On April 3rd Alfred University scheduled a day of events celebrating the 125th anniversary of the New York State College of Ceramics, which was held in conjunction with the Samuel R. Scholes lecture.  Alfred also celebrated a grand re-opening of the Paul Vickers Gardner Glass Center.  This is wonderful news!  Scott Coots, our webmaster, attended the event and has provided the following report and pictures.

Alfred University held its annual Samuel R. Scholes, Sr. Memorial Lecture on April 3.  This lecture series focuses on the history and philosophy of science and was established in 1982 by Alfred University alumni to honor the late Dr. Samuel R. Scholes.  The 1982 inaugural speaker of the lecture series was Paul Vickers Gardner.  This year’s speaker was Dr. Efstratios I. Kamitsos who spoke on the Structure and Ion Dynamics in Melt-Quenched and Ion-Exchanged Glasses.

Capping the day’s events was the grand re-opening of the Paul Vickers Gardner Glass Center in the Palladian Room of Binns-Merrill Hall. The Center was founded in 1994 through a gift from Paul Vickers Gardner (Alfred University, 1930, Ph.D. Hon., 1986).  Gardner began his career as an assistant to Frederick Carder at Steuben Glass and in 1948 became the first curator of Ceramics and Glass at the Smithsonian Institution.  The Paul Vickers Gardner Glass Center includes a collection of rare books on glass art and science, a collection of art glass, and the personal archives of Gardner.

The re-opening of the Center was celebrated with the launch of the current exhibition, “The Science of Design: Frederick Carder and Paul Vickers Gardner.” Annika Blake-Howland, Ph.D. student and Paul Vickers Gardner Glass Center Coordinator, with the assistance of Alfred University students, put together a wonderful display of interactive science displays, glass engineering objects, and (most importantly to this attendee) a collection of art glass focusing on the works of Frederick Carder and Paul Vickers Gardner.

The glass displayed represented many of Carder’s different types of glass. Transparent glass, jades, Aurenes, Cluthras, Cire Perdue were all represented at the Center.   Of particular interest was a small collection of Rouge Flambe which showed a range of deep red color.

In addition to Carder’s glass, there was a selection of glass made by Gardner.  This included wonderful Cire Perdue polar bears and a pair of molded milk glass vases.

There was also a wonderful glass cigarette box with a description indicating it was a combination piece with the glass box designed by Frederick Carder, the silver mounts designed by Thomas Gibbons Hawkes, and the millefiori cover designed by Paul V. Gardner.  Is it possible Gardner added a millefiori panel to an existing earlier cigarette box to complete the object you see below?

In reading the descriptions of the displayed glass, it is clear that Annika Blake-Howland and her associates made a concerted effort to not only highlight the history of the item but to also talk about the science behind the item.  This can readily be seen in the Center’s description of the Selenium Red Goblet.

The Center’s staff should be congratulated for a wonderful exhibition!  If you find yourself in the area of Alfred University, I would encourage you to stop by and enjoy the exhibition.

Save the Date!  Frederick Carder’s 162nd birthday will be on September 18th, 2025, and this year his birthday falls right before the start of the annual Carder Steuben Glass Association Symposium.  In years past, it was tradition for Tom and Peetie Dimitroff to host a celebratory dinner at the Corning Country Club on Carder’s birthday.  It’s been several years since this event has been held and we thought this year would be the perfect opportunity to revive the celebration.

A black-tie optional dinner will be held on Frederick Carder’s birthday, September 18, at the Corning Country Club.  We are excited to announce that the keynote speaker will be former Steuben Glass Designer and CMoG Director Robert Cassetti.  If you’ve never had the pleasure of hearing Rob speak before, you are in for a treat!  Rob is an engaging speaker and his first-hand glass experience is fascinating, beautiful, sometimes funny, and always extremely interesting.

Anyone attending the Symposium or who will be in the Corning area at that time is welcome to subscribe to the dinner.  Details on tickets will be available in a few months, but we wanted to be sure you saved the date on your calendars to raise a glass to Mr. Carder on September 18th!