No-one likes general adverts, and ours hadn't been updated for ages, so we're having a clear-out and a change round to make the new ones useful to you. These new adverts bring in a small amount to help pay for the board and keep it free for you to use, so please do use them whenever you can, Let our links help you find great books on glass or a new piece for your collection. Thank you for supporting the Board.

Author Topic: Ostler(?) Press Moulded Bust of Shakespeare  (Read 1483 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline neilh

  • Members
  • **
  • Posts: 628
Re: Ostler(?) Press Moulded Bust of Shakespeare
« Reply #10 on: August 24, 2022, 07:04:47 PM »
ok you've got me dusting off my cut & moulded Molineaux Webb rather than the pressed stuff. The pic here is from a celery dating to around 1872, an obvious difference to the frosting on the pressed items. Does the roughness of the frosting lines as they hit the clear areas tell us anything as to process?
I also have a couple of earlier cut & moulded frosted celeries I would date to c1860 as to design, though the date of manufacture could be later. The style of frosting matches the photo shown here.

It looks like frosting on mass produced pressed glass was done differently, not something I have considered.

Offline Ekimp

  • Members
  • **
  • Posts: 1073
    • England
Re: Ostler(?) Press Moulded Bust of Shakespeare
« Reply #11 on: August 24, 2022, 08:08:39 PM »
Ha, yes, I may have even hijacked another thread on the subject of frosting…..

I would say your first two examples (reply 9) used mechanical abrasion where the item being frosted has also been spun against the abrasive - I assume they are circular with no protrusions such as handles to get in the way.

I believe your second example (reply 10) has also been mechanically abraded but without being rotated. It’s difficult when there is a uniform texture like that so would look for other clues like scratches/feathering out at the edge of the frosted areas, scratches where they shouldn’t be, or low areas that have been bridged by the abrasive tool and not completely frosted.

For example, on your celery,  there looks like there might be areas where the abrasive has scratched unintended areas, indicated by my arrow. Is that what you meant by the scratches hitting the clear areas?

…then there is also sand blasting to consider.

Nice pictures by the way, very clear - hope it was ok to draw on one.
People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day - Winnie-the-Pooh

Offline mikenott

  • Members
  • **
  • Posts: 51
Re: Ostler(?) Press Moulded Bust of Shakespeare
« Reply #12 on: September 09, 2022, 09:27:43 PM »
I have photographed my (abraded?) Shakespeare bust and my Derbyshire acid etched frosted greyhound. I think the difference is pretty clear but interested to hear others viewpoint. Apologies for colour variation - had to use some Photoshop tools to draw out detail.

Offline Ekimp

  • Members
  • **
  • Posts: 1073
    • England
Re: Ostler(?) Press Moulded Bust of Shakespeare
« Reply #13 on: September 10, 2022, 09:28:04 AM »
Thanks for showing the photos. I’m not sure, based on what can be seen on the photograph I would say not mechanically abraded but it’s difficult not having it in your hand with a loupe in the other :) I can just about see the streaks you mention but they don’t look very conclusive, just based on the photo.

I would expect to see a few areas that hadn’t been perfectly frosted (that would partly show the original gloss surface of the glass) in the deep areas such as in the corner of the eye - where the abrasive tool hadn’t got into the depth of the cavity. Maybe have a look in the corner round the back where the bust joins the pedestal where perhaps they wouldn’t have been so bothered by the finish.

The texture that can be seen on the side of his head looks quite like the acid frosted finish in my photo?

Has the base been frosted? If not look for scratches where the frosted finish meets the unfrosted areas.
People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day - Winnie-the-Pooh

Offline flying free

  • Members
  • **
  • Posts: 12968
    • UK
Re: Ostler(?) Press Moulded Bust of Shakespeare
« Reply #14 on: February 20, 2023, 10:11:33 PM »
It says here in this from 1859 that at Osler busts of celebrated men decorated the showroom and that the bright surfaces were removed by abrasion 'after they were cast':

Source - The Official Illustrated Guide to the North-Western Railway - see page 242 (see pages prior for more description of Osler)
https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_official_illustrated_guide_to_the_No/6goHAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=f+%26+c+osler+uranium+glass&pg=PA238&printsec=frontcover

 

SMF spam blocked by CleanTalk
Visit the Glass Encyclopedia
link to glass encyclopedia
Visit the Online Glass Museum
link to glass museum


This website is provided by Angela Bowey, PO Box 113, Paihia 0247, New Zealand