Topic: Walther Glass Amethyst and Gold Set (images resized)

[Mosquito]

It's usually fairly easy to tell Moser production apart from the Walther or other pressed versions - although the differences aren't always easily spotted on photographs, hence handling is important.

Usually Moser production is marked; the panels are finely ground polished and hence the edges are much sharper than the pressed & fire polished Walther vases - finally the decorated band is acid cut on genuine oroplastique, again much sharper than the press-moulded Walther versions.

While these Walther pieces are lovely, if you place them side by side with Moser production the difference in quality is easy to see.

Below I've attached a pic of an amber Walther 41201 vase that I owned until recently, the decoration appears a little different from the amethyst pieces that started the thread. Also I see on Glen's site that Riihimaki made pieces in a similar style, perhaps they are a possible contender for the trinket set items? http://www.thistlewoods.net/Amazon-Women-vase.html

[Ohio]

Looked at the "King of Glass" article & all I'll say is that whomever authored it must have received their information from a deck of Tarot cards. Deerwood (Tiffin Glass Co.)& Woodlands (correct name is Wheeling Decorating's Fox & Hounds) are not copies of anything. They are original acid etched patterns & have nothing in common compared with the raised molded patterns in the examples shown by the OP. Evidently the author of "King of Glass" cannot distinguish the differences between acid etched patterns &  patterns from a mold.  Ken

[Cathy B]

Well, if I've followed the references correctly, it looks like the author credits that nugget to Andy McConnell's 1006 Miller's 20th Century Glass, pp 54-55, so it's possible to check whether the error originated there. I'll see whether I can find it now. (If it did, I'm sure Andy would like to know.)

[Cathy B]

Maybe the author of the page is guilty of nothing more than a bit of lazy cut and paste with references.

Here's what Andy wrote on page 54.

Moser's notable early 20th-centruy ranges included vases deeply ingraved with Art Nouveau lillies ... and the Fipop series, from c.1914. Fipop was an ingenious and stylish method of banding glassware with acid-etched and gilded Neo-classical friezes. These inspired a rash of derivatives, some of which mathced Moser's quality, while others were cheaply pressed, produced by companies including Inwald, Brockwitz and Walther & Soehne, whose catalogues illustrated them into the mid-1930s. Several American glassworks produced copies of Fipop, between 19227 and 1933, including US Glass and Paden City Glass variously naming it Woodland and Deerwood, featuring typical Bohemian scenes of stags, foals and rabbits in woodland (p. 81).

I wonder whether Andy is merely stating that the success of the Moser design influenced the design of the US Glass & Paden City designs, rather than implying that US Glass and Paden City slavishly copied Moser? Or perhaps he was just drawing too long a bow?

Deerwood appears about halfway down this page.

[heartofsklo]

I have written to both Moaser and Walther to ask their opinion and if they can shed any light on my pieces, not sure if they will respond or if the emails will get past the receptionists though. If I do hear, of course I will post back.

What I have noticed with my pieces is that the glasses and vase have totally different patterns, the gold band on the glasses appears to have much more depth/detail.

[heartofsklo]

RESULT -

I have had a lovely reply from  Walther-Glas GmbH & Co. Basiacally as follows -

" The vase and the tumblers are made by Walther-Glas. The range was called “Hellas” and was produced in Ottendorf Okrilla in 1930 for the first time. Later on it was produced in Bad Driburg Siebenstern again (1951).

The glass is through-coloured in purple (no painting afterwards, but produced with through-coloured glass mixture) and the gold finishing is painted with gold colour (24 carat) by hand afterwards. "

So, any ideas how we can start to date these pieces for sure seeing as Walther in Bad Driburg Siebenstern produced them again in 1951?

At least it is a deffinate attribution 

[Ohio]

Thanks for including the original author's (Andy) comments Cathy. Thats a far cry from what was stated in the "King of Glass" article & I would say the "just drawing too long a bow" comment is most appropriate as US companies of this size & scope simply would not have any reason to copy anything Moser produced or for that matter even influenced by Moser. Believe it or not we here in the states had for the latter part of the 19th century & the better part of the 20th century had a thriving glass industry, especially from the Depression years up until the early 1970's. On a technical note...Woodlands (correct name Fox & Hounds) was not a Paden City etch. It was an etch used by the Wheeling Decorating Company on blanks from numerous US glass companies & sold through Wheeling Decorating who as the name implies was a decorating company that did not produce any glass. Ken

[Lustrousstone]

Except in the 1931 and 1933 catalogues there is a different design called Hellas  :huh:

[Anne]

Hmmmm I bet someone has looked at the catalogues and thought they looked the same without looking at them in depth... it's easy to see why they would think they are the same at first glance, and no-one in modern-day Walther will have been around at the time the others were made, I'm sure. Or are these ones the 1950s repros I wonder?

Perhaps Pamela will be able to add more when she pops in, or she may have suggestions as to where to look next.

[Cathy B]

Ken - It's interesting what can happen when info is passed through several writers, but at least the King of Glass author cited their references. It shows how important that is.

I'll separate out this side discussion into a new thread, as it raises some interesting questions. Andy is a board member and would probably want to comment.