Images(5)

Wastebasket

Object number2024.63.9

Manufacturer Consolidated Lamp and Glass Company (1893 - 1963)

Artist Helen Fitzgerald

OriginCoraopolis, PA

MediumGlass; Paint

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

DescriptionMilk glass wastebasket with hand-painted ivy decoration. Base shape is a five petal flower outline with rounded points; shape of the body follows the shape of the base and broadens as it extends upward to an open mouth. Body of wastebasket has a brown ivy stem with several green leaves on one side; other side has a brown stem with one green leaf. Artist initials at bottom of the ivy decoration with several leaves. Base has a foot.DimensionsHeight x Diameter: 8.438 x 6.125 in. (21.4 x 15.6 cm)
SignedArtist initials at bottom of the ivy decoration with several leaves, "HF".
Historical NotesThe hand-painted initials marking this piece of glass document one of the 14 known decorators that worked at the Consolidated Glass Company in Coraopolis, PA. A 1957 Con Cora line company catalog stated that “each piece, hand-made and hand-decorated by skilled artisans, is initialed by the decorator.” The company marketed these mass-produced pieces as distinctive. They advertised the skills of these women artisans to sell this line of Con Cora milk glass and distinguish it from competitors’ products. The initials provide clues to the identities of the women who created these decorations and preserves the legacy of individual women who usually labored anonymously in regional factories.

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