About the Trademark
by Joseph A.A. Bourque Sr.
Issue No. 293 - September 1997
Dear Reader,
As a sequel to my Article, "That Elusive Tomahawk" (in the August issue of the Crystal Ball). I would like to explain a term I used, and why I did so. In the first paragraph I used the term "Nearcut Novelty."
When we Cambridge glass collectors hear or read the word Nearcut, what first comes to mind is the thought of a piece of pressed glass which resembles a piece of cut glass. Certainly, you may have reasoned, why did I refer to a regular molded tomahawk that has absolutely no cut-look to it at all as a piece of Nearcut. A lesson that could be learned at this point may seem complex, but is in reality quite simple.
An easy way out would be to say that the catalog sheet in question was put out by The Cambridge Glass Company (TCGC) as being Nearcut, and so be it.
In taking this matter a little further, however, let us inspect several pages marked Nearcut. Most items on these pages depict items which appear to have been cut by a glass cutter. In reality they only show pressed glass items appearing to have been cut. There are, however, several other items listed as Nearcut which are not the least indicative of having been cut nor pressed in glass molds to give the appearance of having been cut.
Why are these items which don't even give a mock appearance of having been cut listed as Nearcut? The answer is simple. The only registered trademark TCGC had at that time was the "Nearcut" trademark. Hence, as an aid in preventing their products from being reproduced, they simply listed all their products as Nearcut, thus falling into the category as being under a registered trademark. One such item that fell into this category was the Tomahawk. It was reproduced after TCGC went out of business and their molds were sold. I think that we are all familiar with the fact that TCGC finally closed its doors in 1958.
I remarked earlier that TCGC first used the Nearcut trademark (a registered trademark). in 1904. Now, Dear Reader, do you know when the Triangle-C trademark was registered with the United States Patent Office? The surprising answer is: It Never Was! My next question is: Was the Triangle-C trademark used before or after the Nearcut trademark? The answer is The Triangie-C trademark was used in 1902 or two years before the Nearcut trademark, which was first used in 1904. The Triangle-C trademark was a nonregistered trademark, but an official trademark it was, and its owners, TCGC, were entitled to federal law protection against any infringement.
Happy Triangle-C Finds,
Joe