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| The Rich Cut Glass of Charles Guernsey Tuthill | 
 enlarge | Author: Maurice Crofford
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $50.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (1 reviews)
Sales Rank: 1046163
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.7
Dimensions (in): 11.2 x 8.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 1585441481
Dewey Decimal Number: 748.2913
EAN: 9781585441488
ASIN: 1585441481
Publication Date: November 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The American brilliant cut glass tradition is perhaps nowhere better showcased than in the intricate art of Charles Guernsey Tuthill. Born in 1871 in Corning, New York, Tuthill entered the glass trade as a young apprentice, launching a career that would not only produce some of the finest cut glass in America but also innovate that art form in ways that adapted to the changing life of the new century. In this detailed narrative of the business Tuthill founded, the patterns he created, the techniques he used, and the other artisans and consumers he knew, Maurice Crofford has written the story of an earlier, more elegant and leisurely era. For those knowledgeable about cut glass, the development of the forms will be instructive; for others, who simply appreciate the beauty of the glass, the numerous black and white photographs will appeal. Beyond both of those dimensions, however, Crofford provides insight into how industrialization and mass production and, more especially, the automobile, changed forever the ways upper-class Americans lived, entertained, and displayed their good fortune. In Tuthill's career, moreover, Crofford finds an example of American ingenuity and creative genius that responded to changing times. The glass itself is of extraordinary beauty, and the descriptions here include the patterns, effects sought, and methods of hand production. Crofford details not only those patterns best known to aficionados of American cut glass of the Brilliant Period but also other patterns retrieved through exhaustive dogging of Tuthill's trail. Through the written records of Tuthill's succession of businesses and through interviews with surviving members of the Tuthill family,Crofford has reconstructed a remarkably detailed catalog of this master craftsman's work as well as an engaging story of his life and career.
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| Customer Reviews:
Charles Tuthill: An American Artisan-Entrepreneur December 31, 2001
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
An enthralling chronical of the career of a remarkable man, Charles Tuthill, founder of Tuthill Cut Glass of Middletown, New York, and his family. Beginning as an apprentice at T. G. Hawkes & Company in 1887, Tuthill went on to become both a master glass cutter and a master engraver. He rose to foreman at Hawkes by the time he was 24 years old, resigning in 1895 to set up his own glass-cutting shop in his father's carraige house in Corning. From there he moved to Middletown where he was joined in the business by his sister-in-law, who served as general manager, and his brother. Well known for its original designs combining engraved fruits and flowers with geometric cutting, the Company prospered and, in 1915, was awarded a gold medal for its display at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco.Written in the you-are-there style of the "new journalism," the book is a lively read. Drawing heavily on interviews with Tuthill family members, it fills a large gap in our knowledge of the cut glass industry. Cut glass collectors will recognize the names of the players in this unique American success story and get to know them better through the many anecdotes offered by author Maurice Crofford. The book should appeal also to those interested in American business history, in general, and the unique period around the turn of the 20th century when brilliant cut glass decorated the tables of the rich and famous. It would make an excellent reading assignment for upstate New York high school students.
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