Modern Steuben Signatures

from David Goldstein of Naples, FL

Signatures on New Steuben
A number of our members have raised questions regarding how the new Steuben that is going to be sold by The Corning Museum of Glass will be signed. This is a subject that I discussed with Marie McKee, CMoG President, during the course of the discussions that preceded her recent letter to the Club.

Based on those discussions, it is my understanding that Steuben pieces that were unsold and have been given to CMoG will be sold with whatever markings they already have. These may be script signatures, acid-stamped signatures or paper labels, depending on when, where and how they were produced.
Steuben pieces that will be made for and sold by CMoG will have signatures that will be distinguishable from other, earlier Post-Carder Steuben pieces. The exact form of signature or marking has not yet been determined, but Ms. McKee understands and shares our concern that new pieces might eventually be passed off as older examples.

According to Ms. McKee, “Steuben changed the signature approximately every 10 years to assist in distinguishing the date of the piece. We would hope to continue this procedure and I think our plan to provide a new signature going forward in 2014 would meet that requirement.”

Although I have been collecting and dealing in both Carder and Post-Carder Steuben for over 30 years, I was not aware of that Steuben had changed signatures periodically. These signature variations provide a means for determining the approximate date when a piece was made, which may be helpful in dating shapes that were made for many years.