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reference book updates
Section VNewbound’s The Collector’s Encyclopedia of Milk GlassFirst Edition 1. (Opaque News – March 2005): Plate 2 - Bottom left - the bottles with brown roses and the one with pink roses are Charleton decorated and are not circa 1910, but certainly the moulds could be from that era. 2. (Opaque News - June 1996): Plate 5 - The bottle shown (top row) is actually the Father figure of the three part family group, not the Mother bottle which is formed with sloping shoulders and a string of beads around her neck. The transparent blue or amber stoppers for these bottles are either round (as shown) or square with minimal facial features - eyes, nose, and mouth - but they are not interchangeable, as the Father's face sports a mustache. Excluding the stoppers, both parents measure a little over 6½ inches, and the Child is 5 inches high. 3. (Opaque News - June 1996): Plate 6 - The Grandfather’s Clock bottle has not been identified as to its maker, but the embossed "DEPOSE" on the underside tells us it is probably French. The elusive missing stopper is 3" high, with a geometric pattern complementing the clock, and formed with a deep socket to accommodate a candle perhaps. 4. (Opaque News – March 2005): Plate 8 - Bottom right - although not Charleton, the round perfume is Westmoreland's 1902-4 line. 5. (Opaque News - June 1996): Plate 13 - The refrigerator bottles are found with a number of different decorations, and appear to have been made by at least two different firms. Some are found with the name CARLTON GLASS embossed on the underside. Others with bird and flower decorations or simply with the word "MILK" in large script are imports from Italy, made as part of a kitchen set, including a canister marked "Coffee" for example. The undersides of these pieces are embossed with the figure of a recumbent animal (a lion?), and a monogram that seems to be "BRF" together with an equally difficult signature that looks like it might be "Egiziu." 6. (Opaque News – March 2005): Plate 48 - Bottom right - the Pond Lily Box is Charleton decorated 7. (Opaque News - June 1996): Plates 55 and 114: Many pieces made by the companion French glass makers Portieux and Vallerysthal are troublesome for collectors as they frequently issued seemingly identical pieces, but which on close inspection reveal striking variations in mold details. A full study of these parallel pieces needs to be undertaken, but a case in point is the Beehive covered dish. The one shown in Plate 55 is the Portieux version, having a rich cluster of foliage around the base but lacking embossed bees on the lid and sides. The Vallerysthal version, shown in Plate 114, has the bees flying about the cover and sides but an unadorned base. Imperial's later copy (shown in plate 55) appears to have been inspired by the Vallerysthal version. 8. (Opaque News – March 2003): Plate 57 & Millard, plate 179, Fainting Couch Covered Dish: Believe it or not, this rare beauty was originally a condiment container! It was made by Westmoreland Specialty Company. In her new book, Westmoreland Glass Volume 3, 1888-1940, Lorraine Kovar shows a line drawing of the fainting couch in the mustard container section and identifies it as MJ-39, Fainting Couch Container. She speculates it was not a mustard container, but held some other condiment. In the section on mustard containers (page 57), Lorraine answers one of my longstanding unspoken questions: "Collectors often wonder why so many of these mustard jars were produced. Around the turn of the century when these items were being shown on the market as new items, prepared mustard was unheard of. Only the powdered mustard was available. The housewife of the time had to mix this into the spread as we know it today. Another reason for the vast numbers of these mustard jars is that it was a great marketing ploy. The housewife felt that she was getting something for nothing when she purchased the mustard. After all, she could use the cream and sugar for many years to come. I suspect after a while, when just about every household had about ten sets of these mustard jars, the novelty wore off." 9. (Opaque News - September 1996): Plate 59 Quilted Pattern Jar: Pictured in Newbound's plate 59 is a jar (N 59) which the Newbounds believed might be Old Morgantown. Actually, it is one of a group of items made by L. E. Smith from 1969 - 1972 and named "Boutique." Besides the 8" size jar shown in Newbound, it was made in a 6" and a 4" size, together with matching tumblers and ashtray. Information gained from R. Grizel, Lesser Known Modern Milk Glass (1996), #33. 10. (Opaque News - June 1996): Plate 63 - "Scroll and Lace" candlestick is often called "Flame" by Westmoreland collectors. It is Westmoreland's #1872 candlestick, first made in the 1890's and continued in production for many years. Westmoreland promoted them as the matching sticks for its large open sleigh. 11. (Opaque News – December 2004): Plate 68 and B-31a. Maple Leaf Candleholder: In their authoritative new series on candlesticks (Volume 2), Tom Felt and Elaine & Rich Stoer have found a 1902 Butler Brothers advertisement from Gillinder Glass that shows this beautiful item. This piece can now be positively attributed to Gillinder. 12. (Opaque News - March 1997): Plate 142 and Ferson 619 Fox on Lacy Base: We need to remove Imperial as one of the named makers of this Fox. Both Newbound and Ferson are incorrect in stating that Imperial made such a piece. The one illustrated in Ferson (619) is either an original Atterbury or the Westmoreland reproduction. Although Kemple also made this fox, it was set on a basket weave base only, never on a lacy base. Having subtracted one maker, we should now add another. Last November, Bart attended a flea market and antique show in Xenia, Ohio, where he saw the Fox cover on a basket weave base made in red/orange/yellow slag. Whose could it be, he wondered, but the answer was ready at hand - both the top and bottom were marked with Fenton's script capital F. As reported in an update in Opaque News (Dec. 1994), Frank Fenton stated his company began using the letter F in a vertical oval mark around 1982, and only on molds which he purchased from other companies. This would indicate that Fenton now owns the mold (probably Westmoreland's? / possibly Kemple's?), and that the piece was made sometime after 1982. Can anyone shed more light? (Opaque News – March 2005): Plate 159 - Bottom right - the painted hen on nest is Charleton decorated 13. (Opaque News – December 2004): Plate 162 and M-286 Moses in Bull Rushes: This version can be attributed to Atterbury Glass Company. Don’t forget there are two versions of this covered dish. See F-421 for a discussion of the differences between the two similar dishes. See Robert Friedrich’s article, More Atterbury Opal Ware. 14. (Opaque News - June 1996): Plate 166 - Just in case you may be misled into thinking this wonderful Pocket Watch covered dish is an original Imperial design, it was in fact a circa 1892 creation of the Adams Co. (U.S. Glass Factory A). If not actually pressed from the original molds, this Imperial copy (#260 called "Watch" Candy Box) issued in the 1950s is a very faithful copy of this very attractive piece. 15. (Opaque News - June 1996): Plate 177 - The miniature tureen has been identified in an undated Gillinder catalog and can definitely be attributed to that company. It was also made in blue milk glass, a bit harder to find in that color. 16. (Opaque News - June 1996): Plates 191 and 231 - Betty Newbound’s question mark after Gillinder can be removed on the "Chubby Dog" manufacturer. (See the article on Gillinder in Opaque News, December 1995) 17. (Opaque News - Not yet published): Plate 192 (Bear Bookend): This bookend is definitely not an import. It is illustrated in Harry Northwood: The Wheeling Years, 1901-1925, by Heacock, Measell, and Wiggins published by Antique Publications in 1991. It is shown on pages 132 (Figure #817) and on page 175, where it is also discussed. As for the "white coating" which the Newbounds mention, it is common on Northwood Luna pieces. They sometimes stained or painted this glass. An example of this treatment is to be found on page 141 (Figure #922) of the same book. Now for the real kicker. Newbound’s value at $35-$45 each is extremely low. It lists in the above publication for $350 each!!!! (Note: Courtesy of Charles Griggs of Texas) 18. (Opaque News - June 1996): Plate 210 - To amuse you, here are two more poems, relics of the Victorian Age, that have been preserved on those handsome Westmoreland "Rookwood" steins: "Here’s to the lying Lips we meet, For truthful Lips are bores And lying Lips are very sweet When lying close to yours." "Here's to a good meal When you’re happy And good wine When you're dry, A pretty girl who loves you And Heaven when you die." 19. (Unpublished): Plate 211 Green background with Three Gentlemen: This isn’t a mug - it’s a pitcher or creamer. Notice the spout? 20. (Unpublished): This update originally stemmed from a questioned on why Newbound, Plate 218 (Dewberry Goblet) and Ferson, Plate 627 (Blackberry Creamer) were the same pattern with different names - since both items were made by Kemple Glass. Mr. Tom O’Connor of Antique Publications was contacted for some clarification. According to Tom, both pattern names are correct. The original Blackberry pattern was designed by Hobbs, Brockunier & Co of Wheeling, West Virginia. They were acquired by Co-Operative Flint Glass Company of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania who ultimately sold their molds to Phoenix Glass Company in 19371. When Phoenix Glass Company ceased operation the molds were acquired by Mr. H. M. Tuska, a private glass jobber. Mr. Tuska sold the molds to Kemple in 19462 (along with the Ivy in the Snow and the Moon and Stars patterns) who began using them and renamed the pattern Dewberry. So whenever you see Kemple items listed as Dewberry or Blackberry, just know that some folks believe them to be the same patterns. However, in Mr. Albert Christian Revi’s book, American Pressed Glass and Figure Bottles, on pages 69 & 70 - under his discussion on the Belmont Glass Company, he states: "The "Dewberry" pattern was designed and patented on April 12, 1870, by Stephen Hipkins, Jr. and assigned to the Belmont Glass Company. The design is so closely related to Hobbs, Brockunier’s "Blackberry" pattern that specimens are probably grouped with this latter ware and have gone unnoticed by the collector..." His chapter on Hobbs, Brockunier & Company, page 186 deals with the patent for "Blackberry" but does not discuss any differences. Based on Mr. Revi’s observations, we believe it may be premature in accepting Mr. O’Connor’s explanation of the difference in Kemple patterns names in Ferson and Newbound. It is entirely possible Dewberry and Blackberry are distinct patterns and John Kemple knew exactly what he was doing when he used both those names. 1Early American Pattern Glass 1850 - 1910 by Bill Jenks and Jerry Luna, page 68. 2Kemple Glass Works 1945 - 1970 by Grace Allison, page 7 21. (Opaque News - June 1996): Plates 221 and 224 - As indicated, both the rolling pins shown in these photos, each equipped with slightly different wooden handles, may well be products of the Cambridge Glass Company. But I am puzzled by the wooden handled version in plate 221 which invariably is found with the words (embossed around one end of the milk glass tube): "IMPERIAL MFG. CAMBRIDGE 0. U.S.A. PAT JUL. 26, 1921" Presumably, it bears no relation to Imperial Glass Company of Bellaire, Ohio, or does it? 22. (Opaque News - June 1996): Plate 223 - this modern ladle is a Westmoreland product created for its several punch bowl patterns (also shown in Ferson 226 where the information is correct, but the maker is not identified.) 23. (Opaque News - March 1997): Plates 257 & 271 Bar & Scroll Edge Plate and Paneled Edge Plate: Although Newbound gives them different names; they are identical, except for the different painted decorations on the faces of the plates. Millard (plate 21) also pictures it and names it Paneled Peg. This plate's ultimate origin may be traced either to Dithridge or Gillinder, two companies from whom Mannington Glass Co., of Mannington, W.V. acquired many molds. In turn, several hundred of the Mannington molds were purchased by John Kemple in the mid-1940s, and many plates we find today with this border and painted decoration can be attributed, as Newbound correctly has, to Kemple who called it Panel Peg Open Edge. When the new book on Kemple glass is published, much of the mystery surrounding this and many other Kemple pieces will no doubt be cleared up. 24. (Not Published): Plate 259, Millard, Plate 5f, and Belknap, Plate 7f: In an August 16, 1900 China, Glass and Lamps, page 40 there is an advertisement and illustration by Dithridge Stamp Plates that exactly these plates. So mark this plate as Dithridge until another maker comes along. 25. (Opaque News - March 1997): Plate 268 (bottom row): The names given to these two plates differ from the ones used by Belknap and Millard. Newbound’s titles are quite appropriate, but merely to help collectors equate her titles to previous ones, the plate on the left has been called "Rooster & Hens." The plate on the right is usually known as "Rabbit Chariot." 26. (Not Yet Published): Plate 270 - Columbus Plate (Belknap 5A) (Millard - 11): In her article Canton: The Glass Company that Refused to Die, Part 1 (Glass Collector's Digest December/January 1999, Volume XII, Number 4), author Marg Iwen quotes from the 1902 National Glass Co. Export Catalog Number 2. One of the references is to a "Columbus" plate designed by David Barker for Canton Glass in 1892, made in clear and opal. 27. (Opaque News - June 1996): Plate 272 - The "Iron Cross" pattern plate with an undulating border may be attributed to Bryce Brothers (U.S. Glass factory B) circa 1880s. Heacock shows a covered butter dish in this pattern (U.S. Glass from A to Z, p. 82) and notes that the design may not have been part of an extended table service. 28. (Opaque News - March 1997): Plate 273 101 Border Plate (Millard-25 & -45) (Belknap-13c) compared to "Ring & Dot Border Plate" (Millard 37): Belknap has it correct, but there is a problem in some of the other references because two similar patterns have been confused. Newbound-273 and Millard-45 are both mislabeled. These are not "101 Border Plates," but "Ring & Dot," for if you look closely you'll see the solid bars which separate the circles of the "101" pattern are lacking in the "Ring and Dot." 29. (Unpublished): Plate 309, top row, far right (Slender Panel Covered Sugar). First, I don’t believe this is a sugar. It has a spout. Second, Charles West Wilson’s Westmoreland Glass, page 217 identifies it was a Westmoreland produce and a creamer. The accompanying sugar has no handle and no spout. 30. (Unpublished): Plate 325, bottom row, far right (Heron in Marsh Match or Toothpick): The original version of this item was called Kingfisher and has some mystery surrounding it. The original version was made in clear colors. It has been reproduced in chocolate and milk glass. I’ll get the chocolate in a minute. Just know that the only know examples made in milk glass differ from the original and were made by St. Clair Glass in the 1960s. To tell the difference between the St. Clair and earlier versions, look at the swimming fish on the base of this item. All versions have three pair of swimming fish. For the original on all three pairs of fish, the tail of the fish on the left overlaps and is on top of the fish on the right. On the St. Clair reproduction, one of the pairs is reversed. The tail of the fish on the right overlaps and is on top of the fish on the left. All three of the cited references below agree on this identification method and the maker as St. Clair. Toothpick collectors and writers have some disagreement on the original maker. Pauline Breer Griscom’s reference book on toothpick holders, Is It Old, Is It New, states it was made by Bryce Brothers. However, two other publicans disagree. Toothpick Holders, China Glass and Metal, by the National Toothpick Holder Society and 1000 Toothpick Holders by William Heacock both list the manufacturer as Canton Glass Company. The first reference claims it was made from 1890-1899. Mr. Heacock book has a picture of an old Canton ad, saying it was from the 1920's. I believe Mr. Heacock’s date is incorrect. Canton Glass Company was in Marion, Indiana and joined the National Glass Company in 1899 and was shut down shortly thereafter. It definitely was not in operation in 1920. Finally, there is still one mystery concerning this piece -- who made the old, chocolate Kingfisher toothpick. Canton would not have had the chocolate glass formula at that time. Chocolate glass was invented by Jacob Rosenthal at the Indiana Tumble and Goblet Company in Greentown, Indiana. It was introduced by the company at the Pan Am Exposition in 1901 in Buffalo, NY. This was after the Canton Company had closed. The Greentown Factory also joined National Glass after it was closed by a fire in 1903. So most likely another factory in National made it sometime close to 1903. Where still remains a mystery. A picture of the old chocolate Kingfisher toothpick can be found in Greentown Glass by James Measell. So, correct the Newbound entry to reflect the proper name -- Kingfisher and the maker as St. Clair Glass. Thanks to Richard Ryan of Fort Worth, Texas for helping with this information. 31. (Opaque News – March 2005): Plate 340 - Bottom left - the "shell" dish is Westmoreland's #324-2 Leaf Dish and is Charleton decorated 32. (Opaque News - March 1997): Plate 350 Artist’s Palette: This is not a big deal, but it should be noted that the illustration of this piece in Newbound is upside down. New member Lana Sumerall of Leavenworth, Kansas, has informed Bart that she has one of these pieces with a painted sailboat. To view the boat correctly the palette has to be turned the other way around. Anyhow, all it takes is to turn the Newbound illustration upside down and you will see that the paint brushes should be pointing up, otherwise they would fall out! 33. (Opaque News - March 1993 and March 1997): Belknap, Plate 57 (Chrysanthemum Dresser Tray) & Millard, Plate 38b (Dahlia Corner Tray) This tray has been assigned two different names, neither of which Is correct, strictly speaking. In both design and quality of glass, it is outstanding, as Belknap has noted, distinguishing it from the many common dresser trays that we find so frequently. This tray is a McKee product, part of a group of dresser items in what was called "Venetian" pattern, and especially collectable in chocolate glass. Other items in the same pattern as this 8" X 10" "comb and brush tray" are two smaller trays; a round covered jar; a jewel and a glove box; and a cologne bottle with stopper. See James Measell, Greentown Glass (1974), p.85. Update: Opaque News March 1997 The "Chrysanthemum Tray" (Belknap, Plate 57; Millard, Plate 38 and Newbound, Plate 352) Is it McKee, Fostoria, or Fenton? After I thought it was a settled matter, Bart Gardner has reopened the question of who made the beautiful dresser tray illustrated in Belknap-57 and Millard-38. Based on information furnished by James Measell in his excellent book, (Greentown Glass ( 1979), p.85, I reported in an Opaque News "Update" (March 1993) that this tray was made by McKee and Brothers. Measell illustrates it in chocolate glass and stated that Ruth Herrick named it "Chrysanthemum," but the original name for the pattern was "Venetian." The tray together with a variety of other dresser pieces is shown in a McKee advertisement for "Opal Decorated Novelties," in the August 10, I899 issue of China, Glass and Lamps. Not content to leave well enough alone, and perhaps just to ruffle my otherwise placid existence, Bart wrote to say, "While browsing through William Heacock's Victorian Colored Pattern Glass, Bk 4 - Custard Glass, I saw this tray illustrated as item 463, which Heacock says was made in custard and chocolate by Fenton Art Glass Company. My questions to you are - Does Fenton still own the mold, and is our earlier attribution to McKee still correct?" These questions put me to the task of trying to untangle the two different names given to this pattern, and in the process I was led to reconsider whether the attribution to McKee might be incorrect. Both Measell and Heacock, in the references cited above, credit Ruth Herrick with naming the pattern "Chrysanthemum." Measell believes, and I agree, that Herrick probably got the name from Belknap who originated it for this pattern. Millard is alone in calling it "Dahlia Corner Tray (M-38b)." After carefully comparing a specimen in my collection with those illustrated in Belknap and Millard, I feel confident that they are identical. A close scrutiny of the Venetian pattern tray in chocolate glass shown by Measell, however, reveals that the two patterns, though very similar, are not identical. Therefore, I believe we may be dealing with a case of mistaken identity - it is not simply a matter of different names for the same pattern, but of two patterns which, while almost identical, are in fact different. The trays shown in Belknap and Millard (which we will continue to call "Chrysanthemum") are not the McKee "Venetian" pattern after all. I haven't been able to get Betty Newbound's confirmation that the milk white glass tray illustrated in her book (Fig. 352, bottom left) is in fact signed McKee, but it is my belief she may be mistaken. Judging only from her photograph, at least, it does not appear to be the same pattern as the chocolate tray shown and identified correctly in Measell (Plate 189) as McKee's "Venetian." Who, then, was the maker of the Chrysanthemum pattern tray? We have documented proof that it is a product of the Fostoria Glass Company of Moundsville, West Virginia. Line drawings of the tray, together with other matching dresser pieces, appear in a Fostoria catalog of pressed glass dated 1900. The pattern is illustrated and discussed in an article by Albert Christian Revi (Spinning Wheel, 1971), which we reprinted in the March 1996 issue of Opaque News. The close similarity between the patterns of these Fostoria and McKee dresser items explains why the same name was given to both patterns, thereby obscuring the fact that they are not identical and were actually made by two different companies. We may definitely disregard Heacock's attribution of this tray to Fenton. Replying to my inquiry, Mr. Frank Fenton in a letter dated November 22,1996, explained the probable reason for the error, stating: "Bill Heacock had a tendency to attribute the manufacturer based on color and characteristics, and that's what he did in this case. That tray was not made by Fenton" Unfortunately, the photocopy of the McKee advertisement is less than optimal. but if you compare the catalog and advertisement sketches illustrated below, you may be able to see the subtle differences between the McKee Venetian and the Fostoria Chrysanthemum patterns. It will take some doing, and the use of a magnifying glass perhaps, for the differences to become apparent. 34. (Opaque News – March 2005): Plate 358 - Made and decorated by Lornita Glass Co 35. (Opaque News - June 1996): Plate 368 - Just a caution that the Mephistopheles Vase was reproduced in the 1940s by Imperial (their #486 and called "Masque Vase"). They are usually marked with the IG Logo. The French originals are found in white and blue milk glass; the ones in white are rarely marked; the blue ones, however, are almost always marked with the name "PORTIEUX" embossed on the underside, together with the registry or patent designation ("DEPOSE"). 36. (Unpublished): Plate 379, Zipper & Jewel 7" Vase. It appears this vase was produced by Phoenix Glass for the K.R. Haley Glassware Company, Greensburg, PA in 1948. Reference Jack D. Wilson’s book Phoenix & Consolidated Art Glass 1926-1980, pages 178 & 179. These pages reproduce a Haley Glass Company catalog dated May 1, 1948 and shows this vase in clear. The catalog states articles were made in opaque and clear. 37. (Unpublished): Plate 381, Beads, Stars & Scroll Vase. This vase was made by the Eagle Glass Manufacturing Company. It appears in their China, Glass, and Lamps advertisement in 1899. To see the advertisement see F-597. 38. (Opaque News June 1999): Plate 382 - Double Opening Vase: An eBay bidder has reported winning one of these vases in a recent auction. It is said to be made in a gray/blue color and to carry a PV FRANCE sticker. We have not seen the vase, but if the report is accurate, it provides an attribution for the item shown in Newbound. 39. (Opaque News – March 2005): Plate 383 - Bottom right - the decoration attribution is correct - vase is Consolidated's Regent #2321. 40. (Opaque News – March 2005): Plate 386 - This vase is Charleton decorated "ivy" not violets 41. (Opaque News - June 1996): Plate 403 - The playing card holder (middle of bottom row) is a well know as a Westmoreland Specialty Co. product. 42. (Opaque News - June 1996): Plate 406 - The three section item of half-egg’s around the centered metal handle is indeed a candidate for "Watsit?" and Betty's guess is certainly plausible. But, in fact, it is a condiment tray designed to hold a salt shaker, pepper shaker, and mustard or jam container. These missing pieces are egg shaped at the top, with the bottom portion tapered, so when placed inside the half-eggs of the tray, each piece appears to be a whole egg. One example has an attractive hand-painted decoration of a rail fence, with trees in the foreground and mountains in the distance, all done in varying shades of sepia, typical of many Mt. Washington or Smith Brothers products, and may be a clue to the origin of this unusual condiment set. 43. (Opaque News – March 2005): Plate 417 - Middle - the baby shoe was made by Lornita but the decoration is Charleton. 44. (Opaque News - June 1996): Plate 419 - "West Virginia" should read "Westmoreland" Specialty Co., of course. Obviously, just a typographical error here, which unfortunately is unavoidable in going from manuscript to print. I call attention to this typo only for the benefit of new collectors who may waste time needlessly trying to find out about this mysterious Specialty Company in West Virginia. 45. (Not Published): Plate 421 Easter Basket: In a February 17, 1897 China, Glass and Lamps, page 25 there is an advertisement and illustration of this piece by Eagle Glass and Manufacturing Company. So attribute this piece to Eagle Glass. 46. (Unpublished): Plate 423 Puss ‘N Boots Candy Container and Ferson, Plate 438 Cat in Shoe: In Ruth Ann Grizel’s Book, Westmoreland Glass: Our Children’s Heirlooms, pages 59 & 60 is a description and pictures of this item. It dates to about 1910 and was made by Westmoreland Specialty Company in four different versions. It was named "Cat in Boot Candy Container." Ferson should be annotated as to the maker and item name and Newbound should be annotated as to the proper item name. 47. (Opaque News – September 2005): Plate 430 Egg with Horseshoe and Embossed Easter: Gillinder called this product Number 4: Egg decorated and gilt and advertised it in an April 12, 1903 crockery and Glass Journal advertisement. Back to Top |
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