BOOKS REVIEW

The following are reviews I completed last year for the British Society of Scientific Glassblowers. I felt the books were so useful to the history of lampworking that the reviews should get a wider audience than limited to the BSSG members.

Lampworking, the 20th Century to the Present. Volume II

by Cesare Toffolo. ISBN:978-88-904285-5-5

This is one of the most difficult books I have had to read. It’s so, so heavy and far too large for most of my bookcases. Yet it is fantastic as it is full of lampworking history. It is not a book of techniques but profiles many artists. It does include reference to scientific glassblowing which is sadly so often missing in similar titles. Of course, it is just one person’s view of the subject but when that person is Cesare Toffolo, the Italian world-famous artist and leading representative of lampworked glass art then his opinions must be taken seriously. It’s clear that a long time has been spent on research and collecting many photographs, many not seen before. I found the older photographs depicting glassblowers in the home environment working with hot glass fascinating and for me this was one of the main attractions. The photographs of the many different styles of lampworked glass I had seen in other books but there were still surprises. Had to be as I wasn’t going to pay over £100 for something, I was familiar with.

Off the three hundred and ninety-six pages many are devoted to Italians, in fact I counted over one hundred pages illustrating many artists. Other Countries are included of course including Great Britain which are allowed thirty-eight pages and I am sure some readers will complain that certain people have been excluded. My eyes raised several times on reading about the well-known British lampworker, William Swingewood as I was not familiar with the seemingly importance, he had with the UK history of lampworking. He was clever in that he named his son identical thus both William Senior and Junior kept the family name alive in the glass world. The Swingewoods are assigned six pages which is a tremendous accolade in a book such as this. Other well-known names working in London are profiled including, Istvan Komaromy who I did not appreciate had his workshop in Shirley which is just down the road from my hometown of Croydon.

Never one to avoid commenting upon the politically incorrect then I just have to say something about the dress code of glass eye maker, Tobias Muller-Uri. He is pictured in his workshop in Lauscha wearing a Union Jack tee-shirt. Funny how some expressions when one blows into glass resemble a bulldog and the image in my mind of John Bull just flashed up!

I bought my copy at Corning Museum of Glass when I was passing through on my way to the ASGS Symposium. You don’t have to go all that way to buy your copy although I do recommend the trip as the scenery of glass sculptures are truly breath taking as well as breath giving. No, you can use that magic tool, the Internet to get you copy although goodness knows what the postage will be. Try wwwhttp://books.toffolo.com/en/ as a starting point. I have been looking out for second-hand copies without any luck so far. The copy I was interested in was Volume II as I thought the earlier companion not relevant to my interest. I was disappointed not to see any artists included form USA. My disappointment grew as I realised this Country is featured in Volume III and that now I will have to save up another £100 to get this book. Please don’t tell my wife!!!!!

Lampworking, the 20th Century to the Present. Volume III
by Cesare Toffolo. ISBN: 978-88-904285-6-2

Well, it had to happen didn’t it? I reviewed Volume II of this series in January 2020 which was published in BSSG Journal Vol 58 No 1. There I stated that as I had enjoyed Volume II so much then I just had to get the next volume. A combination of factors which included the shop at Corning Museum offering a 20% discount, an old forgotten inheritance and a drunken evening with my favourite malt saw my fingers dance on the keyboard to select “buy now”. It was and still is a great investment of only £100 and that includes postage.

If you are interested in lampworking as you should be, then history plays a vital part in understanding and appreciating the age-old skills which are featured throughout the 420 pages of this mighty tome. It seems larger than Volume I but it maybe that my muscles are tired from flicking through so many pages. I am glad I had the second volume to hand as it meant I could re-read the objectives of the series and fully see the benefits of arranging the overview of lampworking across the World by grouping artists in selected Countries and using chronological order to tell stories. And what stories are told. Absolutely fascinating and to be honest a bit of an eye opener. Yep, there are a few pages devoted to glass eyes but not as many as I had expected although the subject is discussed in Volume II.

Many readers may be surprised that several Countries are not included. Countries such as Russia, South America, Australia and New Zealand but there are specific reasons behind this approach which Cesare very ably explains in Volume II. He states, research was carried out only in those places where the greatest contribution to the development of this technique (lampworking) appeared. A total seven countries have been included and while some of these have played an important role in the spread of this discipline, other locations have been included because they are the native countries of the renowned creators of this art. What is key to this book’s uniqueness is the detail and dedication that the author has so obviously and generously shared. The Preface to Volume II which applies equally to this Volume, explains; that each country has its own story to tell and many of the stories described in this book are faithful accounts of those “heard” while doing research for this book. It must be said that there is a direct and very personal relationship with many of these stories and that the decision to let this closeness emerge was intentional as it was a way of expressing the author’s own emotional connection. There we have that word “connection” occurs again.

I was surprised on the number of pages that were used in describing the lampworking activities that occur under the Czech flag. Over one hundred pages with as many illustrations show just how important this Country was and still is in the lampworking World. The name Jaroslav Brychta is or was unfamiliar to me which is terrible as he was such a giant in lampworking circles in Czechoslovakia and I learnt much about the man and his work by reading descriptions of his evolving career from beaded figurines through single bodied figurines to mixed technique figures. The use of beads in creating figures fascinated me and there are some lovely illustrations to depict this craft which I feel is an excellent use of beads so why isn’t it still being carried out?

The pages devoted to Japan and its lampworkers interested me the most as I wasn’t too aware of the names of the artists or their creations. I do have a couple of Japanese glassblowing books, notably one detailing one hundred lampworkers from the 2006 festival in Nagara which I plan to review in the next issue of this Journal, but as the text is not in my own language proves difficult to read. No such problems with Cesare’s book and the illustration of a Japanese lady in traditional costume blowing a glass poppen is fascinating. Don’t know what a poppen is? Then get this book and you can read all about this whimsical glass object.

The most amazing technique illustrated is by Iwao Matsushima who winds glass rod around clay formers to create wonderful, coloured vessels. The making of the clay core seems to require as much skill as it does when winding the hot glass onto it. I daresay removing the completed vessel requires a bit of skill if not luck too!
It was a good idea to include information on glass schools. A wide range is included including overviews of the Zelezny Brod, Pilchuck Glass School, Penland School of Craft and the Studio of Corning Museum of Glass. I was surprised Salem was not included.

What I found intriguing was the fact that many glass nativity scenes originated at the Zelezny Brod School and there are plenty of photographs of the different styles and interpretations of such a familiar subject. I especially love the contemporary example shown.

It was pleasing to see the inclusion of glass pipes and read the stories of how the culture in both creating and using this functional art had rapidly grown then been banned before a resurgence has trickled through the red tape. I am inclined to think it should be “white tape” being the art is more USA based than any other Country.

The USA is obviously included with many glass artists whose work I am familiar with although one or two I had not heard of before. I love the work of Christopher Ahalt whose work I had not seen in other books which is most refreshing. Just how did Cesare select artists that he wished to represent the skills of lampworking? I am so pleased that one of my favourite lampworkers made the cut and that is Hans Godo Frabel. He’s the first of the seventeen artists featured, and his famous glass hammer pictured twice. Pure joy!

The story of Paul Trautman and coloured borosilicate is quite an emotional read and its good stories such as this are recorded for future generations. There are many similar stories in the book, and I was interested in the journey that each lampworker took to their almost final destination of becoming a master of their craft. Most it appears gave tribute to families for encouraging them and in particular one or two quoted an Uncle (not the same uncle!) who taught them during their formative years. Same as me then.

It is good that the book doesn’t dwell on just a list of artists allowing them to “show off” their wares. Rather the book does give a more generic overview of how lampworking evolved across the World and in particular Countries such as USA. I had read similar historical information, most recently when I was looking back at old “Fusion” journals which is published by the American Scientific Glassblowers Society. In 1969 Larry Williams wrote an article entitled “The History and Technology of Novelty Lampworking”. Now of course if a similar story was produced originating in the USA the term would be “Flameworking”.

Concluding this book there is a section on tools which include burners and ovens. I was interesting to see how the humble bench burner had developed over the years but in essence the concept remains the same. It’s somewhat amusing to me that the range of tools for lampworking pictured here is so small and quite basic in appearance.

This book really concludes as any good book would, with a list of references for future reading and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I own at least half the titles listed. I can therefore do some further research on the subject without flying off to pop into the Rakow Library at Corning. I am sure Cesare must have spent hours at this research centre and spoken to many in the “industry” as the stories he tells could only have arrived to him personal and verbally. There are many photos with descriptions that have never been published before. It is a real pleasure to see text in two languages, Italian and English as this widens the market without limit. A wonderful book “Kunst aus der Flamme” which features many artistic lampworkers including Cesare suffers in my opinion from its totally German text and so restricting sales.

This Volume III does pose a technical dilemma in the manner it identifies the pages and illustrations. There are hundreds of both but on the first page of commencing with the Czech glass story there is a photograph numbered 336 whereby I thought it would be number 1. The reason for the potential mismatch is easy to identify as the last photograph in Volume II is numbered 335. Simple reasoning of course, especially if you own both volumes, and who wouldn’t?

I love books as much as people love going to sports events or concerts. We all know we can borrow books or view a lot of information on-line as we can watch concerts and sports in similar fashion but owning books, especially one as glorious as this is to me what it’s all about. I would happily allow a book such as this Volume III (and of course Volume II) to share my coffin. Of course, it would probably double the weight but at least it would add stability when the Caithness wind lets rip and would stop my coffin cartwheeling down the high street!

Cesare is a World-famous glass artist and exhibits and teaches across the World, but I feel that he will be remembered for producing these books rather than his glasswork which in some way is how it should be. It’s a fabulous legacy and I look forward to reading Volume IV. More info can be seen on Cesare’s website toffolo.com

Lampworking, Glass Items up to the 19th Century. Volume I
By Sandro Zecchin. ISBN: 978-88-904285-4-8

Trilogies tend to appear in threes and this title is no exception as it forms the leading book of a threesome about our favourite subject, lampworking. I have reviewed the other two titles in the collection so naturally I have decided to review Volume 1 last!

Written by Sandro who was born in Murano in 1942 and gained a degree in Chemistry before spending forty years working as a researcher at Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche demonstrates he knows his stuff! This is especially true with writing about the early years of lampworking and he presents a fine technical view of glass objects in particularly the figures of Nevers. Using X-ray photographs one can see the wire supports holding the glass together.

The illustration on the front cover is reproduced twice more inside the book so it must be important eh. As a sculpture and work of art I love it but for me it lacks the impact that clear glass has. You would never know that it’s made from glass and I have seen the real thing at Corning! Even the title is memorable, “Marie Antoinette sacrifices the heart of the nobility on the altar of the French Republic” by Pierre Haly. Although I suspect others had a hand it is creating the final object.

As expected, there are lots of illustrations showing groups of lamp workers from the 18th and 19th Centuries around tables in houses. These illustrations are either drawn or painted and are in their right works of art. I especially admired the work of Charles Frederich Ulrich who completed a wonderful oil painting in 1886 showing seven men lampworking. So atmospheric one can almost smell the flames.

This is a small volume when compared to its two companions as its only 246 pages but packed with intriguing insights into the development of this art form. However, the book doesn’t ignore the importance that lampworking has had (and still does) on science. One chapter is devoted to The Accademia del Cimento and name checks well known scientific heroes such as Galileo. I loved the description of lamp workers who use their own cheeks as Gonfia’s. This translates to those who puffs out!

Colour doesn’t appear in abundance within the pages as it seemingly did in the other two volumes. This is to be expected I suppose with the focus being on the origins of the art. There are colourful illustrations and these mostly are limited to figures which give me the impression they were made from ceramics as again the glassy effect seems lost.

The subject of glass eyes is included which is similar to the descriptions of the subject in the other two volumes. Shows how important glass eyes are as it’s the only technique to be given the privilege of being included in all three titles. Naturally the Blaschka family are included and given quite a few pages. Some of their plant reproductions look more realistic than the real thing!

There is a brief section on glass passion bottles which in essence is identical to the Cartesian Divers. I was amazed to read the possibility that records should this type of work could be traced back to 1650.

I am pleased that quite a few pages illustrate paperweights, and one chapter is devoted to this art form. The subject also reappears in the section about lampworking in the USA although I could have done with a few more photographs.

An excellent book and I encourage all not only to buy it but buy all three volumes. Certainly, made my “lockdown” more bearable.