agree that threading must have been a skilled job whether manually, or by machine. Threading appears to have been produced mechanically by Hodgetts & Richardson after they patented William Hodgetts invention in 1876, for a machine to do this work. Hajdamach 'British Glass 1800 - 1914', (chapter on Patents & Techniques) writes that after this date other houses followed suite with their own version of mechanically produced threading, and judging by the material still around the fashion for this feature was obviously v. popular.
Coming back to S. & W. Moresque, and the two Board of Trade Registrations 137288 (1889) and 612352 (1912), see above - the latter incorporating horizontal threading over a Moresque body. In his book on Stevens & Williams/R.B., 'The Crystal Years', Williams-Thomas includes the first of these Rd. Nos. in his Appendix B (Design Registrations 1884 - 1928), p. 73.
On the nature of this Registration he writes - possibly his own wording but I'm unsure - "A surface decoration with pulled threaded decoration recovering with fine clear threading." I could be wrong, but he seems possibly to have confused the factory drawing of a plain Moresque image as per Rd. 137288 (without threading), and the later Rd. 612352, which does in fact show threading over a Moresque pattern. Frankly, if you lacked any knowledge of this subject I doubt that his description would make you any wiser - perhaps even he was unsure as to the processes involved and which Rd. referred to which design.
But, for reason I'm unaware of and in the same Appendix, Williams-Thomas omits reference to 612352 which does show threading over a Moresque pattern. Confusion it seems - so nothing unusual there then, and compounded by his insistence on wrongly classifying all those Registrations as CLASS IV.
M, I'm guessing to some extent, but your suggestion that the second threading is over the already threaded/trailed Moresque body pattern, would appear contrary to the known method of applying this form of decoration, which was that a glass body was held by one worker and revolved manually or mechanically, whilst another worker held another piece of glass - or machine - from which the threading was being supplied. In view of the decorative appearance of Moresque (contoured lines etc.), it would appear that this couldn't have been applied/produced mechanically by means of threading.
Hajdamach - same book - writes ............. ""The Stevens & Williams pattern books, especially during 1889, show a number of vases and bowls known as 'Moresque', in which the glass spiral was closely threaded on to shapes which had been blown into dip moulds carved on the inside with ogee shaped arches or other oriental and Near Eastern patterns. Once the piece was blown out, the effect of the dip mould softened into a gentle optical effect and with the addition of a layer of close threading it gave the appearance of watered silk."" - this is how we visualize the image shown in the factory drawing for 612352.
Reading the various authors there doesn't look to be a clear cut time line as to when the results of these two Registrations were put into use or for how long there were produced, and I dare say we will now never know.
Hajdamach appears to be suggesting that there was only the one layer of threading - the final layer over the already created Moresque pattern which had been created by dip mould process and not threading.
Over to you
Topic: Stevens & Williams 1889 Moresque? (Read 16188 times)
