CAMEO GLASS
By Bob Mueller

John Northwood
Thomas Webb & Sons
Stevens & Williams
Emille Gallé
Daum Nancy
Frederick Carder

What a powerhouse of names—these, and just a handful of glass makers who would permanently “etch” their names into history. They would establish their place in history in creating unbelievable hand carved skills and artistry in creating cameo glass.

In 1860 John Northwood would complete his first major piece of cameo glass in the “St. George and the Dragon” design. This piece would begin the golden era of cameo glass in England , with the French not far behind.

With Mr. Northwood now having carved his first piece to wide acclaim, he would continue to move on to other accomplished cameo pieces. In 1873 Mr. John Northwood would start to work on his most famous piece, the replica of the “Portland Vase”. This vase would take him three years of carving by hand to complete.

There were two periods in the development of cameo glass. The first from 1870-1880 was creations carved by hand, as was the Portland Vase; each piece being done by one person.

In the second period, from 1880-1890, the engraving wheel was now used to speed up the procedure so they could create more for the demanding public. The human figure was widely used for designs, but floral and animal designs would also be used for background.

As this period developed other great artists and glass houses would compete to great acclaim. Names like Gallé, Daum, Stevens & Williams, Webb & Sons produced pieces that today are sought by collectors.

As we look at all of the artists that were part of this time, we need to remember that a young Frederick Carder, in his early 20’s was working for Stevens & Williams. In 1888 he was honored with a silver metal for his cameo “Cupid and Psyche”, where he used amethyst glass and white relief decoration. Then in 1889 he would be honored with a gold medal for “The Muses” which he made of dark blue glass, with white wax relief.

This was the golden age of hand carved cameo glass.

One other item that needs to be mentioned is the beautiful cameo perfumes that were also made from about 1876-1910. Here again the prominent cameo names found played their role. Daum, Stevens & Williams, Thomas Webb & Co. and Gallé all showed their skills creating this perfume category.

I realize that I have just scratched the surface on cameo glass, but I hope to come back and go into greater depth describing glass houses during the cameo period.

See attached articles for more. http://www.kddk.com/alans/Northwood.pdf

Bob Mueller
Osseo , Minnesota
August 10, 2009