You may recall that Marshall Ketchum brought to our attention a picture of a
Target ad for glass that has a decidedly Carder acb look. See attached scan.
Well, super sleuth Club member Pat Fulton of Clarence, NY has gotten hold of a
piece, and here is her report.

Good afternoon Alan,
The acid cut back vase I purchase from Target online arrived yesterday. The
truth is, it’s a lovely piece of glass and much higher in quality than I expected it
to be. My guess is that all of the acid cutting is done by a machine process as
it’s almost too clean and perfect. The (Chinese) manufacturer has been careful not to put any country of origin marks on it save for the clear plastic label stuck on the bottom. There is no doubt in my mind that these will turn up in shops and on the internet as antique and/or vintage art glass. In addition because the bottom is black and perfectly
smooth and flat, it would seem very likely that more than one or two
unscrupulous “dealers” will fix the piece up a bit by adding a pontil-like mark on the bottom to bolster its antique/vintage “authenticity.” That type of dealer might also add a little dirt to the surface just to enhance the effect. Anyone who is experienced with the real thing will not be fooled but as most know, there are many beginner collectors who have rarely afforded themselves the opportunity to have hands on learning before diving into collecting only to learn their lessons in the most difficult way possible, buying fakes.
As soon as time allows, I’ll take a few pictures of the piece to share with one
and all.
Pat Fulton

Many, many thanks to Pat Fulton for her camera aimed towards the target vase
and passing it along to us. Wow! what similarities to the real thing. How scary.
Gail Bardhan of the Rakow library staff passes this along on resources on fakes.
I’ve checked the website and to really use it requires subscribing. However,
type in Steuben and you find resources to get marks for LCT or Steuben.
Formerly, there was a journal which published articles on fakes and
reproductions. My first thought was that would be an interesting place to
publicize the good information that your group is sharing. However, I have just
learned that it is now an online resource, and it is called: Repronews.com
John Clayton has some free tickets.
have two free tickets to the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique show you referred to: February 16-19 2008…do you want them or could you find someone that would like them? redmacaw@pacbell.

Consider this. Frederick Carder studied the classics. This included, of course,
Chinese style. After seeing pictures of the Target vase yesterday do you think
that perhaps now the Chinese are copying Mr. Carder.
Our friend Debbie Tarsitano, of Westfield, MA, well known and
exhibited paperweight glass artist who studied at the Studio at CMoG opines
that The vase in the Target ad may be sandblasted.

Our Vice President, Marshall Ketchum suggests:
Even if someone ground a “pontil” mark in the bottom of this vase the way the top was left should not fool anyone who knows much about Steuben.

Marshall, let me suggest before I get e-mails on the subject that many who buy what they believe is Steuben aren’t as sophisticated as you might suggest.