[Rarebooks] fs: Irish Glass Villains & Victims...

[Joslin Hall Rare Books]

Oh, what a twisted web we weave,
when once we practice to deceive...


Stannus, Mrs. Graydon. OLD IRISH GLASS.
New York; Frederick A. Stokes: nd (ca.1920).

Well, Warren is obviously a more up-to-date book on Irish glass, and in 
fact a collector would be foolish to bypass Warren and buy this book first. 
However, once you have Warren, Mrs. Stannus' book provides an interesting 
view into the collecting of antique Irish glass for several reasons. Her 
informal, chatty style is pleasant to read, and she preserves many old 
anecdotes and recollections of collectors and glass workers that would 
otherwise have been lost. Her illustrations are drawn exclusively from 
private collections (including her own), many of which are no longer in 
existence, and all of which are identified. And if all that is not enough, 
consider that she has also been called "the greatest villain in the 
manipulation of the history of Irish Glass" (McConnell, Magazine Antiques, 
Sept.2004).

Stannus did not only collect old glass- she operated a glass factory called 
Graystan in London and she owned an antique shop where she sold antique 
glass, and it appears she did not stop there... In a talk in 1924 she 
obliquely admitted that she had produced some fake Irish glass using 
genuine old molds, and she was also thought to have "improved" some of her 
genuine old pieces with extra engraving and cutting. As if that was not 
enough to endear her to the hearts of local collectors, she also admitted 
to melting down pieces of antique Irish colored glass and using the metal 
to produce new pieces that would have the correct antique color.

Such stories inevitably have endings, and this one came symbolically in 
1936 when the collection of one of her best customers, Walter Harding, was 
auctioned by Sotheby's for about 1/12th of what he had paid for it (and his 
collection is not even known to have contained too many fakes!). Stannus' 
book remains, in many ways, an essential addition to the library of any 
collector with a love for antique Irish glass.

Hardcover. 8.5"x11", 15 pages of text plus 60 b/w plates; pictorial covers. 
Covers with some wear, a little soil; from the reference library of Boston 
silver firm Shreve, Crump & Low, with their stamp on the endpaper. [06316] 
$125.00

Picture-
<http://www.joslinhall.com/images03/th-06316.jpg>


[Harding Collection] OLD IRISH GLASS. THE WALTER HARDING COLLECTION. 
Including old English & other pieces. Liverpool; privately published: 1930.

An infamous collection within the small world of Irish glass collectors 
-though more through guilt by association than actual defect. Harding had 
been one of the best customers of Elizabeth Graydon Stannus, collector, 
glass factory owner, author of a well-known book on antique Irish glass, 
and antiques dealer. Unfortunately, Stannus has also been called "the 
greatest villain in the manipulation of the history of Irish Glass" 
(McConnell, Magazine Antiques, Sept.2004). In a talk in 1924 she seems to 
have obliquely admitted that she had produced some fake Irish glass using 
genuine old molds, and she was also thought to have "improved" some of her 
genuine old pieces with extra engraving and cutting. As if that was not 
enough to endear her to the hearts of local collectors, she also admitted 
to melting down pieces of antique Irish colored glass and using the metal 
to produce new pieces that would have the correct antique color.

Such stories inevitably have endings, and this one came symbolically in 
1936 when the Harding Collection was auctioned by Sotheby's for about 
1/12th of what he had paid for it. The irony of that is that the collection 
is not known to have had an over-abundance of fakes, although in the 
auction, and in this earlier, private catalog, some of the date 
attributions are improbably early. Still, the collection was large and 
varied, and is presented elegantly, with most of the glass photographed 
against a black background. And if you are looking for a famous collection 
of Irish glass (for better or worse), this is it.

Hardcover. 6.5"x10", 121 pages, many b/w plates, plus 2 inserts, as issued. 
Covers with some soil, front inner hinge cracked at the base; light soil. 
[06804] $275.00

Illustrations-
<http://www.joslinhall.com/images03/th-06804.jpg>

MORE BOOKS ON GLASS-
<http://www.joslinhall.com/glasstp.htm>


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