Monday, December 3, 2012

We’ve had some discussion about a post Carder “blue” olive dish. Yes, most have thought that post Carder crystal was colorless crystal only, except for the period immediately before Steuben closed last year. In the last Gazette we were told that, indeed, there was some colored crystal in the post Carder period. Now Lon Knickerbocker of Dansville, New York adds some additional information.

Good morning Alan,

I read with interest the comments made by Marshall Ketchum regarding the “blue” olive dish in the collection of the Wichita museum.

I believe it is very difficult to attribute certain pieces of glass that were made both by the Steuben division of Corning Glass and the Pairpoint Glass Co. There are literally dozens of pieces that could be argued were made by either company, and those of you who may have the reference book “The comprehensive Guide to Pairpoint Glass Shapes and Patterns and the Gardner book would certainly understand that. I believe the two companies were making many of the exact same items for marketing reasons, most notably, the almighty dollar. Starting at some point in the mid to late 1920’s this copying started and continued well into the crystal time period. If one spends some time around Corning NY examining Steuben glass you will find certain pieces that seem to have been heavily produced, if the same person spends some time around New Bedford MA. you would find many of the same pieces and become confused very quickly.

In regard to color being used at Corning (Steuben) after they began the so called all crystal period, plain and simple it was! There are many known pieces only Steuben made that have some type of color, some could probably be characterized as whimsied, while others may have been experimental, never the less, they exist. As for Pairpoint’s use of color, they also used some color during this later period and experimented with the same.

During my time on the Carder Steuben Club Board I repeatedly tried to target Marion and Sandy Frost as possible speakers for our symposium. Marion and Sandy have studied Pairpoint for years and have written multiple books on Pairpoint glass and could shed some light on both the confusion and timelines.

This I can tell you with certainty, many museums and reference materials including our own website have pieces from the two competing companies misrepresented.

Lon

www.cardersteubenclub.org

Reply to: ashovers@kddk.com

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2013 Carder Steuben Club annual Symposium will be held at The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY from September 19-21, 2013. The festivities will begin with Frederick Carder’s 150th birthday celebration on the evening of September 18, 2013.

The Carder Steuben Club, 60 E. Market Street #204, Corning, NY 14830

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