Rande Bly of Birmingham, AL recently joined the Club. Quickly I’ve learned that Rande has been studying Mr. Carder’s colored crystal colors for years. Rande’s interest and knowledge is reflected in his recent commentary taken from a completed e-bay listing of his.

Today for your bidding pleasure I have from my personal collection a Carder Steuben pair of Persian Blue Candlesticks with Bristol Yellow threading. They are part of a three piece console set. Persian Blue is definitely one of Carder’s exotic colors. He really showed his true genius when developing this color. It is a medium deep aqua blue with elusive hints of green. It is a dichromatic color. Reason being he used uranium in the mix. Uranium Blue is a very rare color in any glassware. The reaction of the uranium used in the blue part of these pieces transcends into the Bristol Yellow threading changing the color to a golden topaz just through contact to the Persian Blue. Persian Blue inevitably comes with Bristol Yellow Threading but I have seen one other console set in Persian Blue only. Either way Persian Blue is a true treasure to acquire. There also seems to be a problem with the threading annealing to the body of the Persian Blue in these pieces inevitably resulting in minor thread loss in the majority of all these pieces. On some of Carder’s examples of this glassware he marvered in the threading a little deeper resolving this problem. This is what he did with this matching pair of candlesticks. Due to the rarity of this color we have little information on the relative value to this color however Marshall Ketchum does have one example of Persian Blue with Bristol Yellow threading pictured on page 31 of Frederick Carder’s Steuben Glass Guide to Shapes, Numbers, Colors, Finishes, and Values. (If you do not have his book one and two I would highly recommend them. They have a wealth of information for a low reasonable price). His photo depicts a Persian Blue compote with Bristol Yellow threading shape 6886 with the same optic pattern as my candlesticks. Honestly it is one of my favorite of Carder’s exotic colors. To verify this color is a cinch. A simple black light test will immediately separate this shade from his other blues as it will glow bright green just like his Pomona Green. A set of candlesticks will be a very desirable shape and will bring a premium.
Rande’s listing and pictures can be found at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&item=260340208859
Rande is also searching for information on Carder’s Cinnamon Gold Ruby. He says: I have been
studying Carder’s transparent colored crystal for the last 33 years with extra effort toward properly identifying the greens and blues. I have special interest in finding a piece of Cinnamon Flint (Carder’s name) also known as Cinnamon Gold Ruby. This color was often used in conjunction with Pomona
Green. You can find this color shown in Gardner color plate XV a. on the foot and finial of the Pomona Green perfume. Do you know anybody with a piece in this color? If so, please share with us.

Incidentally, Greg Merkel who works at Corning, Inc. is studying Mr. Carder’s colors and is working on a book. Greg will be sharing some of his work at this year’s upcoming Symposium on Oct. 2-3 in Corning. Great plans are underway. Put this on your calendar.