Stemware - Caprice
by Frank and Vicki Wollenhaupt
Issue 38 - June 1976
This month's column must first state a correction to last month's column. The 3300 stem has now been seen in Willow Blue, (light Moonlight Blue color) plus an unsigned piece.
This
month's stem article is going ho be presented a little differently. The
Caprice line, one that many of us collect, has many different stems
making the complete line. Some of the stems are made just for Caprice
and others are just being borrowed. The Caprice line was introduced in
1936 and was still being produced until the close of the factory.
There were two stems made just for the Caprice line and both were a heavy stem.
The first and possibly the original stem has no line number that can be ascertained at the present time. The stem was patented by A. J. Bennett, March 3, 1936. (Patent drawing at left) The Caprice design is carried through from the bowl to the stem and foot.
The items found in this stem are; 10 oz. goblet, 7 oz. ta1l sherbet, 5 oz. low sherbet, 3 oz. wine 3½ oz. cocktail, 4½ oz. seafood or fruit cocktail, 4½ oz. claret and 12, 10, 5, and 3 oz. footed tumblers.
The second
heavy stem is the #200 line of Caprice (pictured at right). This stem was brought out in
the 1940-50 era. We have seen only six items in this line. The stem is
an exaggerated Caprice pattern. The edges of the design are sharp and
the pattern is more pointed.
The stemmed pieces are: goblet, tall sherbet, cocktail, wine, 5 oz. footed tumbler and footed ice tea. To date, this stem has only been seen in Crystal and Moonlight Blue.
The thin Caprice stems fall into two classes, those on a #3790 (Simplicity} stem and those on a #3130 stem.
The #300
line Caprice is on the #3130 stem. Exactly when it was
introduced is not known at present, but a piece of the thin
stemware is shown in an ad in the September, 1938 issue of China,
Glass and Lamps. This is the most commonly found stem of the
four types and is shown at left.
The items made in the #300 line are: 9 oz. goblet, 6 oz. tall
sherbet, 5 oz. parfait, 3 oz. cocktail, 4½ oz. claret, 6 oz. low
sherbet, 4½ oz cocktail, 2½ oz. wine and 1 oz. cordial.
This #300 line Caprice stemware has been seen in Moon1ight blue, LaRosa
(pink) and Crystal.
The fourth and final Caprice stem is the #301 line on a #3790 (Simplicity) stem, illustrated at right. This stem is not the most ornate of the Caprice stems but is the most difficult to find. The items made in the #301 line are: goblet sherbet, cocktail, claret, cordial, wine, low cocktail, juice and ice tea.
From the information available at the present time, It can be assumed that the #301 stemware was introduced in 1950.
To date this stemware has been seen in Crystal only. It could be argued that it was probably available also in Moonlight Blue.