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GLASSES FROM THE 1920S AND 30S

I have picked this short window of time because I have a lot of glasses from this period. There are a lot of glasses out there from this period so from one point of view they may be nice to collect. Unless they are specifically desirable for some reason, they don’t cost a lot. This can be taken two ways; great I can collect loads, or, it's not worth it.

Some might say they are Art Deco but I don't think of the UK as having a particularly hardcore Art Deco style and we also had a bit of post modern creeping in towards the end of the period. If I think a glass is following Art Deco style I will mention it, but many of the glasses are just glasses.

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Glasses

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Description, References and Size

This is a Stuart Crystal Art Deco clear glass cocktail glass with an amber foot and knopped stem. The bowl has stylised flower motifs cut into it. It is Stuart's pattern number 26800. Made in the 1930s.

This glass is designed to go with one on the decanters with matching colour and motifs in the Stuart Decanter section. The shape would have been designed by Geoffrey Stuart and the cut pattern by Ludwig Kny.

Reference: British Glass Between the Wars, Roger Dodsworth, pages 97 & 98

Reference: Miller's 20th Century Glass, Andy McConnell, page 238

Reference: The Decanter Ancient to Modern, Andy McConnell, page 407

Reference: 20th Century British Glass, Charles R. Hajdamach, page 136

Height: 4.75 inches

Width: 2.75 inches

This is an amber Stuart Crystal Stratford pattern Art Deco cocktail glass. Probably made from the late 1920s to early 1930s.

This glass has a great shape and stands out against many of the more regular shapes that the Stratford pattern comes in.

This glass appears in the 1927 Stuart catalogue as a part of service pattern number 21696, but does not appear in the 1930s catalogue, which may explain why you don't see many glasses in this particular Stratford shape.

Height: 3.5 inches

Width: 2.75 inches

This uranium green Stuart Crystal sherry or port glass is based on the Stratford pattern. Etched underneath with the mark; Stuart ENGLAND. Designed from 1921 and the pattern of mark was used from 1926-50.

Stratford pattern was made of long period of time, but note, if you are planning to make ups sets the clear and amber glasses are the most common, followed by the green and blue ones, there is a slight premium on the rarer colours you should be aware of.

Reference: Miller's 20th Century Glass, Andy McConnell, page 236

Height: 3.75 inches

Width: 2.5 inches

This is a Webb Corbett cocktail glass with a cockerel motif stencil etched onto the bowl. It has an etched makers mark, WEBB CORBETT MADE IN ENGLAND that was used from 1930-1947.

Stuart Crystal is the company renowned for making cocktail glasses with cockerels on them, but it seems everyone was at it. Shoot me for saying it, but I think this cockerel design is better than etched design that Stuart used and better executed than the Stuart glass I have.

Reference: British Glass Between the Wars, Roger Dodsworth, page 100

Height: 4 inches

Width: 2.75 inches

This is a Thomas Webb and Co. glass with an uranium yellow ball foot with control bubble inclusions. The bowl has a stylised pattern running around it. Acid etched with the mark Webb MADE IN ENGLAND. Made c.1936-49.

This goes with the similar decanter on the decanter page and is super cool and super rare. The decanter only holds about a pint and these glasses are not very big either, so this service is really made for spirits, and not wine or cocktails or some such drink where you drink more volume.

Reference: Glass Signatures Trademarks and Trade Names, Anne Geffken Pullin

Height: 3 inches

Width: 2.5 inches

This is a Thomas Webb and Co. cocktail glass with an amethyst foot. The bowl is moulded in the "Fircone" pattern. Made c.1930s.

This glass is one of a set of six made to go with the similar decanter in the decanter section. These glasses are very fine, which may explain why they seem to be much rarer than the decanters.

The "Fircone" pattern is quite difficult to photograph as is such a subtle pattern and you can see it best by moving the glass in your hand, which of course you can't do with a photograph. In this picture you can see that it is not just a blobby mass but that it is formed of teardrop or scale shapes. There is another pattern other makers use called pea moulded, which looks similar, but is round blobs, and not this teardrop shape. Webb use this pattern a lot so look out for it.

Reference: The Journal of the Glass Association Volume 5 1997, page 51

Reference: British Glass 1800-1914, Charles R. Hajdamach, Page 533

Height: 2.75 inches

Width: 2.5 inches

These are a Thomas Webb and Co. Art Deco wine and a sherry glass with a triple ball knop stem, a conical bowl, lens cut in the bowl surmounted by three thin parallel grooves. Acid etched with the mark Webb MADE IN ENGLAND in the centre under the foot. Made c.1936-49

These are fine glasses, and quite rare, as the four wine glasses and the three sherries we have were purchased nearly 20 years apart. If you think you are building a set of something and you pick a rare one, this is what happens.

I would like to thank my wife for allowing me to put these on the web site. These are really hers, and I must say she has good taste.

Reference: Glass Signatures Trademarks and Trade Names, Anne Geffken Pullin

Reference: British Glass Between the Wars, Roger Dodsworth, page 103

Height: 5.5 inches

Width: 3.25 inches

This is a dome footed uncut plain "Gold Amber" Whitefriars M61 pattern port glass. Designed by William Wilson in 1936.

I have the M61 decanter to go with these if you look in the Whitefriars Decanter section. It seems these are quite desirable, and I expect they might be quite rare as the glass is so thin.

Reference: Whitefriars Glass, James Powell & Sons of London, Wendy Evans, Page 322

Reference: Whitefriars Revisited 1936-1969, Chris Woolman, Page 51

Height: 4 inches

Width: 1.75 inches

This is a “Golden Amber” wine glass or goblet, with an ogee bowl and no stem. It has no pontil mark. Whitefriars pattern number M74. Designed by William Wilson circa. 1942.

As much as amber is out of fashion I think the "Golden Amber" version of this glass looks better than the "Sea Green" ones. This is because the light refraction works so well they seem like they are glowing.

As I mentioned in the blurb at the top of the page, not everything from the 1920s and 30s was Art Deco. This is a pared back design, but it is no announcing itself as following any particular design movement. This is something that you could use every day, and this glass lives in my kitchen at the moment.

I know I have dated this as 1942, but almost nothing was going on in the 1940s in the UK so I would have no other time period to put this unless it was on its own. It does sit nicely other simple designs that were being produced just before the war.

Reference: Whitefriars Glass, The Art of James Powell & Sons, Lesley Jackson, Page 131

Reference: Miller's 20th Century Glass, Andy McConnell, Page 24.

Height: 4 inches

Width: 3.5 inches

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