The Sowerby pattern 1927 shoe has a bow at the front from which hang two ribbon-like extensions. The bow sits right at the top edge of the shoe front.
For a while now, I have been accumulating photos of a glass shoe pattern that was similar to Sowerby pattern 1927, but not identical. The bow sits well below the top edge of the shoe front, the ribbon-like extensions are shorter, and one side of the shoe front has a vertical row of 4 hemispherical ‘buttons. In addition, the sides of the shoe are textured with stippling, whereas the sides of the Sowerby 1927 shoe are plain.
So far I have photos of the shoe pattern in three colours: clear flint glass, blue opalescent glass, and an orange-brown marbled glass. None of the shoes bears any identifying marks.
(Permission for the re-use of the images of the orange-brown marbled shoe on the GMB granted by Kevin Collins).
The clear flint glass shoe could, of course, have come from just about any manufacturer.
The blue opalescent glass shoe immediately brings to mind two major British manufacturers – Davidson, and Greener & Co.
A couple of months ago I showed a rare orange-brown marbled glass basket with handle by Greener & Co., RD 121985 registered on 23 March 1889:
http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,57916.msg328407.html#msg328407and the orange-brown tones of the basket are not dissimilar to that of the marbled glass shoe. However, I know of no Davidson pieces made from a similar orange-brown marbled glass.
I think that there is strong evidence, therefore, that this glass shoe with a lowered bow, buttons on one side of the front, and stippled sides is likely to have been made by Greener & Co. in the late 1880s. Does anyone have photos to show of a similar shoe in other colours, please? If so, are there any identifying markings?
Plagiarism of glass designs was rife at the time, competition was fierce, decorative glass shoes were fashionable, and there are enough differences between the Sowerby 1927 shoe (an unregistered design) and the ‘Greener & Co.’ shoe to avoid overt claims of design copying – but which came first, the Sowerby 1927 shoe or the ‘Greener & Co.’ version?
Fred.