Topic: Åfors / Boda Tankards by Bertil Vallien

[Pinkspoons]

I've eight drinking glasses labelled for Åfors, and two labelled for Boda-Åfors, in the same colour but with different shapes. Both bear the same Bertil Vallien designer label to the base.

One of the Åfors glasses still has its original paper wrapping, stamped with BV 120 Blå (BV presumably for Bertil Vallien).

They were leftover stock from a glass shop that closed c.1974, which gives a cap to the latest possible date they could have been designed and produced, with 1963 being the earliest as this is when Vallien started with Åfors / Boda...

...but does anyone a better idea exactly when they hail from? I don't know if the different labels indicate different periods, or if they were used concurrently to market designs under different names. Because the designer labels are identical, presumably they had concurrent use.

Thanks for looking.

[Pinkspoons]

And the wrapped Åfors glass, if anyone is interested:

[robbo]

Hi Nic,

They look as if they're from the same tableware range as the wine glass I attach (I've also got examples in smoke grey), especially the one in your OP 4th photo.

The nearest I've got to dating them is from here:

http://www.bertilvallien.se/glas15eng.html

robbo

[Pinkspoons]

Thanks for taking a look.

I managed to find a similar group shot of Boda blue glass with the ribbed/knopped profile dated to 1965 - although I wasn't sure if they meant the year the photograph was taken or the date of the glass itself - but blowed if I can find the link again!

The Åfors glasses seem to belong to a different series, but I've not found any clues for them yet.

[Pinkspoons]

The Åfors glasses don't seem to have had a series name beyond the form number BV 120, although it seems to be a very early Vallien design from 1963:

http://www.bertilvallien.se/BV120b.htm

http://www.bertilvallien.se/BV120.pdf

[Pinkspoons]

Oh, your wine glass seems to be form BV 112, also from 1963.

http://www.bertilvallien.se/BV110.pdf

[Pinkspoons]

Finally, the Boda marked glasses are BV 102, also designed 1963.

[robbo]

Thanks Nic,

I've never managed to find that part of the site.
The wine glasses, at least, are called Basun

http://www.bertilvallien.se/basun.htm

[Pinkspoons]

The site does have much of the good stuff - original factory photos and drawings - hidden away in obscure sections with hard-to-find links.

Unfortunately, they seem to have given up on the site in 2010 before uploading anything other than 1960s tableware and drinkware.