Owned and Curated by Glen and Stephen Thistlewood
|
|
Mary Gregory style: Bohemia (Czechoslovakia), maker unknown
|
|
The delightful Mary Gregory style tumblers that are in Bob’s collection, come in a range of sizes and shapes. Made of thin glass, all are on clear base glass with a marigold iridescence. The exquisite designs of young children are applied to the tumblers in white enamel. The tumblers are "paired": one depicts a boy figure, and the other a girl. Each child has one arm extended and when the pieces are placed side by side, each child is pointing at the other, making a pleasing display.
When researching this style of tumbler, we (Glen & Stephen) were thrilled to find the ad shown above which appeared in 1909, so very near to the start of Classic Carnival Glass making in the USA. The ad provides contemporaneous proof that iridised Mary Gregory style water sets were being produced and offered for sale at that time. Note that the ad refers to “iridescent green glass”, which means there might be a green Carnival example out there, still to be found!
Of his tumblers, Bob reports that:
“there are at least three different pairs of Mary Gregory Carnival glass tumblers that are known: all three have the familiar Mary Gregory young boy and young girl design as their main enameled feature. Because all these were found as pairs, it raises the question as to whether these were only sold as pairs or are just part of larger water sets. Each of these pairs are very different from each other. So far as I can find out, no Mary Gregory style iridized pitchers have yet been found. That is a shame as they would make wonderful water sets.”
The set shown above are "regular" size tumblers and both have the same measurements, as shown. These are definitely tumblers that were made by being blown into moulds and are quite thin and light in weight. Most likely they were made before the other tumblers, shown below, during an earlier period when Mary Gregory was being blown.
When researching this style of tumbler, we (Glen & Stephen) were thrilled to find the ad shown above which appeared in 1909, so very near to the start of Classic Carnival Glass making in the USA. The ad provides contemporaneous proof that iridised Mary Gregory style water sets were being produced and offered for sale at that time. Note that the ad refers to “iridescent green glass”, which means there might be a green Carnival example out there, still to be found!
Of his tumblers, Bob reports that:
“there are at least three different pairs of Mary Gregory Carnival glass tumblers that are known: all three have the familiar Mary Gregory young boy and young girl design as their main enameled feature. Because all these were found as pairs, it raises the question as to whether these were only sold as pairs or are just part of larger water sets. Each of these pairs are very different from each other. So far as I can find out, no Mary Gregory style iridized pitchers have yet been found. That is a shame as they would make wonderful water sets.”
The set shown above are "regular" size tumblers and both have the same measurements, as shown. These are definitely tumblers that were made by being blown into moulds and are quite thin and light in weight. Most likely they were made before the other tumblers, shown below, during an earlier period when Mary Gregory was being blown.
Bob reports: "The pair of tumblers above are rather unusual because of their sizes. One cannot help notice the difference in size right away – the glass with the young boy is taller than the one with the young girl. They were obviously meant for beer drinking – the larger difference sort of implies that men can drink more beer than the ladies. I have been told that this is a central European trait. Be that as it may, the one with the boy measures 7¼" high with a 3⅜” rim. The base is 2½” side to side. I believe the height is the largest drinking glass that I have ever come across. The one with the girl measures 6¾” high with a 2⅞” rim. The base is 2½” across. The thin glass looks blown as there are no mould lines visible. They were definitely made in Czechoslovakia."
|
Bob reports: "This pair of tumblers look more like conventional beer glasses. They are shorter in size and the glass is much thicker. Although there are no mould marks visible I do not think it is blown glass. Both tumblers are the same size – 5⅝” high; 2¾” rim and a 2⅛” base. The top part of the glass with the young boy is not iridized above the three rounded rings over the base. Both of these tumblers have all the earmarks that indicate they were also made in Czechoslovakia."
|
The Story of Mary Gregory Glass - additional research by Glen & Stephen Thistlewood
|
The name “Mary Gregory” combines a little bit of myth as well as a slice of truth. It seems that there was a lady called Mary Gregory who worked for the Boston & Sandwich Glass Co in the 1880s, and a legend of sorts built up around her name, attributing the enamelled designs featuring young children to her. Not true!
These enamelled glassware items were actually made in Bohemia from the late 1800s through to the early 1900s. An entire range of shapes was made, although we can only confirm iridised versions in the various tumbler forms. We were thrilled when, in the course of our research, going through old newspaper and catalogue archives, we came across the ads shown here, which confirmed the dates of production as well as the use of iridescence. The 1901 Nehrlich & Co ad (a Toronto, Canada firm, right) confirms the country of production as Bohemia (the former Czechoslovakia) while the 1909 John Smyth ad at the top of the page confirms that the glass was made “iridescent”. Can the maker of the Carnival Mary Gregory tumblers be determined? Probably not, as that particular style of enamelling was done by several glass makers, including Carl Hosch, Julius Muhlhaus and others, in Bohemia. Furthermore, the glass industry in the area at the time was often based on a system whereby many items that were made in a glass works, were “finished” (often decorated) by workers in the local cottage industry. So, although we can attribute the Mary Gregory style tumblers to Czechoslovakia (Bohemia), we feel it is safer to refer to them as “maker unknown”. |
From the 1901 Nehrlich & Co. (Toronto) catalogue of Fancy Goods
|
|
Several images of Mary Gregory style decoration, as shown in the Carl Hosch catalogue, 1880s. Courtesy Rakow Research Library.
|
|
|
A word of warning!
The Mary Gregory style of decoration is so appealing that it was inevitable that it would be extensively reissued and reproduced, as a simple internet search will reveal. It is thought that the more recent production of tumblers was not iridised, but we are actively researching this, and more is to follow.
The Mary Gregory style of decoration is so appealing that it was inevitable that it would be extensively reissued and reproduced, as a simple internet search will reveal. It is thought that the more recent production of tumblers was not iridised, but we are actively researching this, and more is to follow.