Three Panel
originally Richards and Hartley's No. 25

by Mel and Roberta Lader

I Pattern Name

Popularly known as "Three Panel," this pattern was originally identified as "No. 25" by its manufacturer, Richards and Hartley, in an 1888 trade catalogue. As with so many patterns, it was Ruth Webb Lee who gave it the more descriptive name "Three Panel," in response to collectors' demands for an appropriate title.1 Over the years, it has also been referred to as "Thousand Eye Three Panel,"2 "Button and Buckle ~3 and "Paneled Thousand Eye."4

The descriptive name Lee supplied is quite appropriate, as nearly all of the forms in which the pattern can be found (the cruet being the only exception) share the trait of having three rectangular panels that are further broken down into gridded squares, each of which contains a raised circle. Clear raised circles alternate with those containing a rosette motif. Between each of these three panels are two clear vertical bars with serrated edges. Above this decorative band of panels, there is normally a clear, smooth-rimmed band or one that ends in scallops (water and milk pitchers, and celeries) or pointed scallops (open compotes, cracker bowls, and sauce dishes). Most pieces are footed. The transition between the foot and the three-paneled section is provided by a series of ribs radiating from the stem. An additional singular ring of alternating plain and rosetted circles appears between the ribs and the foot. Stems and feet are plain, either circular in shape or hexagonal as in the goblet. Tumblers, mugs and celeries bear the characteristic gridded circles and rosettes in their base. Handles are molded, except for that of the cruet, which is applied. Finials are knob-like with radiating ribs on top and another simple circle of alternating plain and rosetted circles going around them. The lips of the creamers are ribbed underneath, unlike the plain spouts of the water and milk pitchers.

Most forms are fairly straight sided, the notable exceptions being the compotes and cracker bowls that flare out, as do the celery vases. The cruets, too, are slightly tapered.

As noted in the list below, there are two types of covers that can be found on butter dishes and sugar bowls. One type bears the characteristic decorative three panels, while the other is plainer with only radiating ribs emanating from the finials. On all lids, the design is molded on the underside

II Manufacturer

Richards & Hartley, Tarentum Pennsylvania. U.S. Glass Company. Possibly Burlington Glass Works, Hamilton, Ontario.

An 1888 trade catalogue documents seventeen pieces in this pattern as a Richards & Hartley line.55 After Richards & Hartley became part of the U.S. Glass Company in 1891, production continued. U.S. Glass trade catalogues include illustrations of the mugs only.6 The only evidence this pattern was produced at the Burlington Glass Works in Canada is the discovery of shards at the site.7

Ill Date(s) or Production

c. 1888-1893.

The Richards & Hartley catalogue clearly indicates that this pattern was in production by 1888, and it is possible that it was produced somewhat before this. Production continued through 1891 when the company became Factory E of the U.S. Glass Company, and some pieces in the set probably remained in production until the closing of the factory in 1893.

IV Nature of Glass and Range of Color

Non-flint. Three Panel was issued in clear glass, amber, vaseline, and blue. The amber ranges from a light honey color to deep brown. Occasionally, sources indicate that this pattern can also be found in apple green, though we have never encountered a piece in this color, and it is possible that such authors have confused this pattern with a similar pattern, "Two Panel," which can be found readily in green.

V List of Known Pieces

The following pieces are in our collection (c=clear; a=amber; v=vaseline; b=blue)

• Butter dish, covered, full patterned lid, 2"h without cover; 5"h with cover, 51/2"d, (c, v, b)
• Butter dish, covered, rayed lid, 2"h without cover; 51/2"h with cover, 51/2"d, (a)
• Celery vase, straight sided, 61/2"h, 41/2"d, (c,a,v,b)
• Celery vase, crimp top, 61/2"h, 41/2"d, (c,a,v)
• Compote, open, 3 3/4"h, 7 1/2"d, (c,a,v,b)
• Compote, open, 4"h, 8 1/2"d, (c,a,v,b)
• Cracker bowl, 3 3/4"h, 8 1/4"d, (a,v)
• Cracker bowl, 3 1/2"h, 10 1/4"d, (a,v,b)
• Cracker bowl, 3 1/2"h, 10 3/4"d, (c)
• Creamer, 5 1/4"h, 3 1/2"d, plain squared handle, (c,b)
• Creamer, 5 1/4"h, 3 1/2"d, patterned angled handle, (a,v)
• Cruet, applied handle, 7"h, 2 3/4" at foot. Stoppers are either thin and faceted, or in the form of a Maltese cross.(c,a,b)
• Goblet, 6"b, 3d, (c,a,v,b)
• Mug, 3"h, 2 1/2"d (c,a,v,b)
• Pitcher, water, 7 3/4"h, 5 1/4" d; rim at top measures 1/4",(c,a,v)
• Pitcher, water, 7 1/2"h, 5"d, rim at top measures 1/4" (b)
• Pitcher, milk, 6 1/2"h, 4 1/2"d, (c,a,v)
• Sauce, straight sided, 2 1/4"h, 4"d, (c,a,v,b)
• Sauce, semi-flared, 2"h, 4 1/4"d (v)
• Sauce, flared like cracker bowl, 2"h, 4 3/4"d, (b)
• Spooner, 5 1/4"h, 3 1/2"d, (c,a,v,b)
• Sugar bowl, covered, full patterned lid, 4 3/4"h without cover; 5 1/2" h with cover, 5 1/2"d, (c,a,b)
• Sugar bowl, covered, rayed lid, 4 3/4"h without cover; 5 1/2"h with cover, 5 1/2"d, (v)
• Tumbler, 3 3/4"h, 2 3/4"d, (c,a,v,b)

The 1888 trade catalogue pictures seventeen forms in which the pattern was presumably made.8 Creamers can be found with squared, unadorned handles, or with handles adorned with decorative serrated edges that meet the body of the piece at a slight angle, as is typical of the water and milk pitchers. All of the covered pieces in the catalogue bear the full pattern lids. As indicated above, both sugar and butter lids can be found with a simplified ray design radiating from the finial. Missing entirely from the catalogue is the cruet and the 10_" diameter cracker bowl. Also lacking are the subtle variations on the sauce dishes, the sides of which range from straight (like the open compotes), to semi-flared, to fully flared like the cracker bowls.

Although the 1888 catalogue and one of the U.S. Glass Company's catalogues from the early 1890s show two sizes of mugs (5 1/4 oz. and 7 3/4 oz., as indicated in the Lechler illustration), we have yet to encounter a mug other than of theproportions noted in the list above, which holds precisely 5 1/4 ounces.

VI Reproductions

Occasionally, sources have indicated that "Three Panel" has been reproduced. Most notably, Robert Lucas, in Tarentum Pattern Glass~ stated that reproduction goblets have appeared in amber and blue.9 Ruth Webb Lee noted rumors that goblets were on the market since 1949, but she herself had not seen them. She added that the copies "are too light, particularly the foot."10 Doris and Peter Unitt repeated this claim.11 Bill Jenks and Jerry Luna also stated that "As early as 1949, both the goblet and wine have been reissued from new molds in the original colors of amber, blue, canary-yellow and clear. In comparing new items with the old, the foot on new items is too light in weight, while new colors are too harsh."'2 It is doubtful that a wine exists in this pattern, and, to date, no solid documentation has come to light that anything in "Three Panel" has been reproduced. Moreover, from our collecting experience, we have encountered no pieces that would indicate conclusively that reproductions exist. It is true that there is a variation in color (particularly amber) and, to some degree, in weight (particularly goblets, but not necessarily the foot), but this in itself is not convincing enough to say that they are reproductions; the glass quality and detail of such items are otherwise consistent with old glass.

VII References

William Heacock and Fred Bickenheuser, Victorian Colored Pattern Glass, Book 5, U.S. Glass from A to Z. Marietta, Ohio: Antique Publications, 1978, pp. 23, 113.

William Heacock, Victorian Colored Pattern Glass, Book 6. Oil Cruets From A to Z. Marietta, Ohio: Antique Publications, Inc., 1981, p. 44.

Bill Jenks and Jerry Luna, Early American Pattern Glass, 1850-1910. Radnor, Pennsylvania: Wallace-Homestead Book Company, 1990, pp. 519-520.

Minnie Watson Kamm, A Third Two Hundred Pattern Glass Book. Grosse Pointe, Michigan: Kamm Publications. 3rd ed. fifth printing, nd. (orig. published....), p. 115.

Doris Anderson Lechler, Toy Glass. Marietta, Ohio: Antique Publications, 1989, p. 157.

Ruth Webb Lee, Antique Fakes and Reproductions. Enlarged and Revised. Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts, 1966, p. 175.

Ruth Webb Lee, Early American Pressed Glass. Northboro, Massachusetts: author, twenty-first edition, 1946 (orig. pub. 1931), pp. 506-507.

Ruth Webb Lee, "Pittsburgh versus Sandwich: Richards & Hartley," Antiques (February 1934), reprinted in American Glass from the Pages of Antiques, Vol. II Pressed and Cut, Princeton: Pyne Press, 1974, pp. 111-113.

Robert Irwin Lucas, Tarentum Pattern Glass. Tarentum: self-published, 1981, pp. 244-247.

Alice Hewlitt Metz, Early American Pattern Glass, Vol.1, South Orleans, Massachusetts: Heritage Antiques, 1977 (orig. published in 1958), pp. 158-159.

S.T. Millard, Goblets, Book 1, fifth edition. Topeka: The Central Press, 1947, p1. 133.

Albert Christian Revi, American Pressed Glass and Figure Bottles. Nashville/New York: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1964, pp. 286, 288.

Doris and Peter Unitt, American and Canadian Goblets. Vol. I. Ontario, Canada: For the Love of Glass Publishing Inc., 1994 (republication of original June, 1971 publication), pp. 264-265. vol. II, p. 205.

Peter Unitt and Anne Worrall, Canadian Handbook of Pressed Glass Tableware. Peterborough, Ontario: Clock House Publications, 1983, p. 214.

VIII Commentary and Personal Profile

After 25 years of collecting, we have not yet seen a large mug in Three Panel, or a 7" cracker bowl, which makes us doubt if they were ever made. Cruets, on the other hand, were evidently added to the production after the 1888 trade publication was issued, and 10 1/4" cracker bowls, though absent in the catalogue, are plentiful. Water pitchers, milk pitchers, and cruets are the most difficult to locate, as are the flared sauce dishes and the 10 3/4" cracker bowl. If any other color exists, other than those noted in the inventory above, it is undocumented and should be considered rare. Hearsay about the existence of a wine and a doughnut stand seems groundless.

Our interest in "Three Panel" began in 1972, when Roberta's father presented her with a clear spooner in the pattern for her birthday just prior to our marriage. At the time, we knew nothing about pressed glass but soon discovered that other forms and colors existed in the pattern. Little by little we began to find some of the more common pieces and added them to our "collection." It was, however, our move from Syracuse, New York, to Newark, Delaware, in 1974 that greatly enhanced our interest in adding pieces, primarily because of the proximity of our new home to Adamstown, Pennsylvania. Nearly every weekend, we visited Renninger's, Shupp's Grove, and other centers there, and began traveling to shows and shops throughout Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. How happy we were to find nearly a full set of vaseline goblets in Laurel, Delaware, though we could scarcely afford them. The dealer offered to hold them for us until we could pay, and we accepted the offer with gratitude.

From these humble beginnings, grew our nearly complete collection of Three Panel, and three subsequent collections Bakewell's "Ribbon," "Classic," and "Frosted Leaf," not to mention the start of our own dealing in pattern glass. Glass research and publication also interests us greatly, and is a logical extension of our professions as educators: Roberta has taught special education and is currently a school librarian for the diocese of Arlington; Mel is a professor of Art History at George Washington University.

Notes

1Ruth Webb Lee, Early American Pressed Glass. Northboro, Massachusetts: author, twenty-first edition, 1946 (orig. pub. 1931), pp. 506-507.

2Doris and Peter Unitt, American and Canadian Goblets. Ontario, Canada: For the love of Glass Publishing Inc., 1994 (republication of original June, 1971 publication), Book I, p. 265.

3Gerald Stevens, Glass in Canada. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Methuen Publications, 1982, pp. 135, 149, 180.

4Peter Unitt and Anne Worrall, Canadian Handbook of Pressed Glass Tableware. Peterborough, Ontario: Clock House Publications, 1983, p. 214.

5The three pages devoted to Three Panel are reproduced in Robert Irwin Lucas, Tarentum Pattern Glass. Tarentum: self-published, 1981, pp. 245-247. Two of the three pages are also reproduced in William Heacock and Fred Bickenheuser, Encyclopedia of Victorian Pattern Glass, Book 5, U.S. Glass from A to Marietta, Ohio: Antique Publications, 1978, p. 113.

6A U.S. Glass Company catalogue showing Three Panel mugs (in two sizes) is reproduced in Doris Anderson Lechler, Toy Glass. Marietta, Ohio: Antique Publications, 1989, p. 157. A second U. S. Glass Company catalogue showing a variety of pattern mugs, including Three Panel, is illustrated in Albert Christian Revi, American Pressed Glass and Figure Bottles . Nashville and New York: Thomas Nelson Inc., 1964, p. 286.

7Unitt and Worrall, p. 214.

8The catalogue shows the following: creamer, covered sugar, spooner, covered butter, 7" and 8" cracker bowl, goblet, celery vase, crimp top celery, large and small mug, 7" and 8" open compotes, sauce dish, tumbler, 1/2 gallon pitcher, and a quart pitcher.

9Lucas, Tarentum Pattern Glass, p. 244. In conversation, Mr. Lucas has said that he now believes his statement may be inaccurate; he was referring to the rumor that the pattern may have been produced in a Canadian factory.

10Ruth Webb Lee, Antique Fakes and Reproductions. Enlarged and Revised. Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts, 1938, 1950, 1966, p. 175.

11Unitt, American and Canadian Goblets, Book II, p. 205.

12Bill Jenks and Jerry Luna, Early American Pattern Glass, 1850-1910. Radnor, Pennsylvania: Wallace-Homestead Book Company, 1990, p. 519.

Click here to view a selection of Three Panel glass in clear, vaseline, amber and blue.