CANDLELIGHT
by Mark A. Nye
Issue No. 273 - January 1996
We continue with the series of articles that are revisiting topics covered in previous columns. As is true for other columns in this series, various versions of this article on Candlelight have previously appeared in the Crystal Ball, The DAZE and the now defunct Glass Review.
Candlelight was one of the eight plate etchings in the Cambridge
line at the time the January 1, 1940 catalog was issued. Its first
documented appearance is on a drawing that accompanied an application
for a design patent covering No. 3114 stemware submitted in January
1936. It was probably introduced to the buying public in 1936 and then
remained in the Cambridge line until the early 1950s. The last
Cambridge price list to include Candlelight was issued in September
1950. The next known price list is dated February 1953 and it makes no
mention of Candlelight. Hence the line might have been discontinued
anytime during the period between September 1950 and February 1953.
After the company was sold in 1954 and the new owners resumed
production in 1955, Candlelight was available on No. 3776 stemware
through special order only; no open stock of the etching was
offered.
From circa 1936-37 comes the text for a Cambridge advertisement:
"Modern table linens, china and silver require glassware that blends into the general motif of the new fashions. Candlelight does
that perfectly, it is modern without being modernistic and classic without being entirely Grecian. Its thin but sturdy stem, flared brim, delicate etching and long curving lines, are all created in the new spirit of modern table settings. Candlelight also represents a new treatment in etching, lightly done, it gives a polished appearance, very different and delightful. A complete table service or a single decorative or useful piece will be highly cherished. This pattern will be available in open stock for many years, affording opportunity for additions and replacements."
The description is that of the etching on No. 3114 stemware, and not the etching alone.
Sometime after January 1937 seven catalog pages illustrating Candlelight were issued. Later, with some minor reworking these same pages became the Candlelight section of the January 1940 Cambridge catalog. The 1940 price list has a total of 128 listings for Candlelight on crystal blanks and 99 listings for gold encrusted Candlelight. The June 1949 catalog and price list has a combined total of 89 listings for Candlelight on crystal blanks but none for gold encrusted Candlelight on crystal blanks.
This writer is not aware of Candlelight on colored blanks other than Crown Tuscan. The January 1940 price list offered 22 items in Crown Tuscan etched Candlelight. Of these, 15 were vases, three were candlesticks, the other four were a bowl, covered candy dish, relish and covered urn. By 1949 the number of Crown Tuscan pieces etched Candlelight had been reduced to seven vases, two candlesticks, bowl, relish and covered candy box.
From the time of its introduction in the 1930s until the late 1940s,
the primary blank used for Candlelight was the No. 3400 line. When the
3400 line was replaced by the Corinth or 3900 line during the 1940s, it
became the blank of choice for Candlelight. Blanks from the 3400 line
etched Candlelight include two salad plates, bread and butter plate,
cup and saucer, sugar and cream, salt and pepper shakers, a number of
serving bowls and plates. However there is not a dinner or service
plate from the 3400 line etched Candlelight but one was produced when
the Corinth or 3900 line replaced the 3400 line. Listed in the June
1949 price list, the Candlelight dinner continued to be offered until
the line itself was discontinued as was the Corinth cup & sauce,
bread & butter and salad plates.
During the 1940s, blanks from the Pristine, Gadroon and Tally Ho lines were etched Candlelight. However, the number of blanks from these lines never equaled the amount of 3400 blanks used.
Candlelight is found on three stemware lines, Nos. 3111, 3114 and 3776. The latter line was introduced circa 1941 and no doubt was first etched Candlelight at that time. Introduced in the 1930s, Nos. 3111 and 3114 stemware were probably first etched Candlelight at the time of the etching's debut. No. 3114 stemware was discontinued during the 1940s while the other two lines continued until the etching itself disappeared from the Cambridge catalog.
Other items of interest to Candlelight collectors are the true doulton jug, footed decanter, 2 ounce sherry, cigarette holder, 11 flat tumblers, icers, cocktail shaker, hurricane lamps as well as miscellaneous bowls, plates and vases. Just to accumulate one each of the flat tumblers, much less any type of a service, will change the patience of most collectors.
Following are two pages from the 1949 Cambridge catalog showing, among other items, Candlelight on Corinth blanks.
