September, 2019

UPCOMING PROGRAM

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

6:30 PM

At the Meriden Public Library

105 Miller St. Meriden CT

VOTES FOR WOMEN

In 2020 we mark the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in the United States. The fight for women’s right to vote was long and took many twists and turns. Join us to learn about the Connecticut women who fought on a local, state, and national level and on whose shoulders we stand. Be inspired by their stories to use your vote to give a voice to women. This program is co-sponsored by the Meriden Historical Society and the Meriden Public Library. The program is free and open to the general public. 

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MERIDEN HISTORICAL SOCIETY COMMUNITY TAG SALE

• SEPTEMBER 14. 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
• LOCATION: Meriden Historical Society’s Bernice Morehouse Research Center’s parking lot 1090 Hanover Ave. Meriden, CT 06451
• RAIN DATE: the Saturday following the original date
• COST TO SET UP: $15.00 donation to the Society per set-up ($10.00 for members).
• CONTACT: Bill Siegel 203-237-2217

As in previous years, the Meriden Historical Society will set up its own booth in the shed.  We hope to see you there.

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VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

We are looking for dedicated volunteers for the following projects:

• Cataloging and organizing our collection of photographs
• Photographing and cataloging items in our collections
• Researching (doing detective research work) to help answer the many queries addressed to the Society
• Greeters/docents  for our open house events at the Andrews Homestead

Come meet our volunteers at the Bernice Morehouse Research Center, 1090 Hanover Ave. in South Meriden on Wednesdays between 1:30 and 4:00 pm.

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FUNDrive – FUNDRAISER THROUGH SAVERS

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 14 

9:00 AM – 1:00 PM 

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18

1:30 PM – 4:00 PM

AT THE RESEARCH CENTER 1090 Hanover Ave. Meriden CT 

Your no longer needed, gently-used clothing, linens, jewelry, shoes, accessories (such as belts and purses), and small household goods can raise funds for us. We have teamed up with Savers Stores and their fundraiser program.  Savers will pay us 20 cents per pound of soft goods and 10 cents per pound of small household goods we bring to them, so PLEASE think of us when you clean your closets.

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CUNO FOUNDATION GRANT

We were delighted and honored to receive a $2000 grant from the Cuno Foundation. This grant allowed us to purchase a new, state of the art new computer/Work Station complete with a new wide screen monitor and will allow us to purchase more, much needed, acid-free, storage materials. While the first will consolidate all our digitized archival records and facilitate research, the latter will help preserve many of our fragile paper, cloth, and photographed materials.

Our heartfelt thanks to the Cuno Foundation for their continued support of our mission to preserve Meriden’s past for future generations and our purpose: being an active research center disseminating information on Meriden’s industry and Meriden’s History.

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NEWS FROM THE ARCHIVES

Meriden Cut Glass Company PATTERN NAMES

by: Paul S. Butkus

“Give Me Back My Name”

by Talking Heads

There’s a word for it
And words don’t mean a thing
There’s name for it
And names make all the difference in the world

The lyrics above, from a song by the Talking Heads released in 1985, illustrate one of the frustrations with identifying cut glass patterns. With hundreds of patterns introduced by each glass company, developing unique names must have been a challenge and many times only numbers were used. Are the names we commonly use today to describe some of the more collectible patterns their original names?

Several Meriden Cut Glass Company designs are among the most collectible patterns. Names like “Alhambra” immediately bring to mind pieces with a crenelated rim and a series of interlocking hexagons. The original patent, numbered 41,091 and issued to Thomas A. Shanley on January 17, 1911 does not list a name for the pattern but the Alhambra name appears in multiple company catalogs and period advertisements that exist in reference collections throughout the country and in reprints of some of those catalogs. For other patterns where documentation has not been readily available, some names may have been invented by those who were compiling pattern guides.  As research continues and new evidence is discovered about pattern names, will collectors adopt the original names or hold onto the names they have been comfortable with for decades? “Names make all the Difference.”

Recently acquired printed catalog materials from a number of wholesale and retail companies has shed light on the original names for the highly collectible patterns known in the trade as Theodora, Byzantine and Cetus. By cross referencing documented pattern names and images from Meriden Cut Glass Co. materials in the Meriden Historical Society’s collection and patent records with these advertisements, it was possible to identify which groups of cut glass items were made by Meriden (and also J.D. Bergen) even though not labeled as such. The wholesalers and retailers were relying on their own reputations for presenting the quality of goods instead of offering a branded product.

The following illustrations are from the “13^th Annual Illustrated Catalogue and Price List of A. C. Becken, The Chicago Wholesale Jeweler, 1904.”

Commonly referred to as Theodora, this pattern by Wm. R. Eliot is described in patent No. 32,211, Feb 13, 1900:  “springing upward are feathers . . . giving them the semblance of peacock- feathers.” Printed name is FEATHER.

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Commonly referred to as Byzantine, this pattern by Wm. R. Eliot is described in patent No. 32,210, Feb. 13, 1900:  “As herein shown, the design comprises four bands festooned, the surfaces of which are checkered, and on each band is a series of punties, differentiating in size.” Printed name is GARLAND.

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A variant of the GARLAND pattern has a characteristic miter cut in place of the terminal punties and is named LONGWOOD.

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Commonly referred to as Cetus, (a name apparently ‘made up by the Pearsons’ according to CriticalGlass.com), is actually named CLUNEY.

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Other illustrated patterns in this catalog correlate with well documented MCG Co names so it is unlikely that the names shown with these particular bowls were made up. Based upon the findings, we should give them back their names.

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WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS

Karen Erasmus, Dave Fugge, Laureen Galayda, Joan Kilby, Justin Piccirillo

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FOR THEIR GENEROSITY WE THANK:

Accredited Appraisals Associates

Nancy Benaro

Sherwin Borsuk

Paul Butkus

A Lee Campione

The Cuno Foundation

Christine Czapiga

Jan Fontanella

Lorraine Hancock

David S. Kenny

Joseph Kiely

Joan Kilby

Jim & Beth Lewis

Kenneth Lonczak

Deborah Patterson

Andy Piatek

Rob LaRiviere at The Remodeling Company

Lesley Solkoske

Suzanne Zajac

Visitors to the Andrews Homestead

Visitors to Bernice Morehouse Research Center

Our Anonymous Donor at Your Cause.

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