Thomas
Webb/Richardson
Why collect Webb glass
from 1900-1970?
It's actually surprising there aren't more
people who do: very high-quality and can
be purchased remarkably cheaply.
This page details a fairly wide range of
collectable Webb art glass from the 'Bull's
Eye', 'Optic-ribbed' and 'Coin-moulded'
glass ranges, and some of the later Thomas
Webb glass from the 1960s & 70s – there is no
glass from Webb Corbett (the Thomas Webb
of this company is actually his son), Molineaux
Webb, cut-glass or clear crystal. Well,
just a little... but on another page.
One sign of good quality glass is where the pontil
mark is ground away and polished – often resulting in a smooth
concave area. After all, why go to this
trouble if you could maximise profits
by increasing production? Virtually all
Webb glass from this period exhibits the
polished pontil, along with an acid-etched mark that further
signifies a need to impress by the quality.
Webb glass also has a truly superb 'ring'
– tap it lightly on the rim with your fingernail
and it resonates very brightly!
Webb also collaborated with another Stourbridge
company, Richardson, and glass from them
was commonly stamped and marketed by Webb.
See the Coin-moulded vases.
Webb
glass can also be roughly dated
according to the backstamp: see Webb
acid-etch Marks, provided courtesy of David
Levin.
Bull's Eye
pattern
This design is very identifiable and
unmistakably Webb.
The glass is mould-blown
and
features large
convex 'outdents' (not
'prunts')
that coined the
term 'Bull's
Eye'.
The glass can sometimes have the odd
defect with
tiny grit inclusions,
but generally
speaking it is
high quality
– the 'ring' it
produces after
tapping is very
pronounced and clear.
Was known to be produced in clear
and amber
glass –
the latter more
commonly – with
some scarcer examples
known in 'Amber
Sunshine' (see
below) and green.
The variety
of shapes and
sizes produced
is also quite
staggering: anything
from small conical
glasses and thin-walled
bowls to large,
wide fruit bowls.
Often Webb glass
can have a foot
applied after
being mould-blown. |
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Webb's
Bull's
Eye pattern
in amber
and clear
glass |
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Optic- or Wave-ribbed
A mould-blown technique pioneered by Webb sometime
around 1910 and apparently predates
the Whitefriars version
of this effect. Normally
quite thin and fragile
glass (smaller items) with
known colours to be Green,
Bristol Green, Amber, Clear,
Amethyst and Blue. The
Green and Amber versions
(trade names: 'Spring',
'Sunshine' and 'Evergreen'
respectively) should glow
brightly under Ultraviolet
(UV) light due to the [harmless]
presence of uranium and
are from the 'Gay' glass
range. The blue glass
glows faintly green under
UV, so probably indicates
uranium traces.
Known examples are smaller bowls, glasses and
vases although larger vessels
such as the mushroom posy
vases (up to 12", 30cm
in diameter) despite the
fragility of the glass.
Some vases can also be seen with a different
coloured foot, although
not commonly.
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Webb's
Optic-ribbed
pattern |
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Coin
Moulded (Richardson)
Quite scarce, and
believed to have
been made by Richardson
and marketed by
Webb.
The 'Coin-moulded'
glass
feature circular
indents that
could either be
on the inside
or outside of
the glass. Would
appear to have
only been made
prior to 1940
due to the use
of uranium and
has the 1935-49
backstamp. These
exhibit distinctive
concave indents,
evenly spaced
and distributed.
While these were
originally circular, some
vases were deliberately
stretched or
'swung' to create
the elongated
design.
The second vase does
not have the
stamp,
but the
standard colour,
shape
and thickness
of the
glass
strongly
indicates
a Webb
influence. |
|
Large
22cm tall uranium
Coin-moulded
vase, exterior
indents, c.1935 |
|
Unlike
the above
vase,
the indents
are on
the inside. |
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Other Webb glass
The 1960s and 70s
Flair Range
A wholescale change to their
range in the early sixties allowed
some stunning designs that drew influence
from Scandinavian and Italian
Art glass of this
period. The 'Flair' range was designed
by David Hammond & Stanley Eveson and often
included controlled bubbles in the
base. This was quite a departure for
Webb with the glass being solid and
chunky with sweeping freeformed
lines. Vases, bowls, dishes, ashtrays
and paperweights were all produced
during this period, having the pre-1965
backstamp.
Later Webb glass in the 1970s
took on a whole new aspect. Introduced
was more utilitarian glassware with cleaner,
contemporary lines. New colours were
included from the mid-1960s such
as Bristol Blue and Bristol Green,
Amethyst.
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Later
Webb glass became more
utilitarian |
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Collecting tips
Generally...
Webb glass
with uranium does tend
to capture the imagination,
while the basic amber
coloured (but not 'Sunshine')
and clear glass items
appear less collectable,
but can still realise a
good
response
on eBay.
Most
of Webb
glass
does
have
the acid-etched
mark
and should
be easily seen
unless
there
is excessive
wear in that
area.
Bull's Eye
This type of glass
cannot
really
be mistaken
for much
else,
and is
very
much
a Webb
trademark.
Some
smaller
examples
can
be unsigned
and the
'outdents'
can look
more
like
prunts (where
blobs
of glass
are applied).
Optic-ribbed
Can be easily mistaken for Whitefriars
Wave-ribbed, but as the valuation
of Whitefriars can
be the same or slightly higher,
nothing is lost if you
get it wrong! In any event,
Webb's glass is almost always
signed with an acid-etch
mark.
Square peg in a round hole?
To distinguish
between Webb & Whitefriars of the same
style, when viewed from the top the
waved effect of Webb glass
give it a square look,
while Whitefriars
looks hexagonal and this
is entirely due to the
shape of the mould used
by the respective factories
*
*Note: while
I can't positively
confirm this, from the
limited amount of Whitefriars
glass I have
it does appear to be the
case. |
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Top: Whitefriars vase in Meadow Green.
Bottom: two Webb vases. |
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