Glass Message Board
Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. => British & Irish Glass => Topic started by: adam20 on November 23, 2012, 03:08:43 PM
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Wedgwood candlestick 8" high in original box with code SG 15/2 - bought cheaply and was pleasantly surprised to get the box as well.
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Lovely Adam - I love these for their simple elegance.
I have several pairs of these in different sizes and colours - (I only do candlesticks in pairs) Some of mine are boxed like yours , however some are in original Wedgewood round tubes - a bit like a post pak tube. I wonder which are the earlier of the two types of packaging?
JAK
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By the way - the style is Brancaster
JAK
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I am always impressed by these Brancasters, the stems are hollow and feel so fragile that I wonder how they have survived. They must be more durable than I imagine as I have yet to actually break one....
John
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nice candle holder Adam, lucky to get the box as well - at 8" yours is the middle of the three sizes produced. Although they're not hollow stems, the Sandringham range with their drawn stems are even thinner. Great range to collect, and it seems natural to think of these things in pairs, on dressing tables or similar. Hope Adam doesn't object too much to my pic - all Wedgwood, and RSW designs except the 'Arthur' holder. Not all of these sticks/holders are marked, but don't think they'd get mistaken for anything else.
Although I've just looked through Susan Tobin's book, I can't see why some of these pieces have alternative codes, such as this Brancaster holder for example, which seems to be RSW15/2 and SG15/2. Anyone know what the extra code means. :)
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I think the extra number on the end denotes the size - ie 2 is the middle size, the 8 "
Nice pic.
Mine are all in the cabinet but it is too dusty to show a pic of! ;D
JAK
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thanks - well how about taking this opportunity to do a bit of you know what, and showing us your bits - bet they look good. ;)
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Hi, the numbers reflect the designer - RSW being Ronald Stennett Willson, of course. When RSW left Wedgwood for Langham, many of his designs were relabled SG, with some slight variations brought in. Interestingly, when RSW started Kings Lynn Glass in the lates 60s he couldn't find English glassblowers capable of the thin stems on the Sandringhams and Brancasters and employed Austrian glassblowers to make them.
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thanks Neil - very interesting :) I do have Susan Tobin's book, so know much of the history behind these things - but was mystified as to what the SG was supposed to stand for. Fortunately, fingers crossed I've not yet broken one, but I always hold my breath when moving them. Tobin devotes only a page and a half to the candle holders/sticks, and there's no mention that I can see of Austrian workers producing the straw stems on the Brancaster range, so maybe the lady wasn't aware of that fact. Apparently the greatest failure rate - at least when making these pieces - was in the largest versions of the Sheringham holders.
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Hi Paul, Andy McConnell's book on 20th century glass has a good section on RSW. I think I got the thing about the Austrians from there or from ronaldstennettwillson.com. Anyway, I picked it up somewhere in my assimilation of 130 odd pieces of RSW glass. Interestingly you can tell which glassmaker made each Sheringham candlestick (so I am told) by the different indentations made by the wooden plate that they used to smooth out the base of each disk. You are right about the failure rate on the big sticks. What a piece of workmanship!
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Is it true that with the short bulbous Sandringham holders where often the centre bulb part appears misty, that this condensation is the last puff of the glass blower? - makes the hand made bit seem more real. :)
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Hi Paul, beyond my knowledge I'm afraid but it wouldn't surprise me. It is difficult to find a bulbous clear candlestick that isn't cloudy.