Topic: Thomas Webb's apples and pears — a mystery solved

[Bernard C]

Re Thomas Webb's two registrations of 14 November 1883:-

Thompson, in her supplement, p.31, refers to them as a pear shape and an apple shape.

Gulliver, p.271, refers to them as Design for a paperweight in the shape of an apple/pear with a stalk trail.

I have a pear in front of me.   It's in lightly optic 12-ribbed flint with a canary (uranium yellow) trail.   The registration lozenge is neatly engraved on the base.   The three spots in Gulliver's drawings are holes.   And they are wasp or fly traps, with the trail forming a hanging loop.   I imagine that few have survived.   Mine is pretty well knackered, with the end of the trail missing, two cracks at one of the holes, and some limescale damage, but it was beautifully made.   This could well be one of those designs that started out as a frigger and subsequently went into production.

So, mystery solved.   Don't forget to pencil a note in the margins of your copies of Gulliver and the Thompson supplement.   Note that Gulliver has the two registrations muddled — I can't resolve that.

Bernard C. 

[Bernard C]

Click on the above image for gallery with further images.

More thoughts.   Note the light optic 12-ribbing, the canary stalk trail, and the neatly ground out and polished pontil scar, all unnecessary for such a utilitarian object, good evidence that it started out as a frigger, demonstrating the glassmaker's skills, before going into production.   It is not difficult to imagine a miniature glass tree covered in these pears and apples being hoisted above the glassmaker's head before setting out on one of those wonderful glassmakers' processions through the streets of Stourbridge.

Other Thomas Webb fancies from the same early 1880s period in Gulliver also have light optic 12-ribbing, particularly p168b, p169 (looks more like 12-rib to me), p170t, and p182bl.   Same glassmaker?

Finally, how appropriate that Webb made fly and wasp traps!   

Bernard C. 

[Lustrousstone]

Well done Bernard  :clap: :clap:

[KevinH]

An excellent find Bernard. Now I can stop looking out for those particular "paperweights".

[Patrick]

Hi Bernard,

A thing of beauty.......................... 

A couple of questions.....................

What height is it ?

Is the handle/trail in amber or has it picked up colour from somewhere ?

Look after it.

Best wishes, Patrick

[Bernard C]

Thanks to you all for your kind words.

...   What height is it ?

Is the handle/trail in amber or has it picked up colour from somewhere ?   ...

Patrick — Sorry, the dimensions are on the glass gallery link.   I should have included them here.   I used the contemporary term "canary" for the colour — uranium yellow.   Canary is a useful term as it was standard glassworks terminology on both sides of the Atlantic.   Modern terms like "uranium yellow" and "vaseline" have some drawbacks.

Bernard C.