That Elusive Sowerby Butterfly!
Written in conjunction with and thanks to the (late) Bernard Cavalot.
Carnival collectors are familiar with delightful butterfly motifs on their glass. There’s Northwood’s Butterfly bonbon, Dugan’s massive Butterfly and Tulip bowl, Fenton’s popular Butterfly & Berry range and the pretty butterfly patterns from Crown Crystal, to name just a few.
But this article isn’t about butterfly patterns that we know and are familiar with - instead it’s a detective hunt to track down an elusive butterfly. In fact it’s a hunt with a difference, because in this chase we don’t even know that the quarry exists.
The first clue that set off this butterfly hunt was discovered in England a few years back when glass specialist, Bernard Cavalot, spotted what at first sight appeared to be a Sowerby Covered Swan butter dish in a plain blue satin (matte) glass. On closer examination he discovered that it was not a swan’s head gracing the top of the dish, but was instead a splendidly formed butterfly. He pondered over purchasing it, but it was badly damaged and so he left it. As the months and then years passed, Bernard’s curiosity about the item was piqued. He had finally given up hope of ever seeing another example of the rare butterfly item (in fact he even began to wonder if he had dreamed it all) when his eyes alighted upon an amber satin butter dish with a splendid butterfly on top. That was it! The Elusive Butterfly. No hesitation this time - he bought it, and it is pictured below on the left.
UPDATE 2016: We received a message on our Facebook page from Chris Maisey saying that he had found a Butterfly butter in blue satin (matte) glass, and he sent us the picture of his amazing find - shown below, right.
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The Elusive Butterfly butter in amber satin glass left (courtesy of the late Bernard Cavalot) and right in blue satin (courtesy of Chris Maisey).
In shape it is very close to the Sowerby covered butters that Carnival collectors are familiar with, and shown below: the Hen (#2551 aka “Chic”) is known in marigold Carnival (Sowerby’s Sunglow) and blue Carnival (Sowerby’s Rainbo). The Swan (#2031) is known in marigold and amethyst Carnival, and there is a version where the neck spaces are filled in, which is presumed to have been made later, and which is found in marigold and in blue.
Covered Hen ("Chic") in blue Carnival
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Sowerby Covered Swan in marigold Carnival
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Later version of Covered Swan, blue Carnival
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The Butterfly trinket set shown in a 1940s catalogue
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A study of Sowerby’s catalogues reveals a trinket set (dressing table set, shown left) that matches the Elusive Butterfly covered dish. The Sowerby catalogue number is 2552.
Until the recent discovery of the large covered butter dish, the only shapes known in the pattern were the tray, pin tray, powder jars and candlesticks - none of which have yet been found in Carnival. Note that the Elusive Butterfly butter dish is not listed or illustrated in any of Sowerby’s known catalogs, price lists or trade advertisements. Now let Bernard tell us all about the covered butter. “The cover is moulded with a large upright butterfly, complete with antennae, six legs, segmented body and eyes. The nearest to it is Britain's largest butterfly, the rare and beautiful Swallowtail - Papilio machaon. Apart from having lost the "tails" for obvious practical reasons, it is a remarkably good likeness. |
The sides of the cover are moulded with flowers similar to those on the 2552 trinket set but more elaborate. On each side there is a single spray. Starting from the base of the spray on the right and working leftwards, there are three pointed leaves, one of which has another butterfly resting on it, then three open flowers, and, finally, two leaves and two flower buds. It is certainly a masterpiece of highly skilled and artistic mould cutting. The whole cover, inside and out, has an acid matted satin finish.
The underlying butter dish has a plain polished finish. Starting from the centre of the underside, there is a long sausage-shaped lens, surrounded by a rasp type finish up to the plain oval base ring. The sides of the dish have 24 panels scalloped in pairs at their bottom edge and with a mould-stippled ring between them and the base ring. At the top edge of the side panels, the underside of the rim is mould-stippled with a scalloped outer edge stopping a fraction short of the plain edge of the rim. It is identical to the dish under the Sunglow 2551 "Chic" butter shown on p34 of Cottle Sowerby - Gateshead Glass, and I am sure it is from the same mould.
This has to be the most impractical 20th century design ever for a covered butter. You only have to look at it and the chips start flying. Just imagine its chances on a crowded breakfast table. Only rivalled by some of Sowerby's more extravagant, 19th century Aesthetic creations for "chipability", I doubt whether this ever went into serious production in Rainbo or Sunglow Carnival. But you never know, they could have produced a few samples for trade buyers to inspect, and even gone into short production runs, with most of those made being thrown away after the almost inevitable damage.
I am now convinced that the sequential numbering of the two items, the #2551 “Chic” and the #2552 Butterfly covers, together with the use of a standard underlying butter dish indicates two significant things.
1. First is that they were designed and launched together. This makes sound marketing sense, as the sale is already half-completed with a positive "Which of these two (or three, with the swan) beautiful butters do you like best?" rather than the cold "Would you like a butter dish?" A classic marketing technique. (A contemporary parallel is the Bagley advertisement in the British Pottery Gazette 1 Feb 1935, launching their two sets of pressed glass bookends, Owl and 1333 Wyndham, and shown in the illustration side by side. Neither worked very well as they were too light for anything more than a few paperbacks, but the simultaneous launch took the trade buyer's attention from "Do they work?" to "Which pattern shall I stock?")
2. Second is that the covered butter has to be the core initial design in the #2552 range, although the trinket set could have followed very closely.”
So, back to Carnival and the big question - does the Sowerby Elusive Butterfly butter dish exist in Carnival Glass?
So far, only two or three of these butters have been reported, but there must be others in existence. And the time frame of production, plus the fact that the butter was issued separately from the rest of the shapes in the pattern, suggests that it could well have undergone limited production in Carnival, perhaps alongside the later blue Sowerby Swans and “Chic” Hens.
Have you ever seen one? Do you have any information to help in the hunt? Can you catch the Elusive Butterfly?
The underlying butter dish has a plain polished finish. Starting from the centre of the underside, there is a long sausage-shaped lens, surrounded by a rasp type finish up to the plain oval base ring. The sides of the dish have 24 panels scalloped in pairs at their bottom edge and with a mould-stippled ring between them and the base ring. At the top edge of the side panels, the underside of the rim is mould-stippled with a scalloped outer edge stopping a fraction short of the plain edge of the rim. It is identical to the dish under the Sunglow 2551 "Chic" butter shown on p34 of Cottle Sowerby - Gateshead Glass, and I am sure it is from the same mould.
This has to be the most impractical 20th century design ever for a covered butter. You only have to look at it and the chips start flying. Just imagine its chances on a crowded breakfast table. Only rivalled by some of Sowerby's more extravagant, 19th century Aesthetic creations for "chipability", I doubt whether this ever went into serious production in Rainbo or Sunglow Carnival. But you never know, they could have produced a few samples for trade buyers to inspect, and even gone into short production runs, with most of those made being thrown away after the almost inevitable damage.
I am now convinced that the sequential numbering of the two items, the #2551 “Chic” and the #2552 Butterfly covers, together with the use of a standard underlying butter dish indicates two significant things.
1. First is that they were designed and launched together. This makes sound marketing sense, as the sale is already half-completed with a positive "Which of these two (or three, with the swan) beautiful butters do you like best?" rather than the cold "Would you like a butter dish?" A classic marketing technique. (A contemporary parallel is the Bagley advertisement in the British Pottery Gazette 1 Feb 1935, launching their two sets of pressed glass bookends, Owl and 1333 Wyndham, and shown in the illustration side by side. Neither worked very well as they were too light for anything more than a few paperbacks, but the simultaneous launch took the trade buyer's attention from "Do they work?" to "Which pattern shall I stock?")
2. Second is that the covered butter has to be the core initial design in the #2552 range, although the trinket set could have followed very closely.”
So, back to Carnival and the big question - does the Sowerby Elusive Butterfly butter dish exist in Carnival Glass?
So far, only two or three of these butters have been reported, but there must be others in existence. And the time frame of production, plus the fact that the butter was issued separately from the rest of the shapes in the pattern, suggests that it could well have undergone limited production in Carnival, perhaps alongside the later blue Sowerby Swans and “Chic” Hens.
Have you ever seen one? Do you have any information to help in the hunt? Can you catch the Elusive Butterfly?