Hawkes' patented Festoon pattern of 1897 (patent no. 26,731) is sometimes misidentified because the pattern is similar to International Silver's Star pattern, a somewhat later pattern that was cut by the Meriden Cut Glass Company. Confusingly, in the books by Bill and Louise Boggess this Star pattern is consistently identified as Hawkes' Festoon, while Festoon is mistaken for International Silver's Star!
The drawing that accompanies Hawkes' patent is shown on the right. Below is an example of the Festoon pattern as cut on a large ice-cream tray, shape no. 1056. The image is taken from the ACGA's composite Hawkes catalog which was published in 1989. (The photograph neatly captures a reflection that confirms that a plain [i.e., non-figured] blank has been used, as is always the case with Hawkes.) The tray's dimensions are shown in Spillman (1996, p. 122) -- L = 17.5" (44.4 cm) and W = 10.5" (26.7 cm) -- where the author incorrectly describes the item as a bowl. Hawkes obtained the blank for this ice-cream tray from the Libbey Glass Company. There it was known as shape no. 285.
The Hawkes company also produced an alternate version of the Festoon pattern -- which it also named Festoon -- that differs significantly from the patent. An example of this version, on a bowl, shape no. 700, is shown below (Image: Internet). Here Hawkes drops the single mitering that outlines the large, central star figure on the patent and adds interior fans. Although this version is shown in Sinclaire and Spillman (1997, p. 84), a better-quality print is available in the HAWKES PHOTOGRAPHIC FOLIO (c1897) published by the ACGA in 2003. At the present time collectors make little distinction between the two Hawkes patterns, and they call both of them Festoon. A 7"D plate in the patented version sold for $810 at an eBay auction in 2002.
Updated 3 Jun 2004
