I recently had the privilege of being at Mike Manginella’s home in Escondido, California. A visit to the home of this engraved glass expert offers not only a tour of a great cut glass and engraved glass collection, but explanations of what techniques, beauty of design and difficulty makes various pieces special, important and memorable.

Mike pointed out a particular engraved piece of Carder Steuben and then launched into an extensive discussion of why Mr. Carder’s is one of the greatest of great glassmakers. I said, “Mike, you have to reduce this to writing”, and he has.(See opposite column.)

However, Mike apologizes, because as I requested he kept it short, although he had a lot more to say about Mr. Carder.

Alan Shovers

FC’s Significance
from Mike Manginella of Escondido, California

If you are reading this, you probably already know about Frederick Carder, Steuben, and have a nice collection of their works; but how often do we really comprehend the significance of Frederick Carder in the world of glass.

I am drawn to Carder, not so much by his work at Steuben, but by his place in the history of glassmaking. Throughout history, and especially in the 19th century, there existed a handful of people in the glass industry who towered above the thousands of designers, directors, and artisans that created and gave us artistry in glass. Within this elite group stands Frederick Carder. Here is a man who throughout his life and accomplishments, always remained a student of glass. We tend to look at Steuben as the creation of Frederick Carder, but his genius at Stevens and Williams is at least as honored. In fact Stevens and Williams was the learning ground for Steuben, just as working in the pottery manufactory and studying under John Northwood was the learning ground for his Directorship at Stevens and Williams.

He was skilled, gifted, successful, and studious in all phases of glass. He understood the making of glass, the working of the furnace, the use of annealing and the role of temperature to control the process of creating a shape in glass. Similarly, he understood the work of the gaffers, the use of tools and the maker’s breath to form curves, and blending of different types and colors of glass to create a uniqueness or a production line of glass. Of course he amassed a great command of the mixtures of glass; the adding of oxides and metals, clays, and other inert ingredients to formulate a range of colors and transparencies that fill many of us with a never ending conversation frozen in his work. Along with his knowledge of forging glass in the hot decorative techniques, he was extremely skilled in the cold decorative processes; using cutting, engraving, and acid as still another method to enhance the beauty of glass. In all of these areas he was a master….yet always, he was the student, searching out and learning more, satisfied in his accomplishments only long enough to see the next path forming, the next experiment presenting itself, the next obstacle to overcome.

In the shadow of his greatness, we tend to see his glass, but in reality we should see more of Frederick Carder as someone who took his ability, his opportunities, his ups and downs, and his life as a challenge to do more, to do better, to strive, and yet always to remain a student, willing to learn. We should all aspire similarly; we should all embrace the student in us.

“Life is short, Art is long”