“Conclusion

When he first came to Corning, Carder created cut and engraved glass designs that did not seem to be particularly innovative or original, and Steuben could not have been considered an industry leader in cut glass the way that the Hawkes company was. Carder’s creativity in the early years was concentrated on the many colors and decorative techniques he developed. The cut and engraved glass designs sold by Steuben were of good quality, but not outstanding in either design or execution.

“In studying the cut and engraved glass produced at Steuben in the second period, however-from 1918 to 1933-it is noticeable that Carder had moved with the times or even ahead of them, and in the 1920s was designing pieces in the angular style known to modern collectors as Art Deco before any of his American competitors. The geometrically cut pieces with Cintra inclusions are probably the best known objects of this type, but many of his other cut designs show this influence. The exquisitely designed and copper-wheel engraved stemware that was made in the late 1920s and early 1930s must have been Carder’s favorite among the engraved wares. With these, he was ahead of everyone else, and much inexpensive American stemware of the 1930s was only a pale limitation of Steuben’s 1920s designs.”

p. 168 in chapter on Carder’s Cut and Engraved Glass by Jane Shadel Spillman in Frederick Carder and Steuben Glass by Thomas P. Dimitroff.