"The Ice Man Cometh"

 

Vintage

Dazzling Silver Ice Bowls & Polar Bear Patterned Glass

In the late 19^th century the world’s attention was on the explorers who braved the dark and cold of the final frontier, the North Pole. Sparkling silver, crystal, and glass inspired by those Arctic explorers remain a distinctive tribute today through pressed glass goblets and pitchers. William Seward, Secretary of State purchased Alaska for $7.2million in 1867 known as ‘Seward’s Folly’ coinsided with the;

'Victorian taste for the exotic a raft of glistening icebergs and polar bears covered white clothed tables with Gorham’s dazzling silver bowl in the shape of a craggy iceberg rimmed with frosted icicles and frolicking bears.'

'Ice cream was a cool status symbol before electric refrigerators became standard kitchen equipment around 1916. Ice cream was expensive, requiring sugar, ice and lots of labor to make; silver tableware associated with it is extremely beautiful.'

Sparkly snowcapped spoon rest & Ice Cream Slicer

The ice mound was made to hold an ice cream spoon

'Elegant dining required a sharp edged ice cream server, ice cream slicers with matching spoons, pierced ice spoons, ice tongs and ice buckets!'

 

Many credit Thomas Jefferson with popularizing ice cream in America by bringing a recipe from France when he was the American ambassador to the French court. But it was Gorham and Tiffany & Co. that made the frozen dessert a feast for the eyes with these elegant utensils.

 

  

Ice Theme Reflected in Pressed Glass Polar Bear Pattern

All tied in with the Arctic exploration. A very desirable pattern then, and still is to this day. Polar bear goblets that sold at .25cents each in dime stores across the country are now well worth over $100 & $350 each. A pitcher now selling for $800 to $1,000 and or more.

 

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'Rugged Arctic scenery was the rage in America after William Seward purchased Alaska in 1867. The pressed glass in the polar bear pattern was made by the Crystal Glass Company of Bridgeport, Connnecticut, in 1883.'

 

The single most famous ice inspired object is a cameo vase

 based on the expedition to the South Pole by Englishman Robert Falon Scott in 1901. The vase celebrated British national pride in the Antarctic exploration and honors the crew members. As it was told, were stuck on an icebound vessel for two years. The marshmallow white glass crust of the famous Scott vase is cut away to reveal a lemony center made of citron colored glass. “The curtain like motif below the icicles on the neck of the vase represents the southern lights.” (glass curator, Gary E. Baker)

 

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 The then leading Art Nouveau glass factory, founded by Emile Galle, produced its own creamy white polar bears in 1920. The Deco vase was made 16 years after Galle’s death. The 14 inch vase depicts three bears lumbering across ice flows that sold at a price of $52,518 at Christie’s in London 1997
 

Excerpts taken from article in Traditional Home Magazine Holiday edition 1998 by Doris Athineos; Magazine photographs by John Bessler