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Imperial - Part 11
IMPERIAL - Part 11
For many decades antique cut-glass dishes, bowls, and vases have added glistening sparkle to dinner tables. In the U.S., cut glass was popular from about 1880 to 1920, a time known for distinctive deeply cut crystal or “brilliant period” cut glass. At the end of the 19th century, the glass became known as “rich-cut”, which gave an air of prestige to every piece. Fine glass companies produced abundant glassware - from punch bowls to salt cellars. Punch bowls were the most expensive, due to costs involved in production. Several strong hands held bowls to a cutting wheel while a cutter expertly and precisely guided each swipe of the blade. The slightest slip could ruin weeks of work.
Rich-cut glass, from the brilliant period, was collected as artwork in many American homes. Even small dishes, placed on a shelf or tabletop to reflect the sun’s rays, sparkled like diamonds. Lead, added to the molten glass, and deep intricate cuts produced the characteristic brilliant refraction of light that made this glass a commercial success.
Collectors today prize marked or signed pieces; the more elaborate the cutting, the more collectible the piece. Don’t confuse less expensive pressed glass with cut glass. Manufacturers of pressed glass mimicked the patterns of cut glass, but pressed glass is easy to distinguish by its visible mold lines.
Any antique glass can be kept in sparkling condition with use of mild soap, water with a dash of household ammonia added. Wipe the rinsed glass dry with a soft clean cloth. Never put antique glassware into a dishwasher, nor clean with harsh elements which will continue to be abrasive after the cleaning.
Silver polish offers great instant results, but will cause the iridescence to diminish over time.
474 and BEADED ACANTHUS Milk Pitchers
in Charles Broadway Rousse Wholesale Catalog.
BEADED ACANTHUS Milk Pitcher.
BEADED ACANTHUS: Imperial produced an extensive line of functional, utilitarian pieces. Milk pitchers fall into that category. Imperial made more of these pitchers than any other carnival glass manufacturer of the period. Beaded Acanthus pattern is found exclusively in this shape. The first Imperial Catalog, issued in 1904 carried this pattern as #78 when produced in non-iridized crystal. Marigold and smoke are the colors to look for. Even so, these 7” pitchers are more difficult to locate than most other milk pitchers. For pattern collectors, they are a definite “find”!
FOUR-SEVENTY-FOUR Milk Pitcher in Purple - Side and frontal view.
474 Milk Pitcher - 7 3/8 in. tall.
FOUR SEVENTY FOUR Milk Pitcher: Colors are marigold, helios, purple, emerald, olive and lavender. Helios examples are scarce, with the emerald, olive and purple pitchers very rare. Of course the lavender pitchers can be termed extremely rare!
Left: This diagram appears in IMPERIAL Catalog #104A - no date given.
Right: OCTAGON Compote in Purple.
Left: OCTAGON 5 in. Compote in Marigold
Right: OCTAGON Compote -Teal Green
Reproduced Imperial OCTAGON Compote.
No blue ones are known in vintage examples.
OCTAGON Compotes: Vintage compotes (5”-6” tall) are known only in marigold, purple and teal. Not even the marigold examples are readily available! This pattern was extensively reproduced during the 1960s and 1970s in a variety of shapes, including this compote shape. They were all trademarked with the IG, such as this blue example we display.
Left: OCTAGON Wine Decanter as shown in Imperial Catalog #104A.
Right: OCTAGON Wine Set in Purple.
OCTAGON Wine Set in Marigold.
OCTAGON Wine Set: These marigold sets are among the most available items within the pattern. While complete sets are known in purple and helios, neither are readily available. Additional stemmed wines are found in clambroth, aqua and white.
Dean & Diane Fry, 11/10
*INSIGHT*
It has been wisely said, “Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny.”
Our choices matter. A key component of our choices is the way we spend our time. Paul wrote, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil”.
(Ephesians 5:15-16)
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