Windowpane

Manufacturer Wheeling Flint Glass Works (American)

Unknown Role Craig Ritchie , Proprietor (1829 - 1837)

Unknown Roleand John Ritchie , Proprietor (1829 - 1837)

Date1833-1836

DimensionsH 17.8 cm (7 in.); W 12.85 cm (5 1/16 in.)

MediumColorless glass with a yellowish tinge, pressed.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Harold G. Duckworth

Object number

1968.53

Not on View

DescriptionPressed, probably in a plain female mold, by a male plunger bearing the pattern of flowers and thistle framing a sidewheel-paddle steamboat.

Label TextOrnamental windowpanes of pressed glass were used to decorate cabinets, door surrounds, and steamboat interiors. The steamboat depicted on this pane suggests that it was intended for the interior spaces on such a boat, where it would let in light without compromising passengers’ privacy. The thistle motif doubtless refers to the Scottish heritage of the Wheeling Flint Glass Works owners, brothers John and Craig Ritchie.Published ReferencesRose, James H., "Lacy Glass Window Panes: Their Use, Process, and Origin," Antiques, vol. 51, February 1947, p. 121, figs. 5, 6.

Rose, James H.,"Wheeling Lacy Glass," Antiques, vol. 69, June 1956, pp. 526-27, fig. 1.

Innes, Lowell, Pittsburgh Glass, 1791-1891: A History and Guide for Collectors, Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1976, pp. 254, 284-285, fig. 306, no. 1.

Spillman, Jane S., American and European Pressed Glass in the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning Museum of Glass Catalog Series, Corning, N.Y., Corning Museum of Glass, 1981, p. 106, no. 311.

Bourne, Richard A. The Elsholz Collection of Early American Glass, 3 vols., Hyannis, Mass., 1987, vol. 1, no. 403.

Wilson, Kenneth M., American Glass, 1760-1930: The Toledo Museum of Art, New York: Hudson Hills Press in association with the Toledo Museum of Art, [Lanham, Md.]: National Book Network [distributor], c1994; 2 v. (879 p.): ill. (some col.); p. 400, no. 578.

Page, Jutta-Annette, The Art of Glass: Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, Toledo Museum of Art, 2006, p. 149-150, repr. (col.) Fig. 63.2, p. 149.