Discovery (Symposium activities at the Rakow Library)

Jul 31, 2010
Issue 919

Frederick Carder’s management at Steuben Glass Works ended in 1932, almost 70 years ago . So, I guess with 70 years under our belts, a repository such as The Rakow Library and quite a number of well researched books on Carder’s works we know almost everything there is to know about the Carder period of 1903-1932 at Steuben. Right? No, absolutely wrong. We know a heck of a lot, but there are boxes of materials at The Rakow that haven’t been examined and cataloged. (Just only so many resources to do this.)

Likewise, Paul V. Gardner, Mr. Carder’s assistant, left a treasure trove of Carder materials and a cash bequest to preserve them to Alfred University. As best we know those are likewise sitting in boxes with little attention at The Alfred.

So, what can you and I do about this? Scott Hansen, the chairman for the Carder Steuben Club’s upcoming Symposium has negotiated a marvelous opportunity for each one of us to spend three hours on the Thursday afternoon before the Symposium to let our fingers do the walking and search through and help catalogue these untouched boxes of materials from the Carder era. How unique. More particularly

A SYMPOSIUM UPGRADE

The Rakow Library is hosting a volunteer work session and open house on Thursday afternoon, September 23 beginning at 1:00 p.m. for those attending the Symposium. Originally, the volunteer work session was designed to help the library re-house and properly store about a dozen boxes of original material from the Frederick Carder archives. Scott Hansen, Chair of the Symposium, recently had an opportunity to preview some of this material during a visit to the Rakow. He reports finding a treasure trove of drawings (some by Carder, some by Paul Gardner), blueprints, watercolors, catalogs, sketches, notebooks and even personal memorabilia. The material covers tableware, lamps, candlesticks, vases, decanters, architectural and lighting pieces as well as other miscellaneous items. There is Steuben material, Corning Glass Works material and even Stevens and Williams material in these boxes. Some of it is clearly production drawings but others appear to be prototypes or special designs for individuals or department stores.

Scott discovered that much of the material is not identified, and so, has not been completely catalogued by the library. The library has consented to let us help identify this material so that it may be properly catalogued and preserved. This makes the Thursday afternoon session a much more substantive exercise than previously planned. We will still be helping preserve this material but now we also have a chance to add to the state of knowledge about the contents of the Carder Archives. Symposium Brochure attached.

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Symposium 2025
Carder Steuben Glass Association
19-20 September 2025
© Carder Steuben Glass Association Inc.