Saturday, January 15, 2011

Tommy Dreiling asked whether there could be a post Carder colored crystal produced by Steuben. I received two responses.

First, by Tom Dimitroff of Corning.

In response to the question about the Olive Dish in color, as a resident of Corning I have seen several pieces of post 1932 or Modern Steuben whimseys that were made by workmen during slow times or their breaks. They are fun to have.

Then Bobby Rockwell of Corning adds the following information.

I might be able to shed some light on pieces like this. Blair Hardenburg, who was a server in Roy Denson’s shop at Steuben and taught his trade by Joe Falk, would often color clear Steuben that was in current production. Where he would obtain these colors might be anywhere. I know that he used to get some of his colors at Pairpoint. The colors that he used were mainly a gold ruby, an amethyst, blue and green and would range from paperweights to vases. Blair would then peddle them to merchant sources to sell. While the glass is Steuben, Blair never signed them or claimed that they were factory pieces that I know of. An example of his work, a goblet with a gold ruby and clear combination, is with the Rockwell Collection.

Unfortunately some people have had them signed Steuben and are baffling collectors to this day. I might think that this is what you may be observing.

Bobby Rockwell

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