Topic: Davidson and W.Fs recent finds.

[Paul S.]

wouldn't normally mix a couple of unrelated makers/pieces, but as this isn't a request for ID then hopefully it won't rock the boat too much  -  just shows there are still the odd pieces in charity shops worth having.                             The W.Fs. is the fairly common 8473 'Wavy Ribbed Tumbler Vase', but which colour I'm unsure  -  I've parted with both my copies of Jackson's book, which in some ways is more useful for colour ID than the big book, which I do have.    Surprised to see the apparent longevity of this pattern which seems to have been in production from c. 1920s to 1971, and produced in six sizes  -  this one is 7.5/8 inches tall - no idea as to date for this vase, perhaps some time in the '60s.   Some wear and nice ring when flicked.         Cost £2. as can be seen by the price sticker on the vase.

From the same shop and same day is the G. Davidson square section lidded pickle Reg. 413701 (first registered 14.07.1903) - with elongated split heart design.    As with most of these pressed pieces, it's the pattern that is being Registered, not the shape, and 413701 has been on the Board previously in the guise of a rather nice pink salt - maybe other shapes as well  -  perhaps this pickle too has been shown on the board previously.      Cost of pickle was £3., and the slight sun-purpling came for free.
Just for interest, also attached is picture of another Davidson square shaped lidded pickle found some years back.    This shows the factory's popular hobnail pattern covered by Registration 153859 dated 02.081890, and can be seen on the Boards archive for Davidson in various shapes - including a square salt.          Why these loose lidded pickles should have found favour seems odd perhaps  -  the odour and evaporation that would occur with loose fitting lids doesn't seem very sensible compared to the use of ground stoppers which avoids those problems.    Maybe the loose lids were for a single sitting and not permanent storage.          Any additional comments welcome and corrections too.

[essi]

Paul, for a man who has given up glass collecting you are doing quite well.
The colour of your 8743 wavy vase could it be twilight ?.
The original colours were flint,sea green,gold amber,emerald, sapphire, sanctuary blue and amethyst.
Maybe yours is from the later years of production.
Speaking of the odd thing in a charity shop worth having, 6 sherry glasses from a Barnaby Powell/William Wilson sherry decanter set.

[Paul S.]

thanks   -  I've a sneaky feeling there's a little known part of me that refuses to lay down and cease collecting - collecting many things, not just bits of melted sand, but at these prices it's difficult to leave the shop without them and they will doubtless go back shortly.                 Yes, you could be correct about twilight - it's really rather a non-event as colours go - why couldn't it have been sapphire or emerald - but since it obviously isn't one of the colours then it leaves only flint and twilight, and presumably flint is a rather obvious clear white glass.                    Oddly, I wondered it it might have been a 'seconds'  -  there's a small but very noticeable trapped air bubble on the rim.            I doubt if it has much age as the amount of wear is minimal, but it might have sat in granny's cabinet untouched for some years.           Love the sherry glasses - great colour, and a really good find, well done.

[thewingedsphinx]

Hi Paul,
My folks have a shelf of the lidded Davidson jars, they maybe tea caddie’s rather than pickles, hence the loose lid, it’s just a suggestion as I haven’t done any research on them.
Kind regards Mike

[Paul S.]

thanks Mike  -  that suggestion would make more sense.       Just that I seem to have a dim memory of seeing them described as pickles somewhere, but that may just be because someone else got it wrong too.        I assume that tea was packaged and sold in paper packets c. 1890 - 1920, as it was when my mother purchased the Brooke Bond brand, and we waited each week for a new card to collect.

[Paul S.]

ruminating further on the pickle/tea caddy issue ....................    the only Davidson caddy I can recall seeing off hand is the house shaped example Rd. No. 207909 from 1893 - nothing like the items I've shown above, but that means nothing probably  -  whether 207909 has been shown on the GMB I've no idea.        Looking through the Sowerby/Cottle 'Gateshead Glass' booklet, tea caddies there are equally thin on the ground  -  the only example I could see at a quick glance is Rd. 333173 from 1879 (Pattern Book IX - Sowerby No. 1388).             I'm not in any way disputing your suggestion, but it seems pressed caddies appear very uncommon.              This may be accounted for by remembering the fact that 'tea caddies' were a common feature in the C19, in the form of an often ornate wooden box which was designed to contain either one or two tea mixing bowls, plus space for dry tea - most of the glass containers appear to have been cut examples.    Time was I collected these more ornate glass caddies, but they've now all gone bar one I think.              I'm unsure as to how to find a definitive attribution for these upright square pressed containers as caddies.

[thewingedsphinx]

Just checked my records yeap the Davidson catalogues show several of these as “pickles” they also made some in a hexagon shape. Thanks Mike

[Paul S.]

thanks Mike  -  so we're back to calling them 'pickles'.       Still seems a rather unworkable design, with the loose lid, and am sure ground glass stoppered pickles were around at the same time.   The difference possibly being the Davidson and Sowerby examples were less expensive to make than the more ornate bulbous sort with ground stoppers and often some form of cutting.    My all time favourites are the pair in the attached picture  -  Chance did a nice Spiderweb Matthey Crinkles pickle with metal lid.

[thewingedsphinx]

Nice pair, Vaseline and uranium ones are difficult to get hold of, here is a likely Derbyshire one.
https://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,69394.msg386603.html#msg386603

[Paul S.]

thanks - very attractive  -  these glowers never cease to appeal.