Miscellaneous Topics-in-Progress

"The Largest [Composite] Piece of Cut Glass in the World" (The Fry Punch Bowl)


THE COLLECTOR'S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FRY GLASS (Fry Society 1990) states that the H. C. Fry Glass Co.'s punch bowl consists of five parts, is cut in the Rochester pattern, and that "this piece was awarded the Grand Medal of Honor in the glass division" at the Lewis and Clark Exposition held in Portland, OR in 1905. After the Exposition "the set was sent to Fry's New York [City] office, where it remained for some time." From NYC the punch bowl was "sent to the sample room [at the Fry factory] in Rochester (PA) where it remained until about 1934. Later, Harry Fry loaned it to the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh as a permanent exhibit. Subsequently, it was sold ..." (p. 29)
The following extract is reproduced, complete with errors, from an announcement of an "Auction of Antiques" that was held on 18/19 August 1967 at the "Grandma's Treasures" Glass Museum, Route 270, Campbell Blvd., Lockport, NY. The auction company was that of Bob, Chuck, and Rich Roan, Inc. of Cogan Station, PA. The firm continues to operate under this name today. The announcement was recently found in a copy of Revi's 1965 book, appropriately placed between pages 360 and 361.
NOTE: Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Miller, the owners, have had a glass museum open to the public the last few years, and because of little interest shown, have decided to sell the complete stock of the museum which consists of cut glass, art glass, lamps, furniture, etc., which will be sold to the high bidder without reserve. We will list in part, and we have a few pictures included.

Cut Glass

Including the largest piece of cut glass in the world, which was cut by Fry, Rochester, Pa., which is a punch bowl on pedestal, with 12 matching cups, it stands 50" tall and weighs 150 lbs., refer to Dorothy Daniel's book. Pair Kimberly pattern vases, 18" tall by Libbey, Circa 1885. Cut glass banquet lamp; 170 other pieces of cut glass in vases, nappies, compotes, ice cream service, bowls, punch bowl, pitchers, candlesticks, cruets, dresser set, creamers and sugars, console set, decanters, pr. of lustres, lamp, etc.

"Rare" Russian Pokal with Crest of Catherine the Great, circa 1767 in original case, this piece came from the Schaeffer collection, Rockefeller Center, N. Y. The mate to this piece is now in the Smithsonian Institute.

The Fry punch bowl, with its cups, is shown as the auction brochure's cover illustration. Excepting the Catherine the Great pokal the only other cut glass that is illustrated are a pair of heavily cut vases. They are not, however, cut in Libbey's Kimberly pattern.
By the time of the 1977 exhibit at The Corning Museum of Glass entitled THE CUT AND ENGRAVED GLASS OF CORNING, 1868-1904 the ownership of the punch bowl, exhibited as item no. 133, had passed to Mr. and Mrs. Philip Roberts. The exhibition's catalog gives its height as 137 cm (just shy of 54") (Spillman and Farrar 1977). The photograph in the exhibition catalog is poor; the best one seen to date is the one in Revi (1965, p. 360).
The complete story of the Fry punch bowl remains to be told. The foregoing notes should be useful to anyone undertaking this task. The writer (and others!) would be interested to learn where the Fry punch bowl is located at the present time.

Updated: 16 May 1998