| Description | The 'Special' Pattern Books include some cameo designs. Cameo is a technique of carving or engraving in relief on glass, usually composed of multiple layers of colours. The carving on the glass is done so that the upper or outer figure area is in one colour of material, while the background is in another colour. When cameo vases were exhibited at the Paris Exhibition of 1878, this caused a sudden demand for cameo carved glass objects.
By the end of 1878 many of the major glassworks in the Stourbridge region had established cameo glass sections to meet demand, including Thomas Webb & Sons. The Art Director at this time was James M. O'Fallon, and under his leadership Webb's established a core of talented and skilled engravers and designers who undertook cameo carving.
See the Guide and Supplement to Thomas Webb & Sons Records (DTW/1/X1/1) for combinations of coloured glasses referred to in records of cameo ware. |