Crate 'Em Up!

 

QUESTION: I like primitive antiques. Recently, while browsing a local primitive antiques show, I discovered several dealers selling old wooden fruit crates. I imagined many uses for these. But are they really collectible?

ANSWER: Today, we have all sorts of plastic containers to hold foods and other goods. But back in the good ole days—as late as the 1930s—goods came packed in wooden crates. Everyone knows the colorful ones used by the fruit industry to pack fresh fruit, but, in fact, there were as many different crates as their were products sold in general stores. 

Old wooden crates tend to evoke feelings of nostalgia—of the simple, good life. And thanks to interior decorators, they’ve become a versatile source of inspiration for creative furniture, decorative home accents, and inventive storage solutions.

Wooden crates go back to the time of the general store. Norman Rockwell reminded everyone of the nostalgia of those bygone days in his paintings, depicting men sitting by a warm, pot-bellied stove in the general store, smoking a pipe, reading a newspaper, with a dozing dog stretched out on the floor. In the 19th and early 20th century, especially in rural locations, the general store acted not only as a source of dry goods and food ingredients, but as a social center as well. 

Like the modern supermarket, the general store sold the essentials for living. Storekeepers displayed their goods mostly in packing crates with the lids pried off, so customers could buy the contents straight from the crate. Everyone knew what was in each box because each crate showed its contents in bold stenciling on the sides or with a brightly colored paper label.

Lucky customers may have been able to wrangle a packing crate from the storekeeper and turn it into a handy kitchen cabinet, bookcase, or vegetable rack. People back then reused everything, and wooden crates were no exception. 

More unusual, and highly sought after, are the pieces of folk art furniture built around these boxes, making them into extremely decorative storage units for collections of anything from fishing lures to rubber stamps and other paraphernalia.

In the early part of the 20th century these units were made by encasing wooden cheese boxes or Baker's' chocolate boxes, adding knobs and a coat of paint. Men made these utilitarian storage units to keep their woodworking or metalworking bits and pieces together in one place. 

In the last quarter of the 20th century these engaging folk art pieces have become highly prized, usually expensive, decorator items for a country look in the home. They now take their place in sitting rooms, dining rooms and kitchens, no longer relegated to the work room or garage.

In 1847, a stamping process became available that produced tin cans cheaply. Canneries proved to be invaluable during the Civil War and just five years after the war, 34 million cans of food were on the market throughout the United States. By 1878 canning factories proliferated all over the country, and almost every type of food could be found in a can. Many of the early cans were decorative and made in fanciful shapes to induce sales as some people were suspicious of canned foods. Canneries shipped their products in nothing other than wooden stenciled crates.

By the 1880s there were almost four million farms and about half of the world's annual yield of precious metals being panned or mined in America. More and more factories  turned out packaged goods such as whiskey, soap, stoves, clocks, watches and cast-iron items like doorstops and banks, as well as pots and skillets, for the home. All these goods came packed in wooden crates.

By the end of that decade, refrigerated railroad cars were hauling fruits and vegetables from California and Florida to New York. Seafood traveled to Chicago and freighters  carried food goods around the world. For the first time, Easterners could buy Hawaiian pineapples and Maine residents could buy Florida fruit.  All shipped in wooden cases with brightly colored labels. Today, these are all very collectible.

Soon catalogs, known as “Farmer's Bibles" and "The Nation's Wishbook," appeared. Each new issue contained even more and better things. These books changed the way America shopped in the late 19th century. The railroad depot replaced the general store, as people awaited the delivery of their large goods by freight train. One thing that didn’t change was that goods still came in wooden crates.

Of all the old-time packaging methods, the one that has mostly been ignored by collectors is wooden crates. It's true that for many years, decorators have been taking apart early shipping crates and just using the stenciled sides or ends to create "atmosphere" both in homes and restaurants. However, it has only been in the last few years that collectors have recognized the historical significance, decorating possibilities, and value of these wooden boxes from a bygone age.  

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about art glass in the 2022 Summer Edition, with the theme "Splendor in the Glass," online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

The Artful Draw of Citrus Labels

 

QUESTION: While browsing at my local thrift shop the other day, I came across three framed citrus prints, the kind that used to be pasted on citrus shipping crates. I scooped them right up. They’ve made a nice addition to my kitchen. I hadn’t thought much about these labels before I saw these framed ones. Are they collectible? If so, are they worth collecting? I sure would love to add to the three I purchased. 

ANSWER: Citrus labels, once quite common, have long since disappeared. Both California and Florida growers used these labels to identify their products from the 1880s to the 1950s. Pasted on the ends of these wooden crates, these 10” X 11” labels or 5 ½” X 11” strips identified the brand. And today, they’ve become a hot and affordable collectible.

Christopher Columbus first introduced citrus seeds to what’s now Florida in 1493. Ponce de Leon sailed with Columbus and was the first European to explore Florida in 1513, bringing with him citrus seeds and planting them near the settlement of St. Augustine. Spaniards and native Indians continued to grow and cultivate the fruit, as citrus thrived in Florida’s warm climate and sandy soil.

But it took another 300 years before citrus became an industry. By then, newly arriving homesteaders began relocating to Florida, planting citrus trees around their homesteads. Pioneer began selling the fruit, then bringing it to a common location to be transported by steamships. Steamers collected barrels of fruit packed in Spanish moss at various ports along Florida’s coasts and waterways.

It was the coming of the railroads that encouraged the creation of those colorful, imaginative labels. Oranges had been grown for a long time in Florida and even longer in California, but it wasn't until the completion of railroad spur lines that it became possible to ship the perishable citrus fruit nationwide. By 1875, growers began using 90-pound wooden crates. Eager to capture the attention of wholesale buyers in Eastern and Midwestern produce terminals, the growers began pasting eye-catching paper labels to the ends of the crates.

California growers were the first to use color lithography to print their packing labels. And it was from them that the Florida growers began to see how the colorful labels could be used to successfully market their produce. From 1904 until the 1940s, the growers designed citrus labels to differentiate among the competition for a particular grower or shipper. Artists and lithographers collaborated to help buyers remember and identify their brand. 

The old-time produce market was a crowded place, so having labels with eye-appealing, interesting artwork was a must. It's the same rich colors and striking designs that used to grab the attention of the citrus buyers which attract today’s collectors.

Label colors sometimes served another purpose. Each packing house used several different labels, and at some citrus groves the label background colors used were of special significance. Buyers could tell at a glance the grade of the fruit. Blue indicated top quality fruit, red indicated second grade fruit, and yellow or gold indicated  third-grade fruit.

Label art changed with the times. Fruit crate art can be divided into three periods—Naturalism, from 1885 to 1920, Advertising, from 1920 to 1935, and Commercial Art, from 1935 to 1955. In Florida, early labels seemed designed to appeal especially to housewives, with pastel-tinted illustrations depicting flowers or babies. Following these came label illustrations showing Indians, planes, trains, hunting scenes, and pretty women, all directed towards the all-male buyers at Northern auctions.

Many early labels during the Naturalism era were known as "vanity labels" because they depicted the growers themselves, their families, or their orange groves.

In 1915, the general public became aware of vitamins and the health benefits of the orange's Vitamin C content appeared in label art. Labels from the Advertising era promoted the use of orange juice for health, with names like "Juicy-o," "Juice King," and "Full o' Juice.”

Through label design, artists depicted a wide range of subjects, including the romance of Florida with sunsets, sailboats, and “good, healthy living” themes. Scenic views of Florida with orange groves, orange trees, treasure chests filled with oranges furthered the image of the fruit. The Golden Sunset brand portrayed palm trees and a warm, glowing sunset. Consumers and buyers were getting the message about the good life in Florida which also gave a boost to tourism.

Label artists also pictured Florida flowers. The Gardenia Brand and the Azalea Brand adorned Jacksonville’s W.H. Clark Fruit label. The Kissimmee Citrus Grower’s Association used the Florida Cowboy brand.

Themes of wildlife were also popular with birds, alligators, and even fish. Brooksville’s Blue Heron Brand portrayed the majestic Florida bird and Frostproof’s Ibis Brand displayed the pink-billed white bird. St. Petersburg’s Milne-O’Berry Packing Company developed a label with the classic tarpon called the Silver King Brand.

Citrus labels even promoted Indian River’s Harvey’s Groves, depicting a fertile and luscious growing region. The Polk O Dot Brand created a label with a golden-haired child from the Polk County Citrus Exchange.

It was in the 1940's that the packing houses in both Florida and California ended the 60-odd year tradition of marking their products with colorful labels on the ends of wooden crates. With the advent of World War II, wood used to build crates became both scarce and expensive

By the time the 1950's rolled around, most growers and packers tossed away or burned their unused labels. Who would have dreamed that those old scraps of paper would someday be collectors' items?

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about railroad antiques in "All Aboard!" in the 2021 Summer Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Jewelry for the Dinner Table

QUESTION: I’ve been collecting napkin rings for quite a while. To date, I have about 50 or 60. I’ve always been intrigued by the multitude of designs and materials from which they’re made. Recently, I was thinking that I don’t really know how they got started. Can you tell me the origin of napkin rings? To they go back a long time or are they a relatively recent invention?



ANSWER: While most people today use napkin rings for special holiday dinners or special dinner parties, in fact, they had a totally different use when they first appeared.

People use napkin rings, sometimes called christening bangles, to hold table napkins neatly on a dining table. Historians believe they were originally handmade from strips of fabric and used to identify the napkin of each user between weekly wash days so each person could continue using the exact same one as a way of keeping illnesses at bay.

The Chinese invented paper in the 2nd century BCE and soon after created paper napkins. People used paper folded in squares, known as chih pha, when serving tea.

Around 1800, members of the French bourgeoisie originally gave single silver napkin rings engraved with the name of the owner as christening gifts and pairs of them as wedding gifts. Soon, they became available in numbered sets of 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12 in all countries of the western world. Most 19th century napkin ring makers made them of silver or silver plate, as well as bone, wood, pearl embroidery, porcelain, glass, and other materials. In the 20th century, bakelite and other new materials were used.

Napkin rings appear as single items with the name or initials of the owner, notably given as christening presents, or pairs often given as gifts at weddings and silver weddings. In the English speaking countries, numbered sets of 4, 6, 8, 10 or 12 napkin rings are found. Napkin rings are an invention of the European bourgeoisie, first appearing in France about 1800 and soon spreading to all countries in the western world. Most 19th century napkin rings were made of silver or silver plate, but others were made in bone, wood, pearl embroidery, porcelain, glass, and other materials. In the 20th century, they used Bakelite and other plastics.

Almost every silversmith in Europe and in the United States made sterling silver and plated napkin rings. Even the basic rings sometimes had fluted borders, scrolled patterns, and sections of satin finish.

Americans loved figural napkin rings—a simple napkin ring part of which was a small figure or sculpture that could take any shape and show any motif. Special rings made for children with little chicks, dogs, and cats were a favorite gift for christenings and Christmas. But beautifully designed rings with floral motifs, monograms and other design elements were just as popular.

Upper middle and upper class Victorian families used napkin rings for fashionable and refined dining from shortly after the Civil War to shortly before World War I. During this time, napkin rings were especially elaborate and artistic. Many makers created napkin rings set on a platform base along with an ornate figure of a bird, flower, or cherub.

People considered napkin rings personal items, so they had them engraved with an individual's name, initials, or family designation such as Mother and Father.

Sculptured fruit such as cherries and gooseberries, flowers including lilies and roses, a snail and shell, a frog and lily pad, a dog house with a dog at the door, butterflies and fans, are only a few of the Victorian fancies now available to the collector as a result of the variety which were manufactured.

The Meriden Britannia Company Probably was the largest and most prolific of the silver plated napkin ring manufacturers. Their catalogs sometimes included a half dozen pages of just rings.

Other sterling silver napkin rings came from Reed and Barton, William Rogers, Gorham, Tufts, Unger Brothers, Wilcox and even the legendary Tiffany. By 1893 Marshal Field Company of Chicago was proudly offering napkin rings of "engraved satin” or of 'bright silver and gold lined."

 To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Article section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the other 18,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about the early 20th century in the Fall 2018 Edition, "20th Century Ltd.," online now.

The Purity of Milk Glass

QUESTION: I just purchased a service for eight of milk glass dishes made by Westermoreland Glass of Pennsylvania at an estate sale. The set seems complete and came with serving dishes, a meat platter, and beautiful hand-painted dessert plates. It’s a stunning set, but I know nothing about it. What can you tell me about my set?

ANSWER: Your set of dishes only dates from the late 1940s or early 1950s, so it isn’t that old. By this time, the Westmoreland Glass Company specialized in making opaque white milk glass and was the leading manufacturer of it in the country.

In 1889, a group of men purchased  the Specialty Glass Company of East Liverpool, Ohio. They relocated the firm to Grapeville, Pennsylvania, to take advantage of the area’s abundant supply of natural gas. By the following year, two brothers, George and Charles West, had begun to oversee the production of tumblers, goblets, pitchers, and glass novelty items.

George and Charles West eventually became majority stockholders in the company.  They decided to buy out the Ohio founders and enlisted the help of Ira Brainard, a financial backer from nearby Pittsburgh, and changed the firm’s name to the Westmoreland Specialty Company.

Brainard’s son, James J. Brainard, became an officer in the company in 1924. At that time, Westmoreland mainly produced glass tableware, mustard jars, and candy containers.

Operation of the factory ran smoothly for nearly 30 years. During this period, Westmoreland produced virtually every type of glassware, from inexpensive pressed glass to pricier cut glass. Disagreements between the two brothers eventually resulted in George leaving the company, which Charles ran on his own. Around the same time, Charles changed the name of the company to Westmoreland Glass Company to eliminate the confusion among consumers about what a “specialty” company might actually produce—adding the word “glass” made the company’s mission clear.

Throughout World War I, the Westmoreland Glass Company manufactured and distributed intricately molded, candy-filled glass jars in the shapes of automobiles, trains, and even revolvers to newsstands and dime stores across the U.S. The jars were made of high-quality milk glass, or opal, a signature material that distinguished Westmoreland glass from its competitors.

In the 1920s, Charles added a large decorating department, which allowed for the distribution of impressive crystal and decorated ware. But it was milk glass that kept the company in the black. Indeed, over 90 percent of all Westmoreland glass produced between the 1920s and 1950s was milk glass.

In 1937, Charles West retired and sold his interest to the Brainard family, which controlled the company until 1980. In the 1940s, the Brainards phased out the high-quality hand-decorated glass and began to produce primarily milk glass. James J. Brainard’s son, James H. Brainard, took over the firm upon the death of his father.

Thanks to their high level of craftsmanship, many considered Westmoreland milk glass pieces to be the finest in the country. Many of the patterns produced in the 1950s  capitalized on the material’s earlier popularity. Among the most successful patterns were Paneled Grape, Old Quilt, Quilted, English Hobnail, Beaded Edge, and American Hobnail.

The Beaded Edge pattern was Westmoreland’s own creation. It can be found in both plain and decorated milk glass.  Beaded Fruit was the most popular hand-painted decoration for these wares. There are eight different fruits represented—apples, pears, plums, strawberries, blackberries, cherries, grapes, and peaches. Items bearing these fruit decorations are usually harder to find.

Hand-painted birds are another decoration that Westmoreland used on its Beaded Edge wares.  The dessert plates in this set would have been a special order, so they’re scarce today. Some Beaded Edge wares also featured floral decorations.

As the 1950s drew to a close, though, the popularity of milk glass waned. Westmoreland struggled through the 1970s, and by the time the 1980s rolled around, the company needed a new owner to stay afloat. The enthusiastic David Grossman purchased Westmoreland in 1981, but despite a valiant effort to revive the business, interest in milk glass just wasn’t there. On January 8, 1984, almost 100 years after its founding, the factory shut down.

What the Devil is That?

QUESTION: My mother left me her collection of deviled egg plates. While I’ve eaten deviled eggs at parties and picnics, most of time they’re served on a regular dinner plate or in a plastic Tupper Ware-like container. How did these plates originate? And are they still collectible today?

ANSWER: Deviled egg plates are a throwback to the 1940s and 1950s when hostesses entertained in a more formal manner. It was also not long ago when eggs were a desirable food, especially when they were served deviled on ornate plates made especially for that purpose. Happy housewives back then didn’t have a guilt trip about whether her gourmet delights would clog the arteries of her dinner guests.

What the devil are deviled eggs? Various dictionaries and food encyclopedias trace the history of the devil egg to 18th century England. People began using the term “deviled”  to describe kidneys and other meats served hotly spiced. Most sources accepted the comparison to heat and the fires of Hell, resulting in the adjective deviled.

From the 1940s to the 1970s, hostesses served deviled eggs at all sorts of occasions, from finger food at outdoor barbecues and picnics to appetizers at fancy sit-down dinners. Down South, no proper home was without an deviled egg plate. A North Carolina businessman, who grew up in the 1950s, remembers his mother always putting out two platters of deviled eggs when receiving guests. And deviled eggs became a standard dish at church suppers.

Though egg plates came in a wide variety of shapes and designs, all shared a common feature—a series of half-egg shaped depressions in which deviled eggs could be nested. But despite a centuries-old history of the deviled egg, most museums don’t have any pre-19th century egg plates in their collections. The decorative egg plate seems to have peaked in the 1950s and 1960s.

Deviled eggs reached new heights with proliferation of cocktail parties from the 1940s to 1960s producing an explosion of decorative egg plates during that period. The 1970s, however, marked the end of egg plate’s hey day. 

One of the most popular motifs for egg plates were hens, roosters and chicks. There were trays decorated with hens, shaped like hens or with figural hens, salt and pepper shakers. Small oval plates with matching hen shakers can easily be found in the ochre and avocado colors of the 1970s. Manufacturers also produced plates of other designs with matching salt and pepper shakers. A plate with deviled egg depressions plus two small, flat rimmed depressions is likely one that’s missing its shaker mates.

Multipurpose plates often have space for dips, relishes or other finger food in addition to the deviled eggs. Creative hostesses often place a salad, salad dressing, or relishes in the center of these plates, decorated with a hand-painted hen and rooster decorated egg plate.

Collectors often follow a decorating theme, gathering only those plates embellished with hens or flowers or plates with matching` shakers, etc. Others are more eclectic, preferring highly decorative or unusually shaped egg plates. Flowers, such as roses and violets, matching the china patterns and tastes of the times were quite popular, as were those with fruit or vegetable themes to correspond with kitchen and dining decor. The most commonly found glass egg plates are the ones of blue and green Carnival glass, made by the Indiana Glass Company.

People often confuse egg plates with oyster plates. Deviled egg plates have perfectly oval depressions with smooth edges while oyster plates have jagged edges and slightly kidney shaped depressions. The majority of egg plates are made of heavier china or stoneware, while oyster plates are more commonly found in fine porcelain and majolica. Generally, oyster plates are older, frequently dating from the mid- to late 19th century.

Prices for egg plates vary widely. Fine china and elegant glass egg plates seem to command the highest prices, the market apparently being driven more by the porcelain or glass pattern collectors than egg plate devotees. Many egg plates can be found for under $30, but values for ornate examples or those made by elegant glass or well-known pottery manufacturers can be much higher.

Pack 'Em Up

QUESTION: As I was sorting through things in my attic, I came across a couple of old wooden crates. One of them has "National Beer" written on the side in fancy letters while the other seems to have been for packing pears. Are these just junk or should I consider using them in some way? Do they have any value at all?

ANSWER: Today, we have all sorts of plastic containers to hold foods and other goods. But back in the good ole days—as late as the 1930s—goods came packed in wooden crates. Everyone knows the colorful ones used by the fruit industry to pack fresh fruit, but, in fact, there were as many different crates as their were products sold in general stores.

Old wooden crates tend to evoke feelings of nostalgia—of the simple, good life. And thanks to interior decorators, they’ve become a versatile source of inspiration for creative furniture, decorative home accents, and inventive storage solutions.

Wooden crates go back to the time of the general store. Norman Rockwell reminded everyone of the nostalgia of those bygone days in his paintings, depicting men sitting by a warm, pot-bellied stove in the general store, smoking a pipe, reading a newspaper, with a dozing dog stretched out on the floor. In the 19th and early 20th century, especially in rural locations, the general store acted not only as a source of dry goods and food ingredients, but as a social center as well.

Like the modern supermarket, the general store sold the essentials for living. Storekeepers displayed their goods mostly in packing crates with the lids pried off, so customers could buy the contents straight from the crate. Everyone knew what was in each box because each crate showed its contents in bold stenciling on the sides or with a brightly colored paper label.

Lucky customers may have been able to wrangle a packing crate from the storekeeper and turn it into a handy kitchen cabinet, bookcase, or vegetable rack. People back then reused everything, and wooden crates were no exception.

More unusual, and highly sought after, are the pieces of folk art furniture built around these boxes`making them into extremely decorative storage units for collections of anything from fishing lures to rubber stamps and other paraphernalia.

In the early part of the 20th century these units were made by encasing wooden cheese boxes or Baker's' chocolate boxes, adding knobs and a coat of paint. Men made these utilitarian storage units to keep their woodworking or metalworking bits and pieces together in one place.

In the last quarter of the 20th century these engaging folk art pieces have become highly prized, usually expensive, decorator items for a country look in the home. They now take their place in sitting rooms, dining rooms and kitchens, no longer relegated to the work room or garage.

In 1847, a stamping process became available that produced tin cans cheaply. Canneries proved to be invaluable during the Civil War and just five years after the war, 34 million cans of food were on the market throughout the United States. By 1878 canning factories proliferated all over the country, and almost every type of food could be found in a can. Many of the early cans were decorative and made in fanciful shapes to induce sales as some people were suspicious of canned foods. Canneries shipped their products in nothing other than wooden stenciled crates.

By the 1880s there were almost four million farms and about half of the world's annual yield of precious metals being panned or mined in America. More and more factories  turned out packaged goods such as whiskey, soap, stoves, clocks, watches and cast-iron items like doorstops and banks, as well as pots and skillets, for the home. All these goods came packed in wooden crates.

By the end of that decade, refrigerated railroad cars were hauling fruits and vegetables from California and Florida to New York. Seafood traveled to Chicago and freighters  carried food goods around the world. For the first time, Easterners could buy Hawaiian pineapples and Maine residents could buy Florida fruit.  All shipped in wooden cases with brightly colored labels. Today, these are all very collectible.

Soon catalogs, known as “Farmer's Bibles" and "The Nation's Wishbook," appeared. Each new issue contained even more and better things. These books changed the way America shopped in the late 19th century. The railroad depot replaced the general store, as people awaited the delivery of their large goods by freight train. One thing that didn’t change was that goods still came in wooden crates.

Of all the old-time packaging methods, the one that has mostly been ignored by collectors is wooden crates. It's true that for many years, decorators have been taking apart early shipping crates and just using the stenciled sides or ends to create "atmosphere" both in homes and restaurants. However, it has only been in the last few years that collectors have recognized the historical significance, decorating possibilities, and value of these wooden boxes from a bygone age. 

History in a Jar

QUESTION: I’ve just begun to collect old jars and bottles. Recently, I found an old blue Mason jar at a church sale. Embossed on the front of it are the words “The Clyde.” The letters “CGW” appear on the bottom. I haven’t been able to find any information about this jar. Can you help me out?

ANSWER: It appears that you found an old Mason jar made by the Clyde Glass Works of Clyde, New York, in 1895.

When New York Governor DeWitt Clinton proposed the Erie Canal that would cross the state, linking the Hudson River with the Great Lakes, people sarcastically called it "Clinton’s Big Ditch." A construction project of that magnitude, completed entirely by hand labor, seemed impossible. But by July 4, 1817, construction of the canal had begun. It wasn’t until October 26, 1825 that a canal boat made the first full-length voyage on the new canal.

Frederick Augustus Dezeng, an immigrant from Saxony, Germany, who operated a window glass factory near Geneva, New York, was a good friend of Governor Clinton. He understood the importance of being able to transport goods by water from Lake Erie all the way to New York City via the Hudson River. But more importantly, he realized that shipping his glass by canal boat would be safer and cause less breakage.Even carefully packed, glass didn’t  travel well in horse-drawn carts over bumpy dirt roads of unpredictable condition.

Dezeng saw the potential of doing business via the Erie Canal. Access to firewood to fuel the glass furnaces was a major reason, as was the ease of packet boats bringing in sand from Oneida, New York, along with quantities of potash lime via the Canal. He encouraged his  youngest of five children, William, to set up a glassworks along the Canal in nearby Laurelville, which later changed its name to Clyde.

William S. Dezeng and his brother-in-law, James R. Rees, went into partnership to open a glass factory to make cylinder window glass in 1827. They laid the cornerstone for their new enterprise on March 27, 1828, and the factory began production that year. A newspaper advertisement from 1833 promoted the firm’s glass as  first quality and free from imperfections. This was a major achievement in itself since up to that time window glass had many imperfections. In the process, a glassblower blew molten glass into a cylinder, then cut it it open and annealed it to flatten it out. However, ripples and small bubbles in the finished glass were almost unavoidable.

Though Dezeng and Rees’s glass factory in Clyde, New York, began operation in 1828, the plant didn’t begin producing bottles until 1864. Over the years, the company reorganized periodically—mostly due to retirements, deaths, and new partners— although it maintained a continuity of ownership. In 1880, the owners incorporated as the Clyde Glass Works.  The firm made soda and beer bottles, liquor flasks, and fruit (Mason Patent) jars marked with the Clyde logo.

The G in the logo is very distinctive. The wide-angled G included a downward slash as the serif or tail of the letter, tilted at a much greater angle than most. The “Clyde” embossment on the front of the jar is in a upwardly slanted cursive style.

The firm probably made these jars in 1895 to commemorate the anniversary of the incorporation of the Clyde Glass Works. Originally hand blown, they were eventually made by machines by 1903 but only for a short time. In fact, there are more hand-blown jars on the market today because the factory produced more of them. Workers at the plant ground some of the lips of these jars while leaving others unground. It’s unclear why.

Lackluster sales caused the Clyde Glass Works to close in 1915.

While the Clyde Glass Works’ Mason jars sell on ebay for $15 to $75, those embossed with the words “The Clyde” usually sell for a price at the higher end of the range.