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Heart of America Glass Collectors Kansas City |
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Meeting Highlights & Program
April 2010
Ed dazzled the club with a gorgeous
program on Hall China patterns designed by Eva Zeisel. He
gave us an overview of Ms. Zeisel’s life and prolific work
and then turned to a very informative (and meticulously
researched) description of the patterns on display. We
learned that Ms. Zeisel will be 104 this year and that she
continues to design. She was born in Hungary and studied
painting at the Budapest Royal Academy of Fine Arts. She
was not sure that painting was right for her so she turned
to pottery and discovered her passion. Caught in the
turmoil in Europe in the 1930s, she moved to the USA and
started designing for General Mills, Rosenthal China,
Castelton China, and Hall China. (See the
Wikipedia article for a
more exhaustive account of her life.)
Ed has collected Hall China’s Eva
Zeisel designs for over 25 years; he has over 400 pieces now
and continues to look for elusive treasures to complete
sets. He enjoys her work because the designs marry well
with the shapes (primarily Hall’s Century line and
Tomorrow’s Classic line), though the patterns themselves
often end up in odd places (such as between narrow handles
on a lid). The Zeisel dinnerware is all rounded shapes and
sensual forms; no piece has a hard angle. The Eva Zeisel
designs for Hall China were sold from 1952 to 1957. A few
of the patterns ran the entire time, but many were available
for only one year or less. They all carry the Hallcraft
mark; an additional line in the mark says “Shaped by Eva
Zeisel” because several of Ms. Zeisel’s students contributed
to the design of the patterns.
The club learned that the Century line
offered 24 pieces in a set and the Tomorrow’s Classic line
offered 40 pieces in a set. The Century line patterns are
harder to find today. Neither line had coffee pots (though
Tomorrow’s Classic had after dinner coffee cups and
saucers); both had tea pots. Both lines called their
individual casseroles “marmites” (a rounded
earthenware cooking pot).
Ed’s program included the following
patterns on the Century line (on the left side of the
table):
The following patterns from the
Tomorrow’s Classic line are toward the right side of the
table:
Ed heartily agreed with Ms. Zeisel’s
quote that “pottery is alive!” He continues to see (and
feel) subtle nuances in the designs and shapes that keep him
looking for more. Ed’s collection is a promised gift to the
Kirkland
Museum in Denver.
Show & Tell Club members brought the following treasures for Show and Tell! Here are some highlights from this meeting. Descriptions of each treasure is found below the pictures using the corresponding number.
1. Imperial Cathay Concubine bookends.
2. Cambridge Apple Blossom tall comport in ebony with silver overlay.
3. Hazel-Atlas Moroccan Amethyst 10 ¼” apple bowl in clear.
4. On the left is a Crystal 3-footed bowl by unknown manufacturer with unknown cutting. In the center and right is a Federal Glass Heritage 8” Master Berry Bowl and individual berry bowl.
5. On the left is a Green jack-in-the-pulpit vase with rough pontil, attributed to Blenko. On the right is a Fostoria American tall salver with pedestal (salver have a brandy well (depression) in the center and cake plates are flat).
6. Fostoria Heirloom 2726/311 candlesticks in ruby. Handcrafted wood bowl in cherry, maple, and walnut. Imperial Washington (Pattern 699) vase, designed by Phillip Ebeling, the same man responsible for Fostoria’s American line and originally slated to be called Mount Vernon until Cambridge came out with a pattern by the same name.
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