Topic: John Walsh Walsh, Birmingham, England - Victorian glass vase

[Lustrousstone]

According to Skelcher, The Big Book of Vaseline Glass, page 102, "the acanthus leaf with bent stem forming a foot appears a number of times in the Stevens & Williams pattern books of the 1880s. Prunt in a pontil mark [pic shown is like yours] is typical of other Stevens & Williams prunts." He also shows a vase similar to yours. The white part of your vase should glow a very bright green under a UV light - perhaps you know a friendly shopkeeper - which indicates that it is uranium glass. I would go with Stevens & Williams rather than Walsh Walsh but...       I covet it

I would guess that you would be unlikely to get more than the price of the item Frank found on ebay. Only MHO though. Scarce or hard to find might be better than rare!

[Glassic]

I would also go with S&W, though that lip decoration may place it elswhere.  I also ID it as the same vase at ebay.
S&W produced a lot of Applique Art Glass.

It was therefore decided, in the first place, that their regular type of applied glassware, the decorations being chiefly acanthaus leaves in various shapes and colours on glass bowls and vases should continue. These pieces were first-class and popular, which is apparent by the number still available.   R S Williams-Thomas ~The Crystal Years~

 

[josordoni]

My earlier remark that finding an example would be less than easy seem to have been premature:

Watch this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200075169055

Yours would likely sell for less than this one as the top bidder will have been satisfied.

Frank, if you compare the wording of this item to the description by Momac, it would seem to be exactly the same piece, so perhaps he/she decided to go ahead with a listing?

[MoMac]

It would appear that my daughter has already listed the vase on ebay without knowing its value. In which case I would be concerned as to whether she will acquire the true value of the vase especially noticing that there are currently no live bids on it. I would be extremely worried that someone may step in at the last and purchase the vase below its worth.  I also wonder now in view of the fact that some members have expressed the view that the vase may not be a John Walsh Walsh, has now thrown us in to deep confusion.  We queried the maker of this vase a few months previous with a web site named Great-Glass.co.uk who advised us that it was a John Walsh Walsh but would not give a valuation on it for us. Therefore we were at a loss as to the value of this piece. After being given the advice from Great Glass we subsequently noticed that they had a picture of an identical vase in their photo gallery which was listed as a John Walsh Walsh Vase. I then contacted them again and they advised me that they had sold this item but again would not give any indication of its value. See item  No. 6140 at www.great-glass.co.uk/library/lib2ac.htm
I have since noticed recently that a fancy John Walsh Walsh Vase was sold on ebay in the USA for around £300.  In view of the forgoing we feel that maybe I should speak with my daughter with a view to pulling the vase off ebay until we have made further investigations although we do seem to be hitting if not a brick wall certainly a very confusing one.
If any of your members are able to offer any advice at all this would be greatly appreciated. May I express my gratitude for the interest they have so far displayed.

[Lustrousstone]

An item is only worth what anyone will pay for it. I sincerely doubt that your daughter's vase is worth £300, particulary as ebay has made access to Victorian glass so much easier and the higher prices are usually attained by the more complex designs with fruit, flowers and leaves. I also doubt that the Walsh, Walsh or Stevens and Williams issue can be resolved.

[josordoni]

Prices for Victorian glass, particularly with embellishments can vary wildly, as can prices for Walsh Walsh depending on the style. Ebay is low at the moment with glass prices.

The last piece of Walsh Walsh I sold reached £35.  I recently sold a piece of Kralik with applied flowers and leaves, identical to a piece in Great-Glass for £10.  A nicer piece of vaseline Kralik with applied flowers failed to sell at a low price of £30.

I hope this helps. You may need to search through ebay to see what similar pieces have achieved.

[Connie]

There is also Boulton & Mills as a possibility.

We have had this discussion several times on the board before.

Here is one discussion

http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,7619.0.html

I also made an album in the glass gallery with my pieces.  Be back with that link.

Edited:

Another discussion

http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,1594.0.html

[Bernard C]

MoMac — Knowledge of applied acanthus leaf Victorian fancies has progressed since the discussions referenced by Connie immediately above.   The definitive work is now Victorian Decorative Glass by Mervyn Gulliver, which illustrates examples from some five or six different glass houses, mostly unidentified.   Since Gulliver was published in 2002, new information has come to light that shows that an Autumnal Ware range sold by the wholesaler Blumberg & Co. of London, and illustrated in their trade advertisement published in 1884, was, in fact, made by John Walsh Walsh.   Autumnal Ware was Walsh's name for the range.

You daughter's vase happens to be a close match to one of those featured in Blumberg's advertisement, so it was made by John Walsh Walsh.

I hope that helps.

Bernard C. 

[Lustrousstone]

What about the use of the curled stems for the feet though? Skelcher indicates catagorically that these have been seen in S&W catalogues. Did Walsh Walsh also use such feet? He is also quite careful with his attributions and often only only says probably or possibly