Roselyn
by Mark Nye
Issue No. 125 - September 1983
Roselyn is a late etching -- first appearing on pages of the 1949-53 N.C.C. Cambridge Glass Company Catalog Reprint. These pages indicate that production began sometime during the last half of 1949 or the first half of 1950.
Apparently this etching remained as a stock pattern until the time
of the initial plant closing in 1954, as it is listed on the October
1953 Cambridge Glass Company price list. Evidently Roselyn was a
casualty of the closing. The 1956 price list indicates this etching was
available only on stemware, by special order or matching service.
Including stemware, the 1949-53 Catalog reprint shows 50 items with the Roselyn etching, and this did not represent the entire line -- the October 1953 price list contained 63 listings. Seemingly the only stemware used in conjunction with this etching was the #3779 stem, as none other is listed or pictured.
No dinner plate is included in the available listings, but a cup and saucer, bread and butter plate, and a salad plate were produced. The balance of the line consisted of accessory, serving and decorative items. As far as I can determine, Roselyn was etched on crystal blanks only.
The majority of etched Roselyn will be found on four blanks: #3400, #3900 (Corinth); Pristine; and the #3779 stem line.
A full line of stemware was produced, ranging in size from the 1 oz. cordial, to two styles of goblets, both low and tall.
Fifteen of the 63 items on the 1953 price list utilize the #3900 blanks. These included three jugs (#3900/115/116/118); full and individual size creamers and sugars; three styles of celery and relish dishes (3900/120/125/126); and the #3900 ice pail with handle.
From the Pristine line came the P290 oil bottle, the P306 candy box and cover, and the P101 32 oz. cocktail shaker. There were also creamers and sugars, mayonnaise sets, and shakers included from this line.
Blanks from the #3400 line were used for the butter dish, three bowls (#3400/4/48/160), two relish dishes, and two bonbons.
While not indicated as such in the 1953 price list or in the 1949-53 Catalog reprint, the bread and butter and the salad plate used for the Roselyn etching were from the #3400 line (#3400/1174/1176 respectively). When it came time to adapt the Roselyn etching to these two plates, Cambridge elected to use a border pattern with a single flower in the center of the plate. To me, this represents the most attractive use of this etching.
The cup and saucer used for the Roselyn etching is #1170, and is described as a square saucer and round cup. This number also appears in the 1953 price list under the listing for Pristine, and for the Daffodil etching as well. This is not the regular Pristine cup and saucer, and since no picture is provided, nor have I seen a Roselyn etched cup and saucer, I have not been able to determine what blank or blanks these are.
Of course, there are vases and candlesticks etched Roselyn, but not to the extent found with other older etchings. Included in this group are four vases (#274, #278, #1237, and #1238); the one and two-light keyhole candlesticks (#646, #647); along with another old friend, #1338, constitute this grouping.
Three items shared the honor of being the most expensive piece with Roselyn etching in October 1953. The #3900/120 12" 5-part celery and relish, the Pristine P101 cocktail shaker, and the #3900/116 80 oz. ball jug, were all priced at $105 per dozen, or $8.75 each. The least expensive was a bread and butter plate at $2 - while stemware was priced at $27 per dozen, regardless of piece.
Very little Roselyn is seen in the market place today and this is probably due to two reasons. First, the quantity produced was most likely never very large, and second, being a pattern of the early 1950s, no doubt much of what was sold still remains in china cabinets across the country.
To see three additional illustrations of Catalog pages for ROSELYN, CLICK HERE. These pages contain large images and may load slowly on a dial-up line.
Editor's Note: This article is the sixth of a series of articles by Mark Nye, dealing with the "Cambridge Girls," i.e. those etching bearing the name of a girl.