In response to Randy Bly’s opinion on damaged glass Charles Sweigart responds:
Randy,

We will gladly take all the $10,000 damaged pieces you have for $300 each. One man’s trash is another’s treasure!

Next, watch the heat. Beth Shaut of the Carder Steuben Shop of Corning writes:

A point to be aware of about older glass in general, is that it has stress points from age and can crack or even break when exposed to extreme temperature change in the environment. Also when put in a case you have to watch that your lighting isn’t emitting to much heat as this also will crack or break a piece. When we ship we always suggest letting a package adjust to the temerature in your home before opening as that can cause breaks even in warm weather.

On another subject Beth Shaut was asked about a piece of glass that had a acid etched fleur de lis with the term “Rockwell”. Was it authentic or not? Beth replied:

Alan sent your inquiry on to me as I worked with Mr. Rockwell for 16 yrs. The acid Mark of “Rockwell” and a sheild stand for the Rockwell Sterling Company. They bought the blank from several companies including Steuben Glass. They were a Sterling overlay companies and very high end as to the way they anneald the sterling to the pieces.

Finally, we have this question from one of our readers.
I pose this question for the Stuben aficionados. Not as a test, but as part of my learning curve. What makes a “Tyrian” a Tyrian, and how does one differentiate which is, and which isn’t, e.g. pg. 224, fig. 10.40 (Frederick Carder and Steuben Glass, Dimitroff). This piece in question look very much like Tyrian. The differences are subtle, and negligible. Is it basically the old adage, “what’s in a name?” or more aptly put, “what’s in a signature?” Or, are there concrete guidelines to determine what pieces are Tyrian in cases where they are unsigned? I know the derivation of the name comes from Carder’s idea of the purple robes of Tyre. However, that being said, Fig. 4.108, page 83, is clearly green, and lacking any blue or purple at all, so what makes it Tyrian, and not every blue iridized and decorated in heart and vine, Tyrian?