American brilliant cut glass consists of lead oxide, silica and potash and is produced by pushing and turning the glass against special wheels to create the cut design. Billiant cut glass is crystal clear, heavier than pressed glass and gives off a sonorous: “ding” when flicked or tapped lightly.
Despite decorative glass production expanding over many centuries, the period 1876 - 1914 saw the development of a distinctly American cut glass period. A combination of top grade silica deposits, the introduction of gas powered electricity in the manufacturing process and the effect of European glass artisans moving to the Americas were defining marks of the “Brilliant” period.
Thomas G. Hawkes’ factory (one of the founding members of the Steuben glass company) was one of the earlier American glass cutters to be revered on the global stage. His signed pieces still fetch a hefty price at auction.
The Libbey Glass Company (established formally in 1818) was another leader in the Brilliant Glass period with their “Columbia” and “Isabella” patterns receiving both awards and popularity in the domestic setting. The collecting of cut glass was the past time of wealthy Americans as even when new the cut glass pieces were at the high end of the consumer market.
Other known and widely collected contributors to the American Brilliant Glass period are: Christian Dorflinger (1828-1915), Oliver Egginton (1822-1900), and Charles Tuthill (1871-1928).
By the early 1900s, competition from pressed glass, lower priced versions of European glass and the high cost of glass cutting labor initiated the decline of the Brilliant Glass period. Despite this, the years between 1908 and the outbreak of the First World War saw the few remaining glass companies (that had gone from 1,000 to approximately 100) produced some exceptional pieces. This period created a niche market in the world of Brilliant Cut Glass collecting.
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The war meant the distribution of lead oxide (key for glass production) into the military arsenal and out of the glass making world. This proved the death knell of American Brilliant cut glass.
The items produced during the Brilliant period are wide ranging with inventors and factory owners merging with each other, breaking away from old partners and patented designs. During the height of the glass cutting era, there were glasses, plates, bowls, cups, pickle dishes, snack trays, perfume bottles, whiskey decanters, flower vases and a whole host of domestic pieces created using the fine cut glass method.
The Brilliant cut glass pieces that hold collectors enthralled today have a number of distinguishing marks. Early pieces are signed by the manufacturer and many have paper labels. Lists of these paper labels can be found online or in Brilliant Glass reference books.
Brilliant cut glass is referred to by collectors as ABP cut glass and several sub categories exist. For American producers and collectors the important categories are American glass blanks (items to be cut) cut by American craftsman and American cutters using European blanks. Of course, the American blanks combined with the American cuts are the most valued. Provenance, labeling, acid etched signatures and a combination of wear and high quality make for the Brilliant cut glass collector pieces.
Both the American Brilliant glass pieces and their advertising are collected today. A number of reference books exist to help collectors identify and date pieces in their collection.
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