From Beth Shaut of Corning on the Table Topping article
Yes the Elephants were used as Hood Ornaments but most often as Luminar pieces for Flower Blocks and Lighting pieces.

From Jane Shadel Spillman, Curator of American Glass at The Corning Museum of Glass
Alan, I was just rereading the Gazelle Gazette I got on Monday, May 11, and realized that a reference was made to the Corning companies borrowing formulas from each other. I’ve never seen any evidence that that was done. They certainly shared blanks and shared orders; there’s a good bit of evidence for that. But in all of the company correspondence I’ve read, there’s nothing about sharing formulas. Steuben obviously used a lot of different formulas; Sinclaire did as well in the period when they were making their own blanks. And there was a certain amount of “sharing” caused by the fact that sometimes a glass mixer moved from factory to factory and took his recipes with him. But I think it’s more likely that if a Steuben mark is on a Sinclaire piece, or vice versa, that it was because of a shared blank, not a shared formula.

Finally, a question from Bea Weiskopf

Hello Alan

Again I thank you for the informative emails. I am learning something new with each one.

I have a question to pose to Carder Steuben collectors and dealers regarding how to go about evaluating an item with an etched F Carder signature. Let us say we have three items, all exactly the same well-known Carder Steuben piece. One is unsigned with no mark. The next is marked with an acid Steuben mark and the third with the etched F Carder signature. When I am appraising an item, what weight in valuation should I give to unmarked, marked and signed?

I look forward to hearing everyone’s opinion.

Thanks to all,

Bea Weiskopf, ISA AM
Accredited Member
International Society of Appraisers