Topic: Design registration number 212679 tumbler with etching

[Baked_Beans]

Hi Folks !

I have a registered design number for your archive .

It's a small tumbler , acid etched ,  which says 'A Present From Folkestone' . The glass says made in Belgium but the design was registered here in the UK .

It has a circle of anchors all the way around towards the rim and a circle of sea towards the base.  The rising or setting sun over the sea on one side and a two masted lobster boat (of the late Victorian period ) on the other side . The fishermen are throwing a lobster pot overboard.  There are two other masted boats in the distance and a lobster pot marker buoy in the foreground.  All in all a jolly souvenir tumbler of holibobs by the sea ! What is exciting is the fact that one of the sails on the boat is marked VSL (see photo) which can only mean Val Saint-Lambert !

[Paul S.]

Interesting tumbler - but, sad to say, it's not listed in the book, so can't at the moment provide name of Registrant or exact date it was Registered with the BoT.            For whatever reason this situation occurs occasionally, and means that you will need to visit The National Archives in west London, enroll to acquire a reader's ticket, which enables you to research their archives.         When you have found this particular entry - take photos of the original factory drawings, then return here to post high resolution pix and provide us with an essay with details of provenance and its Belgium history etc.

Joking of course  - can say that it was Registered some time around third week of May 1893, but that's the limit for the moment  -  this will need to wait until I'm at Kew some time in the coming weeks.
Not that I'm suggesting your acid etching is wrong, but know that some drinking glasses etc. from around this time  -  Sowerby for example  -  did use sandblasting as a means of decorating their glass (through a stencil no doubt).     Sand gives a much coarser appearance on the glass  -  acid is smoother.      Am sure you're correct with acid etched on this occasion.

What a come down for VSL  -  to be seen knocking out such cheap tourist pieces  -  what will Anne Tique think.

Edit  -   try to diffuse the light, which is masking much of the etched scene -  it creates glare that reflects back to the camera.     It would be good to see the decoration in full.

[Baked_Beans]

Thanks Paul  you are a star ! You had me going there I was ready to hop on the train to London and hail a taxi to Kew post haste !!
I'm really not sure if it's acid or sand . I know they had machines to do the acid at the time . The guy who set up VSL was a chemist so he probably was interested in the acid technique....you know what chemists are like they like to live dangerously !! Hehe ! I will try to take some better pics ! They are rubbish !

[Paul S.]

Hi Mike  -  as mentioned, if you do ever get to compare the two methods, side by side, the sand blast job should show as noticeably more coarse-grained on the glass surface than acid.                I'll just click on the National Rail enquiries site and see what time for the next train for Kew.

As for the photography aspect -  this was Dirk's take on the matter …...     https://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,62864.0.html   …...
which I know I'm always plugging, but it's so important, especially when posting pix of clear glass, so that we see as much detail as possible.
Even if you don't go the whole way with Dirk, then some form of plain dull/dark toned background will help, and try to avoid creating glare from the light source -  it will just bounce onto the lens and ruin the result.                       And no pix of gardens, furniture, cats, cars, views from the window or dogs.

[Baked_Beans]

Thanks Paul for the tips , that Ikea light panel is a great idea at the end of the thread !

I've done a set of pics working around the glass . No light box but will check it out at Ikea .

Im 99.99 % sure this is acid etched , you can hardly feel it and it's very fine . Hope you can see as much from the photos . Thanks for investigating it !

[Baked_Beans]

More....

[Ekimp]

Hi, on page 20 of the slim book, Glass Tumblers 1700-1900 by Brooks, this type of souvenir tumbler is described in form and decoration. It says they appeared in the late 1880s which would tie in roughly with the date suggested by Paul for the registration number. In the book it says “When marked, the French ones carry the name ‘Vincent, St. Louis’ and sometimes ‘Made In Lorraine’”.

I realise the glass in this thread says “made in Belgium” but I wonder if the VSL might be something to do with Vincent, St. Louis rather than the other one?

[Baked_Beans]

That's interesting,  here is an example of one ....

http://www.scotlandsglass.co.uk/cms/index.php?page=shop.product_details&category_id=242&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=2671&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=6

[Anne]

We'll sadly have to wait for any new lookups at Kew as it's closed due to Coronavirus.

212679 registered on 25th May 1893 by De Grelle, Houdret & Co., London. [Source: Jenny Thompson "The Identification of English Pressed Glass"]

Bit more on De Grelle, Houdret in my earlier post here https://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,54806.msg356671.html#msg356671

[Baked_Beans]

Thanks Anne ,

Well it's highly likely that it's made by the Belgian Glass Company then ! Thanks very much for the info !