New England Review

COUNT YOUR RIBS

Some of the most abundant patternmolded New England glass objects are “Pitkins,” a term used to describe ribbed vessels, often double-patterned and swirled. The most commonly used count is the 36-rib (or grooves) mold, which was especially prevalent throughout Hartford County, Connecticut glass factories between the years 1780-1830.

Harry Hall White was an early pioneer of glass collecting, and more importantly, a researcher and explorer of glass factories. He uncovered evidence of 36-rib mold production at Keene, New Hampshire, and Coventry, Connecticut. Through other excavations, we know this was the rib count of choice at Pitkin, the Mather works, and also Glastonbury. There were certainly numerous 36-rib objects produced throughout New England.

Given this information, determining a specific glass factory origin by rib count alone would likely prove inconclusive. However, other characteristics can help solidify a strong determination. Although more commonly found in flask form, these objects are more scarce in inkwell form. Any vessels beyond that, such as jars, bottles, and tableware, should be considered extremely rare. New England bottles with 28, 32, and 38 ribs have been recorded, but without question, the 36-rib mold is the most popular and the quintessential New England patternmolded bottle.

PHOTOS:

TOP: A selection of various 36-rib molded objects in different forms and styles. BOTTOM: Pattern-molded New England glass can certainly be quite colorful. Here are three bright green colored Pitkin flasks made from the 36-rib mold.

A large beehive-type 36-rib Pitkin inkwell Crocker’s Union Boot Polish bottle

JOHN DENISON CROCKER, A RENAISSANCE MAN, FROM BOOT POLISH MAKER TO ARTIST

John Denison Crocker was born in Salem, Connecticut, in 1822 and spent most of his life in Norwich, where he died in 1907.

At the age of twelve, Crocker was apprenticed to a silversmith. He left that trade to work at the shop of a furniture maker and restorer. While there, he was captivated by a portrait brought to the shop for varnishing. At seventeen he became determined to become an artist. Although he started as a portrait painter, he soon turned to landscapes, where he documented his native southeastern Connecticut. He spent time in the Catskills and is known to have painted at least one scene titled “View of New Hampshire.” In addition to painting, Crocker produced a cure-all called “Crocker’s Magical Stomach Powders,” which was purported to be “a sure cure for Indigestion and all Bowel Difficulties.” Crocker, perhaps informed by a knowledge of herbs and plant extracts, produced and distributed several well-received varnishes and coatings as well, including a boot polish and water-proofing agent. In addition to his powders and coatings, Crocker was an inventor. In 1865 he was granted a patent for a new “file-cutting” machine. Crocker was certainly a very diverse individual, and the legacy of his interests are still enjoyed by many enthusiasts today.

It is interesting to note that one of his well-known landscapes, titled “View of Norwich, Connecticut with Paddlewheel Steamer and Ship at Anchor” sold in 2015 for $6600. The Union Boot Polish pictured above sold in the Glassworks sale (Mebane Collection) in 2002 for $6600!

THE LOWELL RAILROAD – ANTICIPATION, SUCCESS, AND HARDSHIP

Staying in the vein of Connecticut glass, here is a flask portraying a railroad scene: a horse and cart (full of goods) being pulled along a railway. The flask is the only half-pint in the Railroad group, charted as a GV-10, and the ONLY Railroad flask associated with a very specific rail line. It was made at the Coventry, Connecticut, Glassworks, as proven by the many shards which were uncovered by Harry Hall White at that site. The flask is marked “Railroad Lowell,” a clue to the date and purpose or significance of this unique flask.

Some two hundred years ago, there were only a few houses where the city of Lowell now stands. While it was the water of the Merrimack River that powered the

mills of Lowell, it was the railroad that built the city. The concept of railroads came from England. The first railroad in the U.S. was built to move granite in Quincy in 1826, and was powered by horses. The first locomotive on the Boston & Lowell ran on June 24, 1835, making the trip in one hour, 15 minutes. The fare was $1 for the trip. The locomotive was built in England in 1832 by Robert Stephenson. It was named Stephenson, but was commonly known as “John Bull.”

As I was reading about the accounts of the first few days of the Boston & Lowell launch, I came across an excerpt from the Lowell Courier, June 25th, 1835: “Accident! A young man, by the name of David Danforth, about 22 years of age, was killed on the railroad this afternoon, about four miles from this town. The locomotive, Patrick, manufactured [assembled] in this town and just put on the road, with a train of cars, was returning from Boston, Mr. Danforth standing on one of them, his head struck against a bridge over the road with such force as to kill him almost instantly.”

Since Lowell is only an hour away from where I live, I have always been curious about these flasks. We can assume that this mold was made between the late 1820s into the early 1830s as a propaganda or celebration piece. It was also likely made before a viewing of the locomotive, as the flask depicts a horse and cart, so I am guessing it was made well before the 1835 maiden voyage of the train.

Michael George earlyglass@gmail.com

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Crocker’s “View of Norwich, Connecticut with Paddlewheel Steamer and Ship at Anchor” painting, and an image of John Dennison Crocker.

GV-10 “Railroad / Lowell” horse and cart flask