to photograph (lies on the inside immediately below where the handle joins the basket)  -  but according to Jenny Thompson the details run out to registered design No. 238105.      This was first registered on 14th January 1870 - so falls into the second group of diamond marks, although don't know when this example may have been made.        About 7"/180mm long.   Very good nick really, and the pressing is crisp and sharp.               I've not seen one before, so just wondered if anyone thought this was a fairly common item, or perhaps far less so.    thanks for looking.

[thewingedsphinx]

Hi Paul
I just found your post while checking out these two baskets which were in our box of surplus items, they must be fairly rare as your post is so far the only thing I can find about them. We have the j Thompson book., are they really uranium.?
The lozenge narks is impossible to identify them from. Would these be a good example for the gallery?cheers Mike

[Anne]

Yes please, we welcome any photos of items that have an RD on them. We welcome other images for the different projects too: labels and signatures, some unregistered designs, crystal patterns etc... take a look at our gallery here: http://www.yobunny.org.uk/glassgallery/ (it's on a separate server/hosting for resource reasons).

[Paul S.]

As with most of my glass this one has long since gone back to the charity shop, and whilst I may be very thick in many areas of glass id, I've no doubt that particular example was uranium  ..........   this was a time when I was very keen on glass that glowed and I spent every Sunday at boot sales with my u.v. torch.        If you're asking if these Greener baskets are uranium as a matter of course, then the answer is definitely no    ..........................  like most of the pressed glass factories, a small percentage only of their pressings were made using uranium oxide in the batch  -  the majority of pressing were produced in the various other colours that we see such as the opaque Vitro-Porcelain, flint, translucent shades and the various marbled colours - all without uranium oxide in the batch.             Your two examples appear not to be uranium - though the pale straw basket is a possible  -  so it's always worth running the torch over almost any glass you have - except clear - as uranium bearing glass can come in a variety of body colours, as Christine will tell you  -  perhaps she will give an opinion on your two - assuming you don't have a u.v. torch to hand.

It does surprise me that our examples of this basket should be the only ones showing in the Board's archives  -  perhaps we have missed seeing others that were posted for discussion and didn't get as far as the Glass Gallery Archive.

The Company has an interesting history, albeit with many financial problems and near bankruptcy, and although the Greener name was retained for business, they were swallowed up by Jobling in the late C19, with the original name disappearing in the 1920s when it morphed into Jobling.       Pyrex and Jobling were a very successful pairing for some decades, although I think Corning bought out Jobling in the end.

Perhaps Fred might like to comment on the scarcity or otherwise of these Greener baskets - hope I haven't given away something that was valuable

P.S.   Anne  -  is the 'green' of Mike's second basket the sort of green akin to the Reich piece we were discussing??

[Lustrousstone]

Greener was very keen on uranium! That particular design is not common. Unlike these two, though the blue uranium is uncommon. They seem to have come in three sizes too. I think the design registration is for the handle, as the blue one has the same registation mark. It's likley that the green is uranium too, as I think I may have an unphotographed one somewhere
http://lustrousstone.co.uk/cpg/displayimage.php?pid=2211 and http://lustrousstone.co.uk/cpg/displayimage.php?pid=1268

[agincourt17]

I too think that the design registration for Henry Greener for RD 238105 must have been for the handle shape rather than other aspects of the basket design because Christine's uranium blue example at
http://lustrousstone.co.uk/cpg/displayimage.php?pid=2211
has a different decorative pattern to the 'body' of the basket compared to the other examples.

This is not entirely unusual for Greener's designs. For example, Greener & Co.'s 'twig/rustic-handled' baskets are known with different decorative patterns on the basket 'body'; the 2 baskets in the attached photo each bear the same pair of RD numbers - RD 965775 and RD 965776, both registered by Greener & Co. on 27 March 1888, one RD number being for the handle shape and the other presumably for the  decorative body pattern. (Permission for the re-use of this image on the GMB granted by Richie Nunn).

Fred.

[Paul S.]

thanks to both for valuable info.                I've just looked at TNA pix and Register entry for 238105 and neither the image, now attached, nor the 'comments' column in the Register, provide any clue as to what aspect of this design the Registration was protecting.         But, in view of comments from Christine and Fred, and looking at the various decorative patterns within the other baskets then I'm sure they are correct in telling us it's the design of the handle only that was the subject of this Rd., and not the body of the basket.
You can see from the Kew image that the original Greener factory drawing for 238105 shows a 'hobnail' pattern plus Iznik/Persian sort of centre circle design, which is a match for the blue uranium basket shown by Christine.

However, it appears that by the time we get to Fred's 1888 rustic-handled basket, there was a name change leading to Greener & Co., plus what seems to have been a change of heart regarding their approach to Registrations.           Whilst I accept that one identical pair of lozenge details on these twig handle pieces tells us it must be for the 'twig handles', I'm really unsure Fred as to what the other identical pair are protecting.
My thoughts are that it isn't the body pattern since both bodies have different patterns - is it more likely do you think that it might have been for the scalloped rim of the body, or possibly the shape of the body - both of which are the same on each basket??
Unfortunately, I don't presently have Kew Register details or pix for 1888 to help. 

[thewingedsphinx]

Some very helpful info as I have a feeling we have most off these shown on this post and Christine's post solves two greener baskets which we had logged as unidentified. But now look like greener,See below picture. On the subject of these similar colours I have included an Unmarked Believed to be Edward Moore basket, would this be uranium.?
All of which are in our box of surplus.
Thanks 

[Paul S.]

what makes you suggest Moore, Mike?        Regret I've no idea if the larger of these three is Moore or not  -  I've a feeling that rope style handles were more a feature of their baskets.            To my eyes your larger piece looks like clear glass, with a hint of manganese showing - is it clear, or is it actually green and it's my eyes that are going.

[Lustrousstone]

I suspect that's a Greener too but can't tell if it's uranium from that picture. One in daylight would be more helpful if you don't have a UV light. If you want to sell them you would be better off buying a UV light (and leanring the uranium glow as opposed to the manganese glow) as uranium glass properly identfied as such attracts collectors