A vibrant study of the history and production of the Bryce glass company, one of the most successful designers and producers of pattern glass tableware, novelties and lamps in the nineteenth century.
Scottish immigrant James Bryce (18121893) began his glassmaking career at the age of ten as a child labourer on the floor of a Pittsburgh glasshouse working for $1.25 a week. In 1850 he founded his own glassware company just as pressed glass was increasing in popularity. Pressed glass transformed the lives of everyday people by making beautiful tableware widely available to those who could not afford the expensive blown and cut crystal enjoyed by their wealthy neighbours. Bryce became one of the largest producers of pattern glass in America and by 1871 was shipping its products all over the world. The company continued operations for 113 years, guided by second and then third generation family members.
This volume celebrates the beauty and artistry of the naturalistic designs, colourful tableware, and whimsical novelties Bryce produced between 1850 and 1891. At its heart, this book is a highly-illustrated work with 190 newly commissioned colour plates beautifully photographed by leading decorative arts photographer Gavin Ashworth. It concludes with a compendium of authenticated Bryce products illustrated primarily with period line drawings that will be a valuable tool for both sophisticated glass scholars and casual collectors alike.
AUTHORS: Debra Coulson is a life-long Pittsburgher, retired environmental attorney, and long-time collector of American antiques, with a particular interest in early Pittsburgh history.
Bryce glass is in Harley Trice's blood-he is a great-great-grandson of company founder James Bryce. He is actively engaged in the antiques and art community, co-authoring publications, and organising and cataloguing exhibitions highlighting the best of nineteenth-century western Pennsylvania art and antiques, especially glass.
Gerald W. R. Ward is the Katharine Lane Weems Senior Curator of American Decorative Arts and Sculpture Emeritus, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
SELLING POINTS: .
This is the first book devoted to the history and production of the Bryce glass companies of Pittsburgh founded by James Bryce .
From the National American Glass Club to the National Toothpick Holder Collector's Society, there are so many groups who are passionate about these collectable objects .
Exceptional photography by well-known decorative arts photographer Gavin Ashworth of New York City Historical descriptions told in the words of company founder James Bryce, as recorded in his journal handwritten between 1834 and 1876 .
Scholarly documentation of Bryce production, supported by primary and secondary sources .
Compendium with illustrated, documented descriptions of Bryce production
220 colour, 170 b/w illustrations
By:
Debra M Coulson,
Harley N Trice
Edited by:
Gerald W R Ward
Imprint: D Giles Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 279mm,
Width: 229mm,
ISBN: 9781913875336
ISBN 10: 1913875334
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 01 June 2023
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Unspecified
Foreword by Brock Jobe, Professor Emeritus of American Decorative Arts, Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library; Acknowledgements; Introduction; James Bryce, from Sheep Farm to Glass Entrepreneur; Company History: Bryce, McKee & Company, 1850 to 1854; Bryce, Richards & Company, 1854 to 1865; Bryce, Walker & Company, 1865 to 1882; Bryce Brothers, 1882 to 1891; Bryce Brothers Company, Blown Glass from 1893 to 1965; Authenticating Bryce Patterns and Novelties; Catalogue: Patterns; Novelties; Lamps; Compendium; Appendix I: The Bryce Family Glassmakers; Appendix II: Bryce Patents 1860 to 1891; Bibliography; Index.
Debra Coulson is a life-long Pittsburgher, retired environmental attorney, and long-time collector of American antiques, with a particular interest in early Pittsburgh history. Bryce glass is in Harley Trice's blood--he is a great-great-grandson of company founder James Bryce. He is actively engaged in the antiques and art community, co-authoring publications, and organizing and cataloguing exhibitions highlighting the best of nineteenth-century western Pennsylvania art and antiques, especially glass. Gerald W. R. Ward is the Katharine Lane Weems Senior Curator of American Decorative Arts and Sculpture Emeritus, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
