Little did I realize how important the question about Tyrian glass was. If you didn’t know before, you now know it is a heat reactive homogeneous glass. Anyhow, thanks to Ruth deLorraine of Campbell, New York we now have the ultimate answer. That is Mr. Carder’s words on the subject. Yes, the Rakow Library at the Corning Museum of Glass is an unbelievable glass library and has a treasure trove of Carder and Steuben records. The staff is always helpful in research projects, which can also be done on the internet or through inter-library loans through your local library. There is also a treasure trove of documents on Carder and Steuben from the collection of Paul Gardner at Alfred University in New York state. Unfortunately, as of yet they aren’t widely available. So, here is Ruth’s report.

In Mr. Carder’s correspondence files at the CMoG Rakow Library, there was a letter dated Feb. 2, 1956 from a lady named Naomi Waugh of Pelham Manor, NY. She said she had been running a mail order business for some years and had been asked for TYRIAN Glass. She said “she was greatly interested but at an utter loss of what to look for.” Ms. Waugh further asked “what is it like, and was it signed? … If you have the time, I would surely appreciate some ‘description’ of this.”Here is Mr. Carder’s complete reply to Naomi Waugh written on Feb 7th.

Quote:
“Dear Madam:
Answering your letter of the 2nd relative to Tyrian Glass, yes it is one of my glasses – The opaque color of purple at the bottom of the article shading into pale green at the top, decorated with leaves and stems in Aurene –
Most of them were signed Tyrian but some got by without it – All color effects were produced at the fire. Yours, Fred’k Carder” End quote.

If you were trying to identify Carder’s Tyrian glass, this description might help. Ruth deL