Stretch Glass Society Acquires Fenton Moulds
The Stretch Glass Society is now the proud owner of the original Fenton Art Glass Company moulds for the Melon Rib #847 bowl and cover and the #1532 twin dolphin candy jar and cover. The purchase of these moulds was made possible by a very generous contribution to The SGS several months ago. Additionally, Jim & Pam Steinbach purchased the mould for the dolphin center handled server and will make it available for display periodically. To complement the moulds, a number of snaps (used to hold the hot glass items when they were removed from the moulds and carried to the iridizing booth, back to the glory hole and to the finisher) were purchased, including the unique snap for the dolphin server.
The purchase was completed on August 30th when Cal and Pam traveled to the Fenton factory in Williamstown, WV to pick up the moulds and snaps. As you might imagine, “picking up” the moulds is easier said than done as they each weigh several hundreds of pounds. Thankfully forklift-like equipment was available to help get the moulds into Cal’s and Pam’s vehicles for their journey “home.” We thank VP Bob Henkel for arranging for a couple of strong men to be on hand to unload our moulds and for storing them in his climate controlled storage area. While the outside of the moulds may look old and rusty, they are in quite good shape inside, where it counts.
Dolphin center handled server mould and snap; the plunger is out of the mould in this photo.
We look forward to using the moulds along with examples of the glass which was made in the moulds to help enhance the understanding of how stretch glass was made. While we won’t be able to replicate the actual making of stretch glass, we have great videos showing this process. Having the moulds and the final piece of glass along with the videos should provide a most educational experience for those interested in learning about stretch glass.
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