22nd Annual Carder Steuben Symposium
Program and Schedule of Events
September 7-9, 2023
Corning, New York
All events will take place at the Corning Museum of Glass auditorium unless otherwise noted.
Thursday, September 7
1:00 – 3:30 pm Paul Vickers Gardner Glass Center – Alfred University
Travel about an hour by car to Alfred University, where the Paul Vickers Gardner Glass Center is located. The University possesses an archive of Gardner’s material from the time Gardner served as Frederick Carder’s assistant 1929-1943. Director Dr. William LaCourse, Distinguished Professor of Glass, Emeritus, will share much of the archive with the group.
5:30-7:00 pm Welcome Reception at Erlacher Steuben Glass Shop, 26 Market Street
Enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres as you say hello to old friends and meet some new friends – all surrounded by beautiful Steuben glass, most engraved by Master Engraver Max Erlacher. You may find a piece that you need to take home! Hosted by Kitty Erlacher.
Dinner on your own
Friday, September 8
8:30 am Registration and Fellowship
Breakfast
9:00 am Welcome and Opening Remark
CMOG Presentation
9:45 – 10:45 am James Measel, Glass reseacher and author
The Secret Plan for the Immigration of Glassworkers to Steuben
In his Glass of Frederick Carder, Paul V. Gardner writes that Carder “quietly arranged” for glassworkers to come from the Stourbridge district of England to America and that they were “denied admission” and deported. The details of this venture were largely unknown. James Measell has used contemporary newspaper coverage in Britain and the United States along with documents from the archives of the American Flint Glass Workers Union to provide the full story of this remarkable episode.
Longtime glass researcher and author James Measell has written numerous books and articles on various American glass factories and aspects of glassmaking. Since retiring from university teaching in 1997, he has been employed as historian at Fenton Art Glass in Williamstown, West Virginia. During 2010-2016, his interest in glass manufacturer Harry Northwood led him to study the Stourbridge School of Art and its impact upon the local glass industry. He is an active member of several glass clubs and currently serves as a trustee of the new Stourbridge Glass Museum.
Break
11:00 AM – Noon Allie Shanafelter, Reference Librarian, Rakow Research Library
From Etching Room to Designer: A Career at Steuben
Bolislav Manikowski’s career at Steuben began during the Carder years and continued through the transition period. As styles changed from the colorful and classical forms Carder preferred to the modern silhouettes of later Steuben, Manikowski adapted his design style. The Bolislav Manikowski Drawings and Artwork collection at the Rakow Research Library contain design drawings, blueprints, and sketches dated approximately from 1930-1936 as well as undated designs. Using these materials as well as information from other sources including the Frederick Carder Papers, Allie will illustrate the trajectory of Manikowski’s time at Steuben.
Allie is a reference librarian at the Rakow Research Library. You may recognize her if you visit the library often. She often works at the reference desk and may have helped you find a book in the past. She graduated from Drexel University with a degree in library science and has worked for the Rakow Research Library for 3 years.
Noon Annual business meeting (members only)
12:30 pm Lunch
1:45 – 2:45 pm
Assignment in Glassmaking – Live Comments by David Dowler
In 1978, award-winning photojournalist Elliott Erwitt filmed a documentary at the Steuben Glass Factory tracing the development of three major glass sculptures from design meeting to completed, handmade masterworks. Steuben designers Donald Pollard, David Dowler and Lloyd Atkins were featured along with commentary by Thomas Buechner, President of Steuben Glass at the time. Attendees will view the film with live introductory and closing remarks by David Dowler, former artist-designer at Steuben.
David Dowler had a 35-year career as an artist-designer at Steuben. His portfolio includes unique sculpture and over 200 production designs, many of which are widely recognized. David is a resident of Corning NY and lives in Frederick Carder’s home. He maintains a metal sculpture studio in Corning.
3:00 – 4:00 pm Katherine Larson, Curator of Ancient Glass, CMOG
Dig Deeper: Discovering an Ancient Glass Workshop
As the special exhibition at CMOG, Dig Deeper: Discovering an Ancient Glass Workshop presents artifacts from a 4th-century CE glass workshop in Jalame, Israel, and reveals new insights into ancient glassmaking and glassblowing. It features approximately 75 objects on loan from the Israel Antiquities Authority, Department of National Treasures, many of which have not been seen outside of Israel before. The centerpiece of the exhibit is a replica ancient wood-fired furnace, built and tested by CMOG’s Hot Glass Team, that helps to explore the importance of fuel in the glassmaking process from antiquity to present. On this exclusive tour, Kate will provide a behind the scenes look at the development and dynamic results of the exhibition.
Katherine Larson is Curator of Ancient Glass at the Corning Museum of Glass, where she is responsible for areas of the historical collection from the origins of glass until 1250 CE. She is the Curator of Dig Deeper: Discovering an Ancient Glass Workshop, along with the accompanying mini exhibition Get Stoked! Fueling Furnaces from Wood to Wind. Along with illustrator John Swogger, Katherine is also the author of the comic-style publication accompanying the exhibition. Katherine trained as an archaeologist before joining the Museum in 2016; she holds a Ph.D. in Classical Art and Archaeology from the University of Michigan and a B.A. in Classical Archaeology from Macalester College.
4:00 pm Meet Amy Hughes, Assistant Curator, to view Local Color: Secrets of Steuben Glass located on the West Bridge. The exhibit showcases the early history of the Steuben Glass Works and the dazzling variety of glass Steuben developed in the early 20th century. See also the companion exhibit organized by the 2023 Junior Curators and meet Mieke Fay, Manager of Education and Interpretation who will share some thoughts and perspective on that exhibit.
Amy J. Hughes, Ph.D., joined the Corning Museum of Glass as Assistant Curator at the Corning Glass Museum in October 2022 where she assists in the exhibition planning, research and maintenance of the Museum’s collections. She is curator of Local Color: Secrets of Steuben Glass. Her specialization is 19th- and 20th- century Central European glass, art and visual culture, with a focus on the intersections between dissent, trauma and modernism in postwar Central European glass. Hughes holds a Ph.D. in Art History and Visual Culture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a M.A. in the History of Design, Decorative Arts and Material Culture from the Bard Graduate Center and a B.A. in French and Political Science from Marquette University. Previously, she held positions at Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection and has taught and lectured on art and glass history classes in the United States, France and the Czech Republic.
4:30 – 6:00 pm JUST ADDED!!! Wine & Cheese at the Rakow Library Atrium. Come view a special pop-up collection of Carder items for our group, while enjoying some social time with attendees and Rakow library staff.
Dinner on your own
Saturday, September 9
8:30 am Breakfast
9:00 – 10:00 am James K. Asselstine, Director, Dorflinger Factory Museum
A Brief History of the Dorflinger Glass Companies and the Glass They Produced
Founded by a young immigrant glassblower named Christian Dorflinger, the Dorflinger glass companies operated in Brooklyn, New York and White Mills, Pennsylvania from 1852 until 1921, producing luxury cut and engraved glass tableware for the White House, foreign governments, and wealthy Gilded Age families. Although perhaps best known for the rich cut and engraved glassware popular during the American Brilliant Period, the Dorflinger companies also produced several innovative art glass lines beginning in the early 1900s. These include color cased, acid cut, and gold decorated cameo glass, the acid-etched floral Kalana line, the solid pastel color blown glass Reproduction Venetian line, and the Opal Glass line. Jim will provide a history and overview of the glass Dorflinger produced.
Jim Asselstine retired in 2013 after a 40-year career in government and the financial services industry. He is a resident of Tyler Hill, PA, and is the founder, president, and director of the Dorflinger Factory Museum in White Mills, PA. Jim is an avid student of the history of the Dorflinger companies and is a frequent lecturer on the Dorflinger companies and the glass they produced. He is a past trustee and chairman of the Dorflinger-Suydam Wildlife Sanctuary, which owns and operates the Dorflinger Glass Museum. Jim is also a past president of the American Cut Glass Association, and a past president of the Fellows of the Corning Museum of Glass.
Break
10:15 – 11:15 am Dr. Chris Dartt, CSGA member
Glass: Clearly Intriguing
All of us are familiar with glass in many different forms, from collectible art glass to the utilitarian objects we use each day. But how much do you really know about glass and why it behaves the way it does? In this talk, Dr. Chris Dartt will break down the science of glass and its properties. He’ll walk through the history of glass innovation, answer some of the questions that you’ve perhaps pondered, and explain in simple terms some of the complex chemistry that makes today’s glass one of the most amazing materials that you encounter in daily life.
Chris Dartt earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Caltech, where he worked with some of the same elements found in glass in the form of titanosilicate zeolite catalysts. In this work the goal was to make ordered, repeating silica structures, and if an amorphous solid was ever produced it meant the experiment was a failure. Happily, he now enjoys amorphous silicon in the beauty of Steuben glass. After working on chemical research for several years, Chris became a high school chemistry teacher. He loves to understand the chemistry of how things are made, and to share this knowledge with others. Chris and his wife have collected Steuben for 25 years. Chris is so inspired by glass he wears some on his face and drinks adult beverages from it as well!
Break
11:30 – 12:30 pm Scott Hansen, CSGA member
Collector’s Choice – Goblets and Other Drinkware
Frederick Carder’s oeuvre presents a kaleidoscope of shapes, sizes, colors, patterns and decorations in his goblets and other drinkware. These objects have been a continuing theme in Scott’s collection. Using examples from his personal collection (objects only, no photographs), Scott will share stories of their acquisition, mistakes made, lessons learned and knowledge gained. Time will be available to examine these objects more closely and, if you wish, handle them (carefully, of course!).
Scott Hansen is a long-time member of the CSGA. He is a past President, past symposium chair and has served in many other capacities on behalf of the Association. Scott is a life-time collector, fancies himself as a Rakow Library “rat” and freely shares his knowledge with others.
12:30pm Lunch
2:00 -3:30 pm
Member’s Spotlight – Some of My Favorite Things
Member collectors in this Collector’s Choice presentation will share some of their favorite glass pieces and stories. Participants include Mike Moline, Sue and Steve Maynard, Beth Shaut, Dwight and Jeanette Little, Gordon Hancock and others to be announced.
FREE TIME See the Museum exhibits, shop in the Glass Shop or explore Market Street.
6:00 pm CSGA Banquet – Cocktails (credit card bar) and Dinner & Auction
Lobby – Corning Museum of Glass
Semi-formal attire
Note: Only checks or cash will be accepted for silent auction purchases. NO credit cards
Please Note:
The recording of presentations and flash photography is prohibited. Photographs from a speaker’s presentation may not be used without the speaker’s permission.
Attendance at Symposium sessions including the Saturday banquet is limited to Symposium and dinner registrants and invited guests of the Association.
Attendance at the Annual Business Meeting is limited to CSGA members in good standing.
Carder Steuben Glass Association
19-20 September 2025
