Topic: Clear pressed bowl to id

[neilh]

Very interesting Sid.

The fact that yesvil's plate has a "WR" on it should guarantee the plate was made in Britain / Europe, unless some moulds made it to the USA. This is presuming Siegmar Geiselberger & previous curators at the V&A are correct in their researches.

[yesvil]

Thank you Sid - I feel a bit guilty relying on other peoples library's, but If I got all the books I wanted or needed there would be no money left for food let alone new glass! so thank you all.

[neilh]

Finally contacted the EAPG society about my own lacy plates and they have given this very full and useful reply:

http://www.eapgs.org/pid_user_view_reply.php?rid=1081&ts=1287846758

Key point for me is that Ruth Webb Lee's attributions are indeed thought to be a little shaky by modern standards of proof.

[neilh]

I have picked up one of these bowls this week, may even be the one from this thread. I believe these are not marked "WR" - it's a trick of the light around the area of the diamond, at a certain angle it can look a bit like a WR stamp.
As others have said on this thread, it seems firmly identified as Boston and Sandwich. One is shown in Spillman's book from the Corning Museum of Glass (item 301) and several variants are shown by Ruth Webb Lee, where the design is called "plentiful".

[cagney]

  Some more updated info on the shell lacy plates/bowls. From the  hardbound catalog of the William J. Elsholz collection dispersed through Bournes Auctions in 1988 three examples are pictured. Two appear to be 6 in. plates and one cup pate. All have small differences in some way, either the center medallion differs, the star in the two diamonded base medallions may be omitted and the scalloped rim may or may not be stippled. They do not give a possible origin, except to say about the cup plate " origin uncertain".
  Of the three versions pictured in Kenneth M. Wilson's book AMERICAN GLASS 1760-1930 Toledo Museum of Art 1994 all are different in some small way. The  6 in. bowl is missing the center medallion altogether. This is the version most often seen conjoined to a pressed base to form a compote. None of these examples, 6 in. bowl, cup plate and 6 in. plate have the star in two of the base medallions. Statements to origin only go as far as to say "probably Sandwich" for the bowl, 'probably New England" for the cup plate and "possibly Sandwich" for the plate.

  A closeup of the center medallion would be most helpful. Your window picture [first one] very nice but too small to accurately make out the very center motif. Seems to be a handful of differing center motifs with these lacy shell plate/bowls.

[neilh]

See what you can make of mine, diameter 7 inches, density 3.21g/cc (pre 1850 I would therefore say)

[cagney]

  Neilh's version is the same as  lot #1084 in the Elsholz collection  The only other info given is size [7 1/8 in.], references given are {like Lee 112-4} and Exhibited Corning Museum of Glass, 1954 No. 129. The  Corning  reference in the list for the auction refers to Rose, James H. THE STORY of AMERICAN PRESSED GLASS of the LACY PERIOD 1825-1850. The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning New York. 1954. I am pretty sure a soft copy of this exhibition was published at the time.
  The "W" "WR" "D" is addressed  by Spillman in her book AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN PRESSED GLASS in the chapter on Pressed Glass outside the United States. She thinks they date from the 1830's.A rough date of 1840  would not be out of line I think.

[neilh]

I'm intending to cover "W" "WR" and "D" plates when I do my book on Manchester glass (which will follow one on Percival Vickers I'm putting together at the moment). I have some new info on these early plates and some nice examples, including a previously undiscovered "W"
The plate we're showing on this thread isn't part of that group of course, though of a similar date. I believe all the marked plates were made by Birmingham moulders for various UK factories from about 1835 to early 1840s

[cagney]

  A most challenging and worthy endeavor, I wish you every success. I don't see much about this period in English pressed glass, other than the Victoria and related cup plates. Much scholarship on this period over here. I find the cap ring molds used in this period interesting and the fact that they were pressed upside down with the pattern on the piston somewhat ingenius.

  I have a few plates pre cap ring c.late 1820s early 1830s as examples. Very interested in what was happening in pressed glass in England  1820-1840.

[flying free]

Not entirely sure if this V&A link is helpful but adding it just in case:

https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O2649/plate-reading-william/

I find it quite annoying that it says Maker William Reading but then when you read down the info there are 'probably's and 'possibly's.

m