Topic: Mdina ' MELITA ' Range...........January 1976

[Patrick]

Hi,

Have found a newspaper article that gives details of Dobson's new colours and designs to be introduced into the UK  on the 1st January ,1976.to be called the Melita Range.
 This gave an alternative to the established Blue...........

Cheers,

Ps,      It would be interesting if members could show examples of this range..........

[glassobsessed]

Yes but which colour is it...?

Contenders may include the following two, the second - Tiger is a development on the the first example (no name that I know of).

Trusting what is published in a newspaper is a very rocky road.

John

[Baked_Beans]

It does say it's an alternative to blue.   I would have thought the Times of Malta would be very accurate about this, why wouldn't they ??   

How about this as a wild guess ..............

[chopin-liszt]

I had always thought Tiger preceeded the one I refer to as "Sea and Sand", the yellow bubbly background with a Tiger band around it, yoiu have illustrated there, John.
Tiger got renamed Marble. I don't believe it's ever been anything other than Tiger or Marble.



"Melita" is ringing a bell somewhere, but I don't know if it's from reading the very old (and no longer available Mdina glass factory website), or if it seems familiar because it's very similar to a brand name of coffee filters I have to get from a supermaket when I can't get better ones elsewhere.

I have been told, (I suspect it was Ron Wheeler, but I might be wrong), that the Chevron pattern was Said's design.

We were cross-posting, Mike!

That would be a good contender. The yellow splodgy background with orange splodgy trails!
I don't know if it is. But I do have a good few bits. It's one I like and it's a complicated and difficult bit to make.
A lot of that ended up in Germany.

[glassobsessed]

It could well be Tiger first Sue. l have always assumed the yellow bubbly background stuff was earlier, like the items in 'Rosenthal' type colours it does not seem to last much past 1975, going on dated examples.

[Patrick]

Hi,

I think we may get an answer from Joseph Said.........   Mark Warner who works for Mdina is now aware of this article and is going to give us the facts.

Maybe we will have to wait for the new book.......

Cheers,

Patrick.

Ps Remember we are talking 'New Designs' , new colours and 'New techniques'...

[chopin-liszt]

I felt, generally, that Tiger got a bit "inspired" by the lollipops with multicoloured wormy trailing inside, (some of those are actually Tiger), and the cubes, (which are basically lollipops which have been shaped differently) also go from having wormy trails inside to having Tiger insides.

But I don't know. I just always felt the yellow with the tiger band was a good bit later, as in post-official Tiger, rather than during its development.
I could well be wrong.

The yellow and orange pattern is one I've always referred to as being "Intestines".

[Greg.]

There are a whole host of different shapes in this 'sand and sea' type pattern in Andy's old thread below, with reference of a fish dated 1981....


http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,26518.msg145726.html?PHPSESSID=5ppk255r02atk82rt2k1j95s15#msg145726

[Baked_Beans]

"Intestines" !  I won't ever be able to look at it in the same light again , especially during meal times. 

If it catches the sun you really do get a feeling of Mediterranean sunshine and heat .

Not wishing to sound pedantic Patrick , the newspaper article only mentions new colours and new techniques not new designs as far as I can tell. So the bottle shape might still be applicable. Really pleased that the real answer will be revealed in time.

Good fun trying to have a guess    

[Patrick]

Not wishing to sound pedantic Patrick , the newspaper article only mentions new colours and new techniques not new designs as far as I can tell. So the bottle shape might still be applicable.

Hi Mike,

Maybe you are right but it seems to read as 'specially designed'.......... rather than just 'new colours.'