Topic: Etched Glasses I thought then took a closer look..Just wondering

[Ohio]

Yeah I believe the vast majority of etching plates used by U.S. manufacturers created in their mold department operations were steel. Alot of the Paden City plates in WV were found to be used as coal mine shaft elevator counterweights & were not discovered until the late 1970s by Bill Walker.

I do remember that probably 25 years ago when I was talking to a Cambridge retiree (he was probably in his late 70s at the time) that many U.S. operations used imported transfer paper from England as it was proven to be superior & more durable than anything we had at that time.

[Frank]

Earliest known dates of the processes, needs a rework but essentially correct:
http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,6965.0.html

Steel or copper makes little difference except steel would last longer. There were lots of ways of doing this including a paper transfer that actually deposited an etchant.
Another thread:
http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,13714.0.html

which in turn links to another thread with a picture/link of a steel http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,4637.0.html

Great detailed description Ohio. Reason people find it hard to agree on details is that there were so many different ways of achieving the same end! Not to mention all the variations in terminology.

[petet63]

There is No emoticon for my head exploding ! Just recovering from a procedure and will read again fully and with a clear head in the morning. It looks to be a good read and thank you all for the help. I think a picture of all 4 might be a help or not as the case may be. Thanks again. Pete

[petet63]

Sorry for the late reply. All four of the glasses have the 'fault' at the same place on the pattern. There are small differences in where the pattern meets the base of the bowl, not a lot but it is there, and the same at the top. Not sure how this helps but would suggest it was applied by hand as with hand cut crystal with their slight differences. Its difficult for me to keep up with a lot of what has been written in here but it is all interesting reading. I have seen a few etched, pieces on my searches and the complexity of some designs is impressive. I have also seen and read about hand engraved pieces on here...now that IS a very impressive Art/skill !! Thanks for the help guys.
I was thinking of listing these but one has a nick in the foot so if anyone is interested in these just let me know. Thanks again

[Paul S.]

a similar type of pattern fault i.e. misalignment or slight break in a pictorial scene etc., can be seen sometimes in the images on C19 blue and white ceramics - especially the larger oval plates.

I believe the process of creating and applying the pix that went onto the blue and white wares was similar  -  some sort of tissue used to transfer the image from a copper plate onto the pottery item.

There is a difference I'd suggest between 'hand cut crystal' patterns, and the methodology for these glasses.
I suppose we should acknowledge the former as hand crafted, and the other as machine made.

Keep one at least Pete, and see if you can build up a collection of this genre   -  but seriously, some are true works of art.

[brucebanner]

The dog stares at several of these breaks everyday. it's an 1870's platter.

[Paul S.]

yes, but have you discussed this issue with K9 - for his opinions 

[Frank]

If the transfer print run was misaligned and the the decorator just lined up the carrier on the glass then all the pieces decorated from that run would show a matching mismatch. So sloppy workmanship at two stages.

[petet63]

I meant that with hand cut crystal there are always tiny differences that say hand cut to me as opposed to machine cut which is consistent
and spoils crystal IMHO. In my head that theory worked on these being applied by hand not machine. Its all a learning process for me and that is why I ask on here, so much knowledge.  After reading the comments on here it is a much harder process than I imagined 
     I have too many collections on the go to be able to collect these. Far too many patterns !!  I Have  started  to put together a Pall Mall Suite. Didn't realise there were so many sizes and shapes but I think they will look great together.  Thanks again all. 

[brucebanner]

I picked this up Pete it's not too bad needs editing properly but it's passionate about the subject. I would not be keen on collecting Pall Mall i think it's still being made and to hope to get an original Edwardian collection will be a nightmare, dating wise.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/The-New-3rd-Edition-of-The-History-of-Pall-Mall-Glass-/231292232533?pt=UK_Art_Glass&hash=item35da176355