... The reality is that their work may well turn up rather more often than people would think, often in unusual places, and for the most part unrecognised.
Early pieces could be expected to start appearing in the next ten years with increasing regularity.
Marcus — you stirred memories of a report of one of the great engravers working at Blackpool, so I found it, fairly quickly, ref. Hajdamach,
Two Bohemian Engravers Rediscovered, in Glass Association Journal #2, 1987.
Apparently Wilhelm Pohl also worked on the seafront at Blackpool for two seasons where he engraved tumblers etc. with names and mottoes. The high cost of hiring a stall was prohibitive, and Pohl decided it was unprofitable and he gave it up after two years.
This would have been some time in the 1870s or 1880s. Another connection is that a water jug owned by Pohl's descendants, and engraved by him with a view of The Devil's Glen, Co. Wicklow is similar to the frontispiece in Whistler's book.
Anyway, the point I was making is that a fairly comprehensive collection of engraved souvenirs from Blackpool is quite likely to include one or more examples of Wilhelm Florian Pohl's work. As always, the problem is how to identify them, apart from the obvious point that engravings featuring Blackpool Tower could not have been by Pohl, as the tower was not built until 1894. In his day the main attractions would have been the piers.
... I seem to be becoming something of an expert here on Blackpool Tower! I have fond memories of Blackpool as I worked on the Pleasure Beach in summer 1969 in between finishing University and starting work as a trainee analyst/programmer.
Bernard C.
Topic: Laurence Whistler: The Image on the Glass (Read 9643 times)
