French Cameo & Enameled Glass

French Cameo Glass

According to Philip Chasen " Emile Galle glass and Daum Nancy glass are the best and most famous French cameo glass of the Art Nouveau period from 1890 to 1920. The glass was called "cameo glass" because it was built up with different colored layers and cut back with acid to reveal beautiful floral or scenic designs. First the glass was covered with an acid resist (wax). Then a glass artist carved the design into the resist, followed by immersion in hydrofluoric acid. The acid ate away the glass wherever the resist was removed. The longer the immersion in the acid, the more glass was eaten away. The wax was then melted away and a new layer applied. The process was then repeated. Each successive acid cutting added a layer of detail and possibly color if the vase had enough colored layers. The success of the vase depended largely on the skill of the artist."



These perfume bottles were made of lovely contrasting bright colors of glass and had various subjects ranging from insects like dragonflies to forest scenes or idyllic towns. Beautiful cameo glass perfume bottles and atomizers can be found in antique shops, at auction as well as online. You can also find imitations of cameo glass (not the new repros from Romania or China) but actual period pieces that look like cameo glass, but are actually painted with enamel (please scroll down to the bottom of this article to read about Enameled Glass (Non-Cameo Glass).

Other cameo glass bottles have been seen with the following signatures: G. Raspiller, Galle, Argy Rousseau, Daum Nancy, DeVez, Muller Freres-Luneville, Richard, La Verre Francais, A. Ducobu, Deveau, Quenvil, Paradis, and others. I have written brief histories and info about some of these companies below. More detailed information can be found in books or online.


Galle:

Emile Galle was born in France in 1846 and his training included art, botany, and chemistry, three subjects which he combined in his brilliant designs for glass and other mediums (pottery, furniture, jewelry). His father, Charles Galle, owned a glass and ceramics factory in Nancy, France. After much travelling and training, fighting in the war between France and Prussia, and working for the glass company "Burgun, Schverer et Cie" in Meisenthal, Galle settled back in Nancy and set up his own glass studio in 1873 where he initially made classical forms of glass with classical, intricate, enameled designs. Moving on from these designs to botanical themes, again in enameled glass, it was not until the 1878 International Exhibition in Paris, when Galle saw the work of his contemporaries such as John Northwood and Joseph Locke from England (cameo glass) and Eugene Rousseau (pate de verre) that he developed new and adventurous designs for his glass. 

Eleven years later at the Paris International Exhibition (1889), Galle exhibited his own new types of glass, including carved cameo work and many new colors. His achievements earned him recognition in the French Legion of Honor. Even in those early years, Galle made two distinct qualities of glass. On the one hand his so-called "poems in glass", were masterpieces that took many hours of painstaking work to produce. And on the other hand, his high quality art glass designed to be less expensive to manufacture, but still an object of beauty, was good enough to carry his signature. This was later to develop into what is today called "industrial Galle".

In 1894 Galle built a massive new glassworks in Nancy, and ended his dependence on the Burgun, Schverer & Cie glassworks for producing some of his glass. He employed a team of craftsmen-designers, who worked to the edict that all Galle designs should be true to nature. Galle himself modified and approved these designs before they were made by teams of craftsmen in his Cristallerie D'Emile Galle. 

Throughout the 1890's, Galle won awards at international exhibitions and cultivated recognition through commissions as popular demand for his work increased. His exquisite techniques and style were copied by many other glassmakers who advertised their glass as "Galle style." He was a major influence on the Art Nouveau movement which made use of stylized botanical themes and undulating whiplash motifs. 

Galle died in 1904, whilst directing the work on new designs from his sick bed. After his death, his widow, Mme Galle, continued to run the glassworks and to produce Galle glass until the outbreak of war in 1914, marking all the glass sold by the works after his death with a star after the name Galle. When you see the star, you know it dates after 1904. Emile Galle's son in law, Paul Perdrizet, re-opened the Galle glassworks after the war. With new workers and new designs, they focused on two and three layer cameo glass with landscape and floral designs, all made via acid-etching. 

Below you will find several examples of Galle cameo glass atomizers shown in my Kitzinger Freres catalog. Only the glass was supplied by Galle, the hardware was added by Kitzinger and retailed through them. Take special note of the shapes of the bottles, the decor and where the signatures were placed.


 


Richard, Loetz, Lucidus, Velez

Richard was a trade name used for acid-etched cameo glass vases, bowls, night-lights, perfumes and lamps made by the Austrian company Loetz after 1918. Other cameo glass pieces by Loetz are signed Velez, Veles, Lutetia, Ficher, Roger, BR, and Lucidus. Many of these items were produced by Loetz for French retailers, to satisfy the demand for cameo glass in the Parisian market, this is especially true for items marked BR and Richard. Though Loetz was an Austrian company, I figured it would be a good idea to post info here in the cameo glass category.































Loetz decided to produce cameo glass under the name Richard in the 1920’s to satisfy the demand for French cameo glass in the Parisian market. With this in mind, many of the pieces were very similar to the French cameo glasswares made by Daum, Galle, De Vez, D'Argental, Legras and others.

The French company Etling sold Richard cameo glass in Paris in the 1920's. Richard was a retail outlet in Paris owned by Edmond Etling. Ref: 'Le Genie Verrier De L'Europe' by Cappa page 368. Edmond Etling commissioned Loetz to create French style cameo glass that they could sell in their Richard boutique. Therefore all pieces to be sold in the boutique have the Richard signature. Richard is a signature you will not often find as their perfume bottles don't seem to have been made in numbers like their vases. Loetz finally went out of business for the third time in 1939.

Below you will find several examples of DeVez cameo glass atomizers shown in a 1920s Marcel Franck atomizer catalog. Only the glass was supplied by De Vez, the hardware was added by Kitzinger and retailed through them. Take special note of the shapes of the bottles, the decor and where the signatures were placed.








Daum Nancy

Daum Nancy Cameo glass pieces were produced in a series, typically acid cut, sometimes with added enamel. Nature and landscapes were commonly used themes.

Below you will find several examples of Daum Nancy cameo glass atomizers shown in my Kitzinger Freres catalog. Only the glass was supplied by Daum, the hardware was added by Kitzinger and retailed through them. Take special note of the shapes of the bottles, the décor and where the signatures were placed.

























Muller Freres

Muller Freres, French for Muller Brothers, made cameo and other glass from about 1895 to 1933. Their factory was first located in Luneville, then in nearby Croismare, France. Muller Freres was noted for their exquisitely detailed pieces, often times using up to six or seven different layers of glass. Pieces were usually marked with the company name. It is possible to find beautiful cameo glass atomizers from this company. The company finally closed its doors in 1936.












Le Verre Francais



Le Verre Francais glass and Schneider glass were both lines of glassware made by the same company in Epinay-Sur-Seine France from 1913-1933. Charles Schneider found work at the Daum factory where he learned the techniques of making art glass. He and his brother opened their own glassworks, the Cristallerie Schneider.

Closed during WWI, and reopened in 1917, they soon began making their beautiful cameo glass. The company produced vases, bowls, perfume bottles, epergnes, candlesticks and lamps. They are generally known for their use of vivid reds and oranges, incidentally, Schneider coined the term "tango orange" to describe the strong orange hue used in the glass. Le Verre Francais glassware was originally only sold in French department stores, then by 1920, they started showing up in America, especially for the prestigious New York luxury gift store Ovingtons, for whom they made commissioned pieces.

Glass made by Le Verre Francais was usually acid etched, just like Gallé and Daum's work. Schneider glass, on the other hand, was rarely acid etched. Most of the glass was brightly colored with internal mottling, streaking, and flecking . You may come across the name Charder, which is a contraction of the name Charles Schneider and may be found on vases and possibly perfume bottles.






















Degue

French art deco cameo glass designed by David Gueron for his own company "Verre d'Art Degue", known as "Degue". The company, founded in 1926, lasted only until 1939 when Gueron closed the factory and fled the Nazis. Gueron employed ex-Schneider workers and soon overstepped the mark resulting in litigation between Gueron and Schneider.












Andre Delatte


Andre Delatte was born in Châtenois (Vosges, France) in 1887. He first started out as a banker where he became friends with his customers, Muller Freres. Delatte visited the Muller Freres glassworks and was fascinated by the beauty and exceptional techniques used in the chemical manufacture to create various colored glasses and hand applied decoration. 

He decided to leave the banking world and began to study chemistry. After he received his diplomas in 1919, he opened his own glass studio in Nancy at rue du Faubourg des 3 Maisons, where he decorated finished glass manufactured by his friends at Muller Freres. 

Two years later in 1921, he had his own furnace built in Jarville, a village near Nancy, where he employed about 30 people, many of whom previously worked for the illustrious Daum Nancy’s glassworks. The Delatte studio then moved to 16 rue de Metz in Nancy and specialized in cameo glass and thickly applied polychrome enameled pieces in the Art Deco style. His cameo glass is almost always layered and acid cut rather than hand carved or wheel cut. His previous studio at Faubourg des 3 Maisons was reserved for working with molten glass. The company is named Verreries de l’Est. The high quality of his works are soon comparable to those produced by Daum, however, since Delatte produced variations on the designs of Daum, this resulted in a number of lawsuits starting in 1922-1923. 

André Delatte went bankrupt in 1931. His company was taken over by Lubin Blum, but the situation could not be rectified, and the factory was closed in 1939. Delatte made two types of perfume bottles, most commonly found are the splash type colognes and scarcely atomizers. Delatte's pieces are always signed by Delatte. 

Below you will find several examples of Delatte glass atomizers shown in my Kitzinger Freres catalog. Only the glass was supplied by Delatte, the hardware was added by Kitzinger and retailed through them. Take special note of the shapes of the bottles, the décor and where the signatures were placed.











D'Argental


D'Argental is a mark for the Compagnie des Verreries et Cristalleries de Saint- Louis.These bottles were layered semi-opaque cameo glass with elaborate floral and scenic designs.









Gabriel Argy-Rousseau

Gabriel Argy-Rousseau was a French glass artist and a master of the pate de verre and created the pate de cristal (a translucent type of pate de verre) technique. He mainly produced vases, bowls, figures (using cire perdue), perfume bottles and jewelry in highly attractive translucent glass. Also employed bright heavy enamels. Beautiful glassware made using thin walled translucent glass with relief decoration and rich colors. Decorative motifs included insects, lizards, wolves, deer, masks, nudes, Egyptian themes and others. Most of the glass was produced from 1921-1931.



Pantin, De Vez, & Legras


First established in 1851 in La Villette, Paris, as the Cristallerie de la Villette. Later in 1855 it changed names Pantin, Paris, Cristallerie de la Pantin. Subsequently the company went thru numerous changes of name: Monot et Cie, Monot, Stumpf & Cie, Monot Pere et Fils & Stumpf, then Stumpf, Touvier, Viollet & Cie. After WW1 the company merged with Legras & Cie to become Verreries et Cristalleries de St. Denis et Pantin Reunies. Mt. Joye, was another glass by this factory.

De Vez was a signature used on cameo glass after 1910. De Vez was the pseudonym adopted by Camille Tutré de Varreaux, who became artistic director of the Cristalleries Pantin. See the article below for more info on De Vez.



Legras et Cie, another company under Pantin, made beautiful Art Nouveau cameo and enameled glassware. It is possible to find lovely atomizers from this firm. Pieces will be marked Legras, Sargel (Legras backwards), Leg, and L & Cie.







Thick walled vessels in opaque glass acid etched with surface patterns (sometimes called cracked ice) all with Mont Joye mark & sometimes Aug. Heiligenstein., An illustrated dictionary of glass by Newman indicates Degue signature is found on Pantin glass(?)

In 1930 some pieces were signed Aug. Heiligenstein or A. Heiligenstein for Auguste Heiligenstein, a fantastic glass enamelist during the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods. He was a gifted artist with a penchant for drawing, he used his talent to work as an apprentice decorator at the Saint-Denis Legras Glass Factory in 1902. After his brief stint at the Baccarat decoration workshop ended in 1908, he began working as the artistic director at the house of Rouard, after the demobilization by Goupy.

With confidence and the desire to become independent, Heiligenstein started his own company in 1923 and no longer had to work for someone else. Looking to expand his artistry, he met a woman who introduced him to ceramics, Odette Chatrousse, who would later become his wife. Heiligenstein mainly concentrated on ceramic arts after WWII.


Burgun Schverer & Co.


Burgun, Schverer & Cie (B&S) was a glasshouse for hollow ware and had decorating workshops for ornamental and utilitarian glass. The firm started business in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France, along the German border, in 1711 and was still manufacturing in the early 1970s.


Located in Meisenthal, Desire Christian was their chief designer from starting in 1885. Christian later left the firm with his brother Francois and son Armand in 1896 to establish his own glass workshop.


Burgun, Schverer et Cie were also known as one of the teachers of the master glass artist Emile Galle. This started the twenty-year collaboration between Gallé and Burgun , Schverer & Co. His earliest apprenticeship was at his father’s shop. He pursued studies in art and botany, which was his lifelong passion. Afterwards, he served a practical apprenticeship at the firm of Burgun, Schverer and Company, studying glassmaking at their factory in Meisenthal from 1866 to 1867. There, he became familiar with the latest innovations in glassmaking and was able to carry out research in glass chemistry, before returning in 1873 to Nancy to continue his experiments with glass and begin his own workshop. 


His father, Charles Gallé, was a merchant of glassware and ceramics who had settled in Nancy in 1844, and his father-in-law owned a factory in Nancy which manufactured mirrors. His father took over the direction of his mother's family business, and began to manufacture glassware with a floral design. He also took over a struggling faience factory and began manufacturing new products. Initially the glass was produced for Gallé by the Pantin and Saint-Denis glassworks in Paris, and from 1864 by Burgun, Schverer & Cie, close to his decorating workshop at Meisenthal.


Starting in 1885, Emile Galle had intense collaboration with the firm, contracting them to manufacture glassware and even to decorate it, all based upon his specifications. The designs were carried out in the workshops of Desire Christian, the technical processes worked out in Galle’s scientific laboratories were kept a close secret. On articles qualified as ordinary, Burgun Schverer et Cie gave Émile Gallé a discount of twenty percent (20 %) and free border transport.


In fact, much of the finest art glass bearing the Galle signature was in fact created by Desire Christian of Burgun, Schverer & Co. under subcontract to Galle. Emile Galle’s early pieces were Burgun, Schverer’s raw glass blanks until 1894, when Galle established a vast new glassworks at Nancy, the Cristallerie d’Emile Galle.


Throughout the nineteenth century Burgun Schverer produced colored and decorated utilitarian glass such as goblets and carafes, as well as artistic art glass including beautiful vases and perfume bottles. In 1855, the firm participated in the Exposition Universelle in Paris. 


In 1862, Annals of the Imperial Conservatory of Arts and Crafts reported that "A first-class factory, that of M Burgun Schverer et Cie in Meysenthal, exhibited a variety of objects from ordinary and cheap manufacture. This glass factory is expanding its outlets every day by carrying out the same articles as those required of crystal manufacturers."


At the Exposition Universelle of 1867 in Paris, they exhibited goblets, flower vases, white and decorated; chandeliers. At the Universal Exhibition of the French Republic in 1900, two of the Burgun Schverer et Cie artists received bronze medals: Eugène Kraemer (or Kremers) and Joseph Stenger.


The Burgun Schverer company specialized in high quality French cameo vases which were internally decorated. Burgun, Schverer & Cie was particularly successful with its range of wheel cut cameo glass in which the painted design was cased between various layers and then etched, hand-carved and gilded, creating an illusion of depth.


At the Universal Exhibition in 1901, it was reported that "Messrs. Burgun Schverer et Cie, Silver Medal at Meisenthal Lorraine have a remarkable and careful display of artistic glassware in which noteworthy two-layer and inlay glass cut etched, painted and decorated in various ways. This house has specially developed vases in a greenish tone with flower designs and Style Nouveau ornaments."


In 1900, the firm was transformed into a limited partnership, its director was Antoine Burgun, who ran the factory.


It is possible to find their molded glass perfume atomizers today, though they are scarce. Some types of the atomizers to be found are both the traditional versions and the piston pump travel atomizers. 


Like Galle and many other members of the School of Nancy, the firm incorporated the Cross of Lorraine and the thistle into its signature as a sign of protests at German occupation of its native land.  On vases you will most likely encounter the "B S & Co., Verrerie d'Art/de Lorraine" and "depose" with the initials "BS & Cie" or "BS & Co." inside of the Croix de Lorraine marking or a mark "Burgun, Schverer & Co., Meisenthal."


On perfume bottles you will find the B&S mark in an oval cartouche molded into the glass bases. Other bottles may have the hand painted markings.



Memoirs of the National Academy of Metz - Volumes 1-4, National Academy of Metz, 1821:

"M. BURGUN-SCHVERER et Compagnie, at Meisenthal, near Bitche, exhibited various samples of well-worked gobleterie, watch glasses and common crystals, such as glasses, flasks, bottles, etc. These products are beautiful, and the Company must regret that Mr. Bergun Schverer did not accompany his dispatch with a note which makes known the extension and the improvements which he gave to his establishment. The Company votes him, for the moment, an honorable mention."


Literature, Science and Arts of Metz - Years 1819 and 1820 Society General Session of April 15, 1821:

"MM BURGUN SCHVERER and company from Meisenthal and BURGUN WALTER and company from Goëtzembrück, one of whom obtained a 2nd class silver medal and the other an honorable mention in 1823, exhibited an assortment of ordinary glassware for watches and cast glassware, several samples of which have very sharp edges. The view guards for the lamps are now made in Meisenthal, they were previously sourced from Paris. Those on display leave nothing to be desired. This factory, which has been in existence for more than a century, employs nearly 500 workers, not counting those employed in the preparation of salt and soda. Its products have increased by a third since the last exhibition. They are sold today in the capital and are even exported far away. It annually delivers to the trade 8 million glasses of watches and clocks and more than 1,300,000 pieces of gobleterie of various qualities. The Society awards Messrs. Burgun Walter and Burgun Schverer a silver medal, 1st class."



MEMOIRS OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF METZ, 1834:

"GLASS: Reminder of MM BURGUN Schverer and company of Meisenthal medal of and MM Burgun WALTER and company of Goëtzenbruck. They sent us, among other varied products, glass gobletware, pieces that rival the most sought-after crystals for transparency, regularity of shape, precision of size. All these objects which are half the price of their crystal equivalents and which are aimed at the middle class attest to the progress of the establishment. Also noticed were the so-called watch glasses. Bedside tables which are manufactured in Goetzembrück and which have earned the workshops from which they come out a reputation so well deserved. The Academy makes a point of recalling the first class medal that these honorable manufacturers obtained in 1826."




Ministry of Commerce - Investigation relating to various prohibitions established on the entry of foreign products, 1835:

"RAW MATERIALS consumed - Statement of situation (Expenditure) of Verreries de Meysenthal: The first of these two factories is administered under the name of Burgun, Walter, Berger et Cie; the second under that of Burgun, Schverer and Cie, both belonging to the same owners, located in the canton of Bitche, district of Sarreguemines, department of Moselle. Raw Materials: saline, soda salt, white sand, cullet, manganese, fine lime, wood (work and transp. included), various earths for pots, etc."


Memoirs of the National Academy of Metz, National Academy (Metz), 1852:

"Verrerie de Meisenthal - There is only one mountain to cross to get from Saint Louis to Meisenthal, which is located at the bottom of a valley. The glass factory is in the middle of the village and consists of an oven which dates from 1702, this oven was formerly in Soucht when in 1713, the Burgun family transferred it to the valley of Meisenthal. This factory draws its sands for fine glass from Forbach. Placed on the railroad in the center of the road from Paris to Frankfort, this establishment would find at its door the sands and fuel which it would need for Grünstadt in Rhenish Bavaria and for ordinary glass in Alsace. Its products consist of fine and ordinary white glasses which compete favorably with those of Valéristhal near Sarrebourg; it sells for 130 to 140,000 francs a year. This glass factory employs 150 workers who receive an average of 1 fr 25 c per day; children over 12 earn 12 fr per month. The company name is Burgun Schverer et Cie. The social fund is 120,000 francs.

Gotzenbruck glassworks - We climb the slopes of Koenigsberg to arrive at Goetzenbruck glassworks which dates from 1718. It consists of a furnace and two cuttings, one in Weisbach with thirty towers the other in Althorn, both are driven by the water we have. The intention to establish a third cutting plant at Vieux Marteau between Goetzenbruck and Mouterhausen. This factory draws its raw materials from France and abroad, its products consist of glass for watches and clocks which are exported as far as the East Indies. The crystals for watches known as Curved Chevet and patent glass, sought after in America and for the navy, are made there. Recently, this factory has been manufacturing new industry spectacle lenses which are in the process of progress. It sells annually for 600,000 fr of glasses annually for 600,000 fr of glasses. Fifteen hundred workers, most of whom work from home with their children, find employment there. Their pay on average is 1 fr 10 c for the former and 75 c for the latter. The company name is Burgun Walter Berger et Cie, the company fund is 1,000,000. The Meisenthal glassworks belongs to the same company. The ashes from the Meisenthal factory are transported to Goetzenbruck and combined with those from the latter factory to extract some of the potash necessary for the manufacture of glass."

Reports of the International Mixed Jury - Universal Exhibition of 1855:

"Joint venture under the names Burgun Schverer et Cie n 5297 in Meysenthal Moselle France Walter Berger et Cie n 5298 in Goëtzenbruch, Moselle, France. These two glass factories are of an old foundation Meysenthal dates from 1718 and Goetzenbrüch from 1721. In Meysenthal one manufactures fine and ordinary gobleterie of a very beautiful glass and at moderate prices. 225 workers are employed there and the production is around 340,000 francs. The Goëtzenbrüch manufactory produces watch glasses and spectacle glasses whose reputation is established on all markets around the world. The turnover is from 650 to 700,000 francs. The business employed is from 650 to 700,000 francs. We employ 500 workers in the workshops and 1,000 outside it produces annually more than 33 million watch glasses. The establishment contains 3 machines representing together 30 horsepower. The importance of these two establishments which belong to the same owners and which are governed by the same statutes the good quality and the cheapness of the products which come out of them make Messrs. Burgun, Berger Schverer et Cie very worthy of the 2nd class medal which the Jury awards them."


Modern Glaser, 1901:
"A special group among the German glass manufacturers are those in the Reichsland, especially in Lorraine, apart from the company of Vallerysthal, which also has a branch in Portieux, but is less concerned with the manufacture of artistic glass, especially the two factories of Meisenthal, and on the one hand Gebrüder Christian & Sohn, and on the other hand Burgun, Schverer & Cie . produce art glass clearly inspired by Gallé, apart from the still common Venetianized or Moorish glass; the latter Meisenthal company even goes a step further by going back to Galle's models and imitating cut Chinese jade (nephrite) vases. At the Paris exhibition, some of these yellow-brown-leek-green vessels actually had a Chinese wooden base."









De Vez


De Vez was a signature used on cameo glass after 1910. E. S. Monot founded the glass company near Paris in 1851. The company changed names many times. Mt. Joye, another glass by this factory, is listed in its own category. De Vez was the pseudonym adopted by Camille Tutre de Varreaux, who became artistic director of the Cristalleries Pantin around 1910.

Using 2, 3 layer cameo with iridescence & exotic scenes of flora & fauna. Simple shapes, mottled or overlaid or etched with designs of flowers, landscapes, birds, figures often gilded. Other pieces are enameled. Other cameo produced was marked Thiancourt.



E & Cie Val (Ancienne Maison Effler)


Val, E & Cie (Ancienne Maison Effler) of Paris, France was in business during the 1920s - 1940s). The company were refiners & retailers of glass & porcelain. Acid-cameo items signed "Val" or "D'Argyl" (from 1928) produced for them by companies such as Legras, Verreries de St Denis et Pantin, Verrerie d'Art Lorraine.


Georges Raspiller:


Georges Raspiller was a talented glassblower and engraver who came from a family of German glassmakers from Saar. He worked at "Les Cristalleries de Nancy" and as also for André Delatte in Jarville. George Raspiller produced glass in the period 1921-1931. Reference: Le Génie Verrier de l'Europe de Giuseppe Cappa. You can find his name on gorgeous cameo glass atomizers as well as vases and other glassware from the Art Nouveau and Art Deco period. The pieces are signed G. Raspiller.













Below you will find several examples of Raspiller cameo glass atomizers shown in my Kitzinger Freres catalog. Only the glass was supplied by Raspiller, the hardware was added by Kitzinger and retailed through them. Take special note of the shapes of the bottles, the décor and where the signatures were placed.


Paradis:


The name "Paradis" was used by Le Paradis des Dames, a large chain department store in Paris like Macy's. Le Paradis des Dames was located at 8, rue de Rivoli. They had their own line of in-house merchandise made and labeled for them with their store brand. The Paradis name has been found on both cameo and pate de verre art glass.






Givror:


Givror was a tradename used by Marthe Bruelle et Cie for their atomizers. This obscure name has been found on at least two perfume atomizers. Perfume bottles, powder boxes and bonbonnieres were also produced.







Enameled Glass (Non-Cameo Glass):


You can also find imitations of cameo glass, genuine period pieces that resemble the more expensive cameo glass, but are actually hand painted with enamel. Most of these were sold by the firm of Kitzinger Freres and Marcel Franck, some can be shown in their catalogs (I have one Kitzinger Freres catalog and a Marcel Franck catalog scanned here on the blog).






Marcel Franck:


Below you will find several examples of enameled glass atomizers shown in a 1920s Marcel Franck catalog. The glass was supplied by various glassmakers, such as Quenvil, Rousseau and Peynaud while the hardware was added by Marcel Franck and retailed through them. Take special note of the shapes of the bottles, the décor and where the signatures were placed.







De Sux:


In the 1921 newspaper ad below, a French enameled perfume atomizer is shown. It was said to be painted by "de Sux." I have not heard of this name before, I suppose it could be a enamelist or a misspelling of another name.




A. Ducobu:


Another name you might come across is A. Ducobu. From what I understand, A. Ducobu is an artist, Adelson Emile Ducobu who worked in Pantin, France. His advertisements read: "A. Ducobu, manufacturer. Vaporizers. Toilet fittings. Perfume burners." Located at 31 rue de Paris, Pantin-Barriere (Seine) in 1925. Today the rue de Paris is known as rue Jean Lolive, after a French politician.

Ducobu "Decorated Glassware for Vaporizers. Mounts and molds for sale. Powder boxes. Electric night lights." Ducobu was still located at 31, rue de Paris, a Patin (Seine) in 1927.

Born July 3, 1887 in Boussu/Hainaut (Belgium), Ducobu was a glass engraver who later moved to Pantin and worked at the Stumpf, Touvier, Viollet et Cie crystal factory (formerly Monot crystal factory) located rue de Paris, the current avenue Jean-Lolive. He then opened his own glass and copper engraving workshops and studio at 25 rue Jacquart. Very involved in the city of Pantin, in particular with the conference of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul which brought help to the most deprived, he died in 1960.

I have seen his signature on a lamp, several atomizers and a bowl, all painted with enameling and not in cameo glass. The atomizer bases appear to be Baccarat blanks fitted with Marcel Franck's high quality hardware. You can also find pieces marked "Adelson."





















Quenvil:


H. Quenvil was a French artist, decorating firm or glassworks. Items marked with this signature are considered very rare and often command high prices at market. Perfume bottles are amongst the hardest of the glassware to find today. Marcel Franck supplied the hardware for Quenvil, and Quenvil's enameled perfume atomizers are shown in a 1924 Marcel Franck catalog. One of the motifs was named "Fuchsias". Quenvil produced beautiful glassware with thickly applied polychrome enamel in the distinctive manner of Groupy, Delatte, Argy Rousseau and Mayozer.

Les Arts français: arts, métiers, industrie - Volumes 1-12 - Page 94, 1917:
"Enamels and cold paints Verreries Quenvil: This is a house that has seven months, the young leader of Decorative Arts student researcher's curious shapes, colors a little bright, but remember that name. Paintings on glass."





Peynaud:



Peynaud is another very scarce name on which you may find as a signature on art glass atomizers. Jean-Simon Peynaud, born in France in 1869, was a master glass manufacturer from Bordeaux, France. Peynaid died in 1952. Peynaud not only worked with enameled glass, but also produced cameo glass as well. As mentioned earlier, Peynaud was also shown in the 1924 Marcel Franck catalog alongside Argy-Rousseau and Quenvil. Peynaud is sometimes misread as Reynaud.















Gauthier:


A very rare signature to be found is Gauthier.  Camille Gauthier was born in 1870 in Norroy-lès-Pont-à-Mousson where his father worked as a farmer. At the age of 18, he entered the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Nancy, taking up then school director, Jules Larcher's courses in "Classic art and Nature." From 1891 to 1893, Camille Gauthier studied at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. He set up his own business in 1901 and was the executive committee of the Ecole de Nancy. 

Gauthier first started out making cameo glass, but like other companies, ventured out into the enameled glass as well. Gauthier's style included naturalistic botanical images and landscape scenes. Much of the glass is frosted with polychrome enamel décor. Gauthier produced mainly vases and lamps, sometimes collaborating with Louis Majorelle and as a side project, produced furniture. He apparently dabbled in producing perfume bottles. He died in Montricourt in 1963.

A 1920s era Gauthier signed perfume enameled bottle had atomizer hardware that I first thought was by Marcel Franck, but at my request, the seller had unscrewed the top half and revealed that the top of the collar was surprisingly stamped with "AR" "Paris" and "Depose.". AR Paris is Andre-Robert.










DAC:


I found a hand painted French atomizer signed DAC, I am unsure who this is just yet. The satin glass blank is probably Baccarat. It has the AR Paris hardware.










Muller Freres

Muller Freres, French for Muller Brothers, as you learned earlier, had made cameo and other glass from about 1895 to 1933. Their factory was first located in Luneville, then in nearby Croismare, France. Muller Freres was noted for their exquisitely detailed cameo glass, and their enameled glass perfume atomizers were just as beautiful. Most pieces were usually marked with the company name.  The company finally closed its doors in 1936.


Below you will find several examples of Muller Freres glass atomizers shown in my Kitzinger Freres catalog. Only the glass was supplied by Muller Freres, the hardware was added by Kitzinger and retailed through them. Take special note of the shapes of the bottles, the décor and where the signatures were placed.





More Kitzinger Freres bottles:


Some of the Kitzinger bottles were not signed by the glass manufacturer or the enamelist such as my example below with the lady on a swing.


A. Monso:


A very scarce name is A. Monso. This name appeared on a heavily enameled perfume atomizer base.

Le Coiffeur de Paris, 1927:
"EPALLE - In a particularly stylish stand, we found all the latest creations from the famous brand Les Vaporisateurs Leon Epalle, all of which were arranged with perfect taste. The artistic enamels of this house, signed A. Monso, are among the most beautiful in Paris; they were very noticed, as were the latest novelties from Leon Epalle in artistic toilette sets which would soon enjoy the greatest popularity among all elegant women. Sample Room: 5 rue d'Alexandrie, Paris."


Paul Dupont:

This signature has been found on various French enameled vases.


Yvon:


This is an obscure signature, Yvon. 




Malo:


Malo is another obscure name you may come across.



Joma:


Joma was a mark used by the Joseph Bourdieu & Max Durand company, which decorated glassware during the 1920s period, specializing in unalterable hot and cold enamel decorations and cut and engraved art crystals. In 1927, was located at 45bis, rue du Sergent-Bobillot, Montreuil Sous-Bois (Seine), France. The company decorated vases, biscuit barrels, liqueur services and trays, powder boxes, perfume atomizers, candy boxes (bonbonnieres), complete toilette sets, mantle lustre sets for the fireplace, electric chandelier lights, basins, portable lamps, special items for lotteries and commission bonuses. The company was in business roughly from 1925 to 1947. The name Joma is an anagram derived JOseph Bourdieu and MAx Durand.










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