Saturday afternoon, September 3, 2011

Early today I shared my story about how I got steeped in Carder Steuben. We have a couple of responses. I would hope others might share their stories with us. Then, Tom Dimitroff has sent along copies of a number of newspaper stories about the closing of the current Steuben factory. (see attachments) I think you’ll find this series quite interesting as it traces the history of Steuben up to the present times and how it is being viewed in Corning, the “Crystal City”. These stories will be coming to you in the next several days in a series of Gazette’s since we are limited in the size of the file we can send.

First, from Al Bradtke of Cayuga, New York

Hi Alan –

After reading the most recent Gazelle Gazette, I felt compelled to contribute a story also.

I really enjoyed seeing the article regarding jade glass again. Carder’s jades are my absolute favorite type of glass. There is something magical about the milky translucence of jade glass. It gives glass a richness that no other treatment can match. Of the jades I have to admit that yellow jade is my most favorite.

We also started collecting Steuben glass in 1999. My job requires me to travel every day, and as time permits, I stop in and check out the various antique shops in my territory. While traveling in rural Delaware County in upstate New York, I stopped into a shop in Margaretville. They had a couple of interesting Steuben pieces, but what caught my eye was a beautiful metal floor lamp with a glass insert in the bottom. There were metal painted flowers emanating from the top of the glass and winding around the base of the lamp. The glass was beautiful, but I could not figure out who could have made it. Of course, I did not buy the floor lamp as I did not know what type of glass it was.

After a few months of going into the shop whenever I was in Margaretville and admiring the lamp I finally made some headway in my research. I had received a Julia’s catalog and pictured in it was a table lamp with the same glass insert which they identified as Oriental Poppy. Could this be Steuben’s oriental poppy as well? The next time I was in Margaretville, I stopped by the shop and examined the lamp very closely (I had the catalog in the car as I did not want anyone to get any ideas). After looking it over, I decided that it was indeed Carder’s oriental poppy. However, I still did not buy the lamp as I did not know if it was worth the $230.00 that the vendor priced it.

My partner David & I looked at the lamp one more time when we were on an antiquing trip, and I still did not buy it as Julia’s auction had not happened yet and I still was not sure if it was worth the price. The next day I went to work and was completely unaware that David had called the store and purchased the lamp. He was tired of hearing me obsess about it.

Eventually we needed to sell the lamp because David’s grandmother lived with us at the time. She used a three wheel walker and we were afraid that she would sideswipe the lamp and hit the glass insert as it was just high enough that the wheels could hit it and we did not want the lamp to get damaged or destroyed on our watch.

That lamp ended up causing us to meet Tom Dimitroff and to start collecting Steuben. And that is another story. I would be happy to share it at the symposium with anyone who wants to hear it .

Al Bradtke

Next, we hear from Allen Sweet of Watkins Glen, New York

Wonderful piece-I enjoyed every word. My collection of Carder glass is composed of finger bowls in the most usual styles and patterns, but that does not dim my love for the work of Frederick Carder. I was a picture framer in Watkins Glen for a while, and some of the folks that inhabited the shop would tell me about working with the man. One was a woman who said that she learned a whole new curse work vocabulary from him.

Allswe6

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Any opinions expressed by participants to the Gazette e-mail newsletters are the opinions of the authors and are not endorsed by or the opinions of the Carder Steuben Club.

2011 Carder Steuben Club annual Symposium will be held at The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY from September 15-17, 2011.