Ray Stutsman's Home Page

Pattern Glass Enthusiast & Collector

(Early American Pattern Glass)

November 1, 2009


PART OF MY COLLECTION
PART OF MY COLLECTION

Primary Pattern: Feather - also known as - Doric, Indiana Feather, Fine-cut and Feather, etc.

Kamm's book No. I infers on page 73 that the two variants now called Feather are "reproductions of a very old pattern dating from the (18) Sixties, which was heavy, brilliant, and resonant." The first of the two Feather variants Kamm lists is Fine-cut and Feather (Indiana Feather). The other is Doric (McKee & Bros. 1896 and Cambridge Glass Co. No. 669). Doric is shown in McKee Catalog of Nov 1897, the 1900 National Glass Co Export Catalog, plant 12 McKee Brothers, a 1897 Sears Catalog, and the 1903 Cambridge Glass Co. Catalog of goblets and tumblers.

It has been proven that Indiana Feather (Fine-cut and Feather) was made by the Beatty-Brady Glass Co. of Dunkirk, Indiana, in 1900 (possibly as early as 1899) as documented in a 1900 Sears Catalog. Beatty-Brady was the predecessor to Indiana Glass Co. My friend, Hal Hooper, found in a Falker Stern & Co. jobber catalog (Spring 1901) a listing & picture for barrel packaging for three pitchers - Shell and Jewel, Dewey, and Indiana Feather. Since Dewey is a well known Beatty-Brady pattern and they were all packed in the same barrel, they had to be made by the same maker. He is unaware that any jobbers did any repacking. Also, Shell and Jewel with the stippled foot as shown in the catalog listing below is attributed to Beaty-Brady.

For the reasons listed above, I am going to call what Kamm called Fine-cut & Feather by its common Indiana name - Indiana Feather since it was manufactured by the Beatty-Bready Glass Co. of Dunkirk, Indiana.



FALKER STERN & CO. SPRING 1901 CATALOG LISTING

Kamm does a good job of describing the two Feather Variants in her Book I:

Indiana Feather (what Kamm calls Fine-cut and Feather): "The pattern consists of vertical panels running around the body, slightly swirled at the base, each alternate panel clear and decorated (with fine-cut). The clear panel is divided into two sections by a row of tiny grating running vertically from near the top to the waist. Each section is convexed and this panel is spoken of as a 'feather'. . . . All panels are arched at the top, the space between the arches and the rim filled with fine cross-hatching." Bottoms of bowls have a radial design. All of the footed pieces have the feather design on the bottom of the foot.

Doric: This pattern has more swirl than above. Pitchers and spooner have a scalloped top instead of a smooth top. Pieces with a smooth top, instead of fine cross-hatching between arched panel tops, have a crows foot decoration between the arched panel tops. Bottoms of bowls have a looped medallion decoration. The footed pieces do not have the feather design impressed on the foot except some of the milk pitchers that have the feather design on the top of the foot. In addition to clear, this pattern comes in green, and clear with an amber stain on the feathers. A few chocolate milk pitchers were made also.

Milk Pitchers in Doric and Indiana Feather
Milk Pitchers shown with McKee Doric on the left and Indiana Feather on the right.

Relishes in Doric and Fine-cut & Feather
Relish Dishes with McKee Doric on left and Indiana Feather on the right.

THE CLIPPED FEATHER WINE

Clipped Feather & Doric Wine.

Clipped Feather Wine and Doric Wine

The Clipped Feather Wine is neither Doric or Indiana Feather. In fact this piece was made in ca. 1920 and was part of a set of 6 wines and a decanter made by McKee Glass Co. The decanter was the Maiden Flush Rainbow Pattern. This is why some of the Clipped Feather Wines had a pink stain. I have also seen the wines with an amber stain. However, the stain was not good and tended to wash off. The set included a chromed metal tray and was sold as an "Orange Juice Set" during Prohibition. Darryl Reilly said that his grandmother recieved a set as a wedding gift in 1919.

REPRODUCTION GOBLET

Only the Goblet has been reproduced at this time. Jenks, Luna & Reilly describe how the reproduction can be identified in their book "IDENTIFYING PATTERN GLASS REPRODUCTIONS". There are a number of differences in the old & new goblet. The one that is simplist to remember is that there is a large flat spot in the bottom of the new goblet and the origional ones have more of a taper so that only one finger will fit in the very bottom. I have a reproduction goblet that has been flared into a what L. G. Wright, the manufacturer of the repro. goblet, called a TULIP SUNDAE DISH. L. G. Wright made the repro. goblet and the Tulip Sundae Dish in clear, amber and blue in the early 1960s. Fenton now owns the repro. goblet mold and has made a few goblets in pink.

POSSIBLE ORIGINS OF THE FEATHER PATTERN

Early cut glass patterns show a similarity to the Feather pattern. A book showing cut glass patterns which were copied by Meissen is THE BOOK OF MEISSEN - Second Edition by Robert E. Rontgen. There is a Meissen price list showing china patterns that are defined as cut glass copies (p 186). A couple of the patterns are very similar to the Feather pattern (Nos. 46 and 51). The price list is dated 1845. The cut glass patterns must have preceded the price list a number of years. Bill Jenks and Darryl Reilly brought this to my attention.

Meissen 1845 cut glass china patterns
1845 Meissen china price list illustrating cut glass patterns copied.

Also, in the 1840s when lacy glass was being produced, The Boston and Sandwich Glass Co. had a pattern similar to Feather. And, the pattern was called Feather in Ruth Webb Lee's book SANDWICH GLASS - Revised Edition, showing it on p 352 and 353 and on plates 123,124 and 125. The pattern isn't the same as Feather; still, it bears a resemblance.

Sandwich Feather Dish
Plate 124 from SANDWICH GLASS by Ruth Webb Lee

I have as yet been unable to confirm Kamm's statement quoted above that Feather is a reproduction of an 1860s heavy pattern with a good ring to it, unless it is the above flint pattern illustrated by Ruth Webb Lee.

In a September 1940 HEIRLOOMS magazine, is a picture with a table set with Feather dinerware. The caption reads, "One of the most attractive patterns with which to set a table is Feather." Here is our TABLE SET WITH FEATHER.

My collection of Feather consists of 167 pieces at the present time. I add when I find new ones! 51 pieces are Indiana Feather, 113 pieces are Doric, 1 piece is 1840s Sandwich Feather and 2 pieces are L G Wright. 1 piece is an unusual Feather Doric Creamer with a Doric outside with a ledge for a cover made to compete with the Indiana Feather Creamer. See the picture of the 3 FEATHER CREAMERS. From left to right they are Doric, Doric w/ledge, & Indiana Feather. Of the Doric 11 are green (GREEN COLLECTION) and 8 are clear with the amber stain. (AMBER STAINED COLLECTION) The jewels of my collection are the THREE FEATHER TOOTHPICKS.

I also save other patterns and have a few of each in the quantities listed to the right:

PATTERN GLASS WANTED:

For additional information on EAPG and on the Feather Pattern, click on the web site of EAPG INC, a virtual consignment shop for Early American Pattern Glass, at www.patternglass.com

E-mail me if you are interested in the Feather Pattern.
Phone Number: 574/264-9903
Address: 25919 Lake Drive, Elkhart, IN 46514