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Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: mhgcgolfclub on September 07, 2014, 03:42:14 PM

Title: when is a piano insulator not an insulator ? when its got a lid
Post by: mhgcgolfclub on September 07, 2014, 03:42:14 PM
Went to only my second car boot of the year today and found this interesting item.

I believe this piano insulator is seen quite often, but this one has a matching lid. I have not seen one with a lid before. The base still has some gilding.

So from a piano insulator to a lidded trinket bowl.

Roy
Title: Re: when is a piano insulator not an insulator ? when its got a lid
Post by: Lustrousstone on September 07, 2014, 05:59:16 PM
I think it's a marriage
Title: Re: when is a piano insulator not an insulator ? when its got a lid
Post by: brucebanner on September 07, 2014, 07:08:12 PM
No piano caster i have seen has had a rim lid, it looks tall like a jar of some sort maybe, i know nothing about piano's would they of needed grease wax of some sort?, all the casters i have seen are worn to pieces in the center and chipped to the bases.
Title: Re: when is a piano insulator not an insulator ? when its got a lid
Post by: stew2u2 on September 08, 2014, 12:22:28 PM
im with christien on this it doesn't fit right
Title: Re: when is a piano insulator not an insulator ? when its got a lid
Post by: Ohio on September 08, 2014, 02:02:10 PM
I fail to see why this is a marriage. It obviously has a rim for a lid, the pattern & spacing of columns in the body & lid both appear to be a solid match unless its sheer coincidence that a lid made for another piece just so happens to be found on this piece which is a bit of a stretch. Personally I believe its some type of cometic jar that held something along the lines of face cream, makeup, etc. Might even been commerical over the counter container from the 30s.   
Title: Re: when is a piano insulator not an insulator ? when its got a lid
Post by: Lustrousstone on September 08, 2014, 03:43:27 PM
The lid doesn't line up with the base, particularly on the larger round columns; the base has much rounder columns. The base is a known piano insulator. The gilding looks like modern gold paint; there is even a drip. The interior would hold little and I'm sure I've seen the lid either on a genuine dresser jar or on a pickle jar. And you'd be surprised at how many uses a piano insulator apparently has over here

http://lustrousstone.co.uk/cpg/displayimage.php?pid=408
Title: Re: when is a piano insulator not an insulator ? when its got a lid
Post by: glassobsessed on September 08, 2014, 11:10:29 PM
The lid doesn't line up with the base

That was my impression too.

John
Title: Re: when is a piano insulator not an insulator ? when its got a lid
Post by: Ohio on September 09, 2014, 05:35:32 AM
Well what can I say? Looked pretty close to me.
Title: Re: when is a piano insulator not an insulator ? when its got a lid
Post by: ttttootall on September 09, 2014, 09:43:11 AM
Is it possible to post a picture of reverse side of base and lid?
Title: Re: when is a piano insulator not an insulator ? when its got a lid
Post by: mhgcgolfclub on September 14, 2014, 03:38:07 PM
When I thought bought the item I could not make up my mind if it was correct or a marriage and I am still not sure. The base is a piano insulator but why the rim ?. The gilding looks ok to me , but why no gilding to the lid.

To find a diameter lid that fits just about perfect would not be that easy and for the pattern to mact very closely even harder. I can see that the larger columns are slightly different in diameter but you have to remember that the base does taper , being more narrow at the top.

Lokking at the lid compared to the base it does look a different colour but thats mostly because of the thickness of the glass. When compared closely the glass lid does look very similar to the base.

If its a marriage then the person was very lucky to find such a matching lid .

Roy
Title: When is a piano insulator not a piano insulator?
Post by: SNJ on July 24, 2017, 08:46:27 PM
When it has a lid!

Either the factory must have loved the design or they couldn't think of anything new. Either way, it looks to be a standard chunky insulator - lobed, with a smooth bowl-shaped interior - with a top lip added to locate the lid. Would anyone be able to suggest a producer, please? Or, for that matter, a possible use?

Base diameter 3½", height 2½". Good wear to the underside.
Title: Re: When is a piano insulator not a piano insulator?
Post by: Paul S. on July 24, 2017, 09:04:51 PM
intriguing :)  -  you'd have to look back at previous insulator postings on the Board to see if there's a possibility you can match the base with a previous known design.
The colour isn't something I've seen before for an insulator, I don't think, and as to use, how about something for a trinket tray. :)
Title: Re: When is a piano insulator not a piano insulator?
Post by: Lustrousstone on July 25, 2017, 08:05:14 AM
I think it's a marriage because the top and the lid don't seem to line up properly and the shades of blue seem different. I've seen insulators in pale blue Paul
Title: Re: When is a piano insulator not a piano insulator?
Post by: Paul S. on July 25, 2017, 12:17:07 PM
thanks Christine  -  it can be a problem sometimes, viewing pieces on the screen only  -  not perhaps the best method for accuracy.    Regret I've been out of touch with these things for a while, but assume this colour not the most common shade for insulators. :)   
Title: Re: When is a piano insulator not a piano insulator?
Post by: SNJ on July 25, 2017, 09:48:00 PM
Thanks, both. Definitely the same colour glass in the flesh. The colour variation may well be because the base is so much thicker than the lid.  Agreed that the shape of lid and base aren't perfect but then, I'd suggest, that if it was produced as a cheap utilitarian piece it might not have made financial sense to make a great effort to produce a perfectly matching lid. I'm guessing that the jar may have been something like a container for ointment, cold cream or similar, in much the same way that modern skin creams come in 'deceptive' glass pots with thick walls to disguise the tiny amount that they contain.
Title: Re: When is a piano insulator not a piano insulator?
Post by: Lustrousstone on July 26, 2017, 08:22:56 AM
The effort to match a lid would be no greater than the effort to produce a non-matching lid. Mould machining has been pretty precise for a long while and these are early 20th C rather than late 19 th C
Title: Re: When is a piano insulator not a piano insulator?
Post by: Lustrousstone on July 26, 2017, 09:27:19 AM
I have just remembered that we had this conundrum before http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,57798.0.html

I wonder whether these were factory or even wholesaler marriages to sell off old stock when the bottom dropped out of the piano insulator market.
Title: Re: when is a piano insulator not an insulator ? when its got a lid
Post by: Anne on July 26, 2017, 03:24:29 PM
Thanks for finding the earlier topic, Christine. Rather than have the two topics I've merged them into this one to keep all our thoughts together.

What bothers me about the base being a piano insulator repurposed is that raised retaining ring for the lid. I've looked at a fair few piano insulators and none of them have had such a ring. Some have a raised fancy edge rim, but it's not the sort that a lid would fit on. 
Title: Re: when is a piano insulator not an insulator ? when its got a lid
Post by: Lustrousstone on July 26, 2017, 06:32:04 PM
This one has http://lustrousstone.co.uk/cpg/displayimage.php?pid=408
Title: Re: when is a piano insulator not an insulator ? when its got a lid
Post by: brucebanner on July 26, 2017, 06:40:45 PM
Could be one missing a lid, i wonder if a rubber seal would have made the design fit together better?.

What are the odds of  two the same shape having  lids in different colours, could it be just a badly made mould.
Title: Re: when is a piano insulator not an insulator ? when its got a lid
Post by: mhgcgolfclub on July 26, 2017, 07:20:06 PM
Myself I think the base was never used as a piano insulator itself. But the design was changed slightly and turned into a lidded pot based on the original insulator design. The lids are the same colour as the base only looking paler due to the thickness of the glass.

Mine went into the recycle bin a few months ago due to the lid going missing.

Roy
Title: Re: when is a piano insulator not an insulator ? when its got a lid
Post by: SNJ on July 27, 2017, 11:23:23 AM
Wow, deja vu!

Want to buy a replacement, Roy, in a very fetching pale blue?