A key challenge for beginning collectors of Cambridge Swans, as well as many dealers of elegant glassware, is identifying those swans reissued by manufacturers using the original molds of the Cambridge Glass Company. For experienced Cambridge swan collectors, definitive identification of reissued swans is quite easy. This fifth of six articles on Cambridge swans will review the history of the Cambridge molds following the final closing of the Cambridge Glass Company in 1958 and the swans that have been reissued using the original molds.
The Imperial Glass Corporation acquired the Cambridge swan molds in 1958 for all sizes of swans except for the 13” swan. The 13” swan had been produced in only Crystal since the time the swan molds were altered to make Type 3 swans in 1939, but by the late 1940s there was no mention of 13” swans being produced. This has led to speculation that the 13” swan mold may have gone into the WWII scrap drive. Hence, there should be no reissues of 13” swans.
According to Clyde Ingersoll in his article on the evolution of the Cambridge swan molds in issue #202 of the Crystal Ball, the Mosser Glass Company obtained the 3” Type 3 swan mold as early as 1958. Mosser has used the 3” Type 3 mold to reissue a very large number of swans in a wide variety of colors, many of which are easily confused with Cambridge colors. Indeed, these Mosser swans have been the most difficult of all the reissues to distinguish from Cambridge swans. Most, if not all, of the Mosser 3” swans are unmarked, as are the vast majority of Cambridge Type 3 swans. Ingersoll described a method of differentiating the Mosser and Cambridge swans using a small glass projection on the swan’s left foot. I have found this method of identification far less useful than examining the heads and wings. Cambridge altered the 3” Type 3 mold on several occasions that affected the head of the swans. The 3” swans produced by Cambridge from the mid-1950s until 1958 have a “large” head with full detail and a long, pronounced beak. All of the Mosser reissues have this large head with defined head features. However, Mosser has not used a flaring tool to spread the wings outward. Cambridge 3” Type 3 swans with the large head and defined head features all have substantial outward spread to their wings.
From numerous references (including issues #23 and #299 of the Crystal Ball), it appears that Imperial used the Cambridge molds to reissue swans on a regular basis during only one year – 1962. Imperial reissued swans with the Cambridge molds in only the 6 ½”, 8 ½”, and 10” sizes, and none were made with colored glass during that year. All Imperial swans reissued in 1962 from the Cambridge molds were crystal, crystal with a satin finish (“laliqued” or “doeskin”), or crystal with ruby flashing (“cranberry”). According to Willard Kolb, Imperial inter-office memos from 1962 indicate the swans were not good sellers; consequently, only a few turns (“batches”) may have been made.
Imperial did use the flaring tool on the wings of most swans of these three sizes when they came out of the mold, just as Cambridge had. Therefore, I’m unaware of a method to distinguish Imperial crystal swans in these three sizes from Cambridge Crystal Type 3 swans. I have heard a theory or two, but none seems foolproof to me. It probably doesn’t make much difference, because both Imperial and Cambridge produced high quality glass and because crystal swans in these sizes do not command premium prices today. Some collectors believe that the satin finish on Imperial crystal swans is less pronounced than it is on Cambridge Crystal swans with a satin finish. As I have commented earlier in this series of articles, I don’t put much stock in satin finishes because they can be so easily applied anytime post-manufacturing. The ruby-flashed Imperial swans are quite nice and sought by many Cambridge swan collectors. They are well made, seldom surface (produced in only 1962), and add a touch of luster to a swan collection. More than likely, all of the 6 ½”, 8 ½”, and 10” swans (from Type 3 Cambridge molds) that have ruby flashing were made by Imperial.
Other than the 3” Type 3 mold used by Mosser, it seems no reissues of Cambridge swans were made from 1963 through 1981. However, apparently the 6 ½” mold was again used to make swans in 1982, based on the following information provided by Willard Kolb:
In 1982, while owned by Arthur Lorche (ALIG – Arthur Lorche Imperial Glass) Imperial made 6 ½” swans in black for Harold Bennett and marked them with a “B” in a triangle. Imperial also continued to make more of the 6 ½”swans in black without the “B” in a triangle. Also, in 1982, Imperial produced the 6 ½” swan in a color called sunshine yellow with an “ALIG” mark.
This was the first that I had heard of a yellow 6 ½” swan made by Imperial. After the closing of Imperial, glass molds in its possession were liquidated in 1985. At that time the Cambridge swan molds went three different directions:
3” Type 1 (however, without feather detail) and 4 ½” to Boyd’s Crystal Art Glass
6 ½”, 8 ½”, and 10” to Summit Art Glass
16” punch bowl to NCC
Like the 13” swan, the 16” swan punch bowl has not been reissued. The swans reissued by Boyd using the Cambridge 3” Type 1 mold are easily distinguished from Cambridge 3” Type 1 swans, because all of the Cambridge swans from this mold have feather detail. It is important to remember that Cambridge removed the feather detail from this mold in 1939, but apparently, never produced swans with it. Instead, Cambridge made a new mold for 3” swans (Type 2) in 1939. A very few Boyd 3” swans are signed with the “C” in a triangle, but very soon after acquiring this mold, Boyd began signing all of their swans (both 3” and 4 ½”) with their “B” in a diamond. All 3” Type 1 swans that lack feather detail are Boyd reissues, and they have been made in a wide range of colors and with decorations.
Boyd also has reissued swans using the 4 ½” mold. Like the 3” swan made by Boyd, the 4 ½” swans have been made in many colors and have had decorations applied to them. Cambridge made the 4 ½” Type 3 swans in only Crystal and Milk and used the flaring tool on the wings from 1940 forward. The Boyd 4 ½” swans don’t have spread to their wings and are signed with a “B” in a diamond.
This leaves us with the 6 ½”, 8 ½”, and 10” swans reissued since 1985 by Summit Art Glass, Ravenna, Ohio, owned by Russell and JoAnn Vogelsong. The Vogelsongs were early “movers and shakers” in NCC, and many items from their Cambridge glass collection were photographed for the Colors in Cambridge book. They acquired the three swan molds from Imperial and have periodically reissued swans in each of the three sizes. The swans reissued by Summit are not marked in any meaningful way and have been made in some colors that are similar to Cambridge colors. For experienced Cambridge swan collectors, distinguishing between Summit and Cambridge swans is easy. This might not be the case for a novice collector.
The key feature to identify swans reissued by Summit is that they lack the spread to the wings that is a hallmark of Cambridge Type 3 swans produced in the 1940s and 1950s. Summit has not used a flaring tool to spread the wings after the swans come out of the molds; therefore, when viewed from above, Summit swans are more oval and Cambridge Type 3 swans are more round in shape. A less reliable method to distinguish Summit and Cambridge swans is the necks on the Type 3 Cambridge swans are heavily twisted to one side, whereas the necks on Summit swans tend to extend straight forward from the body.
I spoke with Russell and JoAnn Vogelsong of Summit in late November 1999 and asked for the colors of reissue for each of the three sizes of swans. Recalling from memory, they came up with the list that follows, which might not be complete. Summit produced a relatively small number of swans of each color. However, the three swan molds (originally made in the 1920s and reworked in 1939 to become Type 3) remain in fine working order, so Summit will likely reissue more swans using these Cambridge molds in the future.
| 6½” | rubina (blue, red & green), amberina (red & orange), light blue, cobalt blue, iridized cobalt blue, ebony |
| 8½” | light blue, cobalt blue, iridized cobalt blue, black, yellow, chocolate (brown opaque), light emerald |
| 10” | amberina, light blue, cobalt blue, iridized cobalt blue |
The knowledgeable Cambridge swan collector is aware that few of these colors are similar to colors used by Cambridge to produce Type 3 (no feather detail) swans. Of course, the 6 ½” amberina could possibly be confused with Carmen, the 8 ½” yellow could be confused with Mandarin Gold, and most importantly, the 8 ½” light blue could be confused with Moonlight. The only 8 ½” Moonlight swans made by Cambridge were Type 2 (these should be signed with the “C” in a triangle). All swans from the Cambridge 10” mold are impressive because of their size and style; therefore, the Summit 10” swans in amberina and light blue have drawn tremendous attention at antique and glass shows. However, Cambridge made the 10” type 3 swan in Crystal only.
If you have additional information on Cambridge swans in general, or reissued swans in particular, feel free to contact me by mail at 898 Hunt Place, St. Paul, MN 55114, or by email at hanse009@tc.umn.edu