Description
Steuben Penguin Family of 4, original designs by George Tompkins & Robert<br>CassettiIt. The large adult Father Penguin, a 1970's design by George Thompson<br>is 3.75" tall (9.5cm) while Mother Penguin is 3" and leaning forward<br>protectively. The penguin "Hatchling" and penguin "Fledgling" are 2.75" tall. <br>My consignor paid $1900 for this set, I'm pricing them more reasonably as she is<br>trying to liquidate her assets.<br>Steuben Glass is an American art glass manufacturer, founded in the summer of<br>1903 by Frederick Carder and Thomas G. Hawkes in Corning, New York, which is<br>in Steuben County, from which the company name was derived. Hawkes was the owner<br>of the largest cut glass firm then operating in Corning. Carder was an<br>Englishman (born September 18, 1863) who had many years' experience designing<br>glass for Stevens & Williams in England. Hawkes purchased the glass blanks for<br>his cutting shop from many sources and eventually wanted to start a factory to<br>make the blanks himself. Hawkes convinced Carder to come to Corning and manage<br>such a factory. Carder, who had been passed over for promotion at Stevens and<br>Williams, consented to do so. In 1918, Steuben was acquired by Corning Glass<br>Works and became the Steuben Division. In July 2008, Steuben was sold by Corning<br>Incorporated for an undisclosed price to Schottenstein Stores,[2] which also<br>owns 51% of Retail Ventures, a holding company for DSW, Filene's Basement, and<br>formerly Value City Department Stores; Value City Furniture, which changed its<br>name to American Signature Furniture; 15% of American Eagle Outfitters, retail<br>liquidator SB Capital Group, some 50 shopping centers, and 5 factories producing<br>its shoes, furniture and crystal. On September 15, 2011, Schottenstein announced<br>it was shutting down Steuben's Corning factory and Manhattan store, ending the<br>company's 108-year history. Soon after, Corning Incorporated repurchased the<br>Steuben brand. In early 2014, The Corning Museum of Glass announced that it<br>would work with independent contractors to reproduce Steuben using a new,<br>lead-free formula and their classic leaded crystal. Carder period<br>(1903-1932)[edit] Steuben Glass Works started operation in October 1903. Carder<br>produced blanks for Hawkes and also began producing cut glass himself. Carder's<br>great love was colored glass and had been instrumental in the reintroduction of<br>colored glass while at Stevens and Williams. When Steuben's success at producing<br>blanks for Hawkes became assured, Carder began to experiment with colored glass<br>and continued experiments that were started in England. He soon perfected Gold<br>Aurene which was similar to iridescent art glass that was being produced<br>by Tiffany and others. Gold Aurene was followed by a wide range of colored art<br>glass that eventually was produced in more than 7,000 shapes and 140 colors.<br>These are a pair of handblown Steuben gold Aurene glass candlesticks designed by<br>Frederick Carder for the Steuben Glass Works, ca. 1913. (From a private<br>collection in Manhattan, New York.)Steuben Glass Works continued to produce<br>glass of all sorts until World War I. At that time war time restrictions made it<br>impossible for Steuben to acquire the materials needed to continue manufacture.<br>The company was subsequently sold to Corning Glass Works and became the Steuben<br>Division. Carder continued as Division manager without any real change in the<br>company's operation except that he now had reporting responsibilities to Corning<br>Glass Works' management. Corning's management tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to<br>limit the articles that Steuben made to only the most popular. Production<br>continued until about 1932. In 1932, there was a major change in Steuben<br>management. The nationwide depression had limited the sale of Steuben and there<br>was a lessening of public interest in colored glass. In February 1932, John<br>MacKay was appointed to Carder's position. Carder became Art Director for<br>Corning Glass Works. Steuben then produced primarily colorless art glass.<br>Steuben still produced colored art glass, but mostly to fill special orders. A<br>few new colors were added after Carder transitioned into his new role with<br>Corning Glass Works, but the last known sale for colored art glass by Steuben<br>was in 1943. Houghton period (1933–2012) An example of Steuben Glass design<br>during the Houghton era is the Balustrade Candlestick set, which mimics a<br>classical balustrade. Of special note is the hallmark of the perfectly formed<br>tear drop air bubble suspended in the design.Corning Glass Works<br>appointed Arthur A. Houghton Jr. as President in 1933, and under his leadership<br>Steuben changed artistic direction toward more modern forms. Using a newly<br>formulated clear glass developed by Corning (referred to as 10M) which had a<br>very high refraction index, Steuben designers developed beautiful, fluid<br>designs. Pieces such as Gazelle Bowl, designed by Sidney Waugh incorporated Art<br>Deco and modernist themes into glass. The themes during this period included<br>"balustrade" designs for water goblets and candlesticks, footed bowls and<br>serving pieces. Decorative forms included wildlife pieces representing owls,<br>penguins and other birds in smooth stylistic forms. Some pieces, such as the<br>Ram's Head Candy Dish, playfully included clean lines crowned by an ornate<br>design (a ram's head, complete with a ruff) on the lid as an homage to its<br>classic earlier pieces. The company also entered into the field of larger show<br>and presentation pieces celebrating various scenes (such as its cut-away design<br>featuring an Eskimo ice fisherman above the ice, and the fish below, or the<br>Cathedral Window design) and elements that incorporated etchings. In some cases<br>sterling silver or gold plating were used on metal finish elements such as the<br>golden "fly" atop the nose of a rainbow trout. Each piece is signed simply with<br>"Steuben" on the underside of the object. Toward the 1990s, the company also<br>began production of small objects—"hand coolers"—in various animal shapes. Items<br>from this period were also noted for their careful and elegant packaging. Before<br>boxing, each Steuben piece was placed in a silver-gray flannel bag (stitched<br>with the Steuben name), and then placed in a presentation box.<br><br>tw179
