The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-01-24 00:00:00

CUNLIFFE OWEN.

The annual exhibition and distributicn of prizes
took place at the Steurbridge School of Art, on
Monday night. Hitherto the annual exhibitions
have consisted of little more than the works of the
students. But this year a new departure has been
taken. The ugly and dingy theatre in which the
students have worked has been during the last six
months vastly improved and enlarged ; excellent
north lights have been introduced, and the heating
and gas lighting and ventilating apparatus so much
changed that at the present time it forms a school
of art n every way fitted for its requirements. 'lhe
work ha 4 been carried out under the superintend-
ence of Mr. J. M. Gething, architect, at anlexpense
of £450. The proceedings on Monday night may
be regarded as the re-opeeing of the school alter
these important changes ; and to give eclat thereto,
an exhibition of a far wider range was decided
upon. It is well known that Stourbriclge is the
principal seat of glass manufacture, and that the
very finest flint glass in the world is made here.
When it is said that the chief glass manufacturers
of the district sent their choicest productions to the
exhibition, it will be readily understood that it
was one well worthy of inspection Chief amongst
the exhibitors were Messrs. Themas Webb an:l Sons,
of Dennis. The most magnificent epesiniens of
every kind of English glass, botti "ancient" and
modern, were displayed by them, and their many
varied forms, rich colouring, and in the flint glass
brilliant transparency, were unrivaled. They
also showed large collections of French, Belgian,
Australian, and other glass. Messrs. Stevens and
Williams, also local manufacturers, had on view a
large collection of glass, chiefly remarkable for i.e
br.lliant ruby and opaleecent celouring and beauty
of design. Amongst Meeere. Muckley's exhibits
was a large loving-cup, having figures and flowers
engraved upon it. A very high authority describcd
the modelling of the roses upon this beautiful
specimen as the most charming work of the kind
he had ever seen. Several lovely specimens if
came.. glass were also exhibi,ed, ant' ngst teem
being an exceedingly successful imitation of the
celebrated Portland vase. Messrs. Bouleen and
Mills and Mr. Richardson were also exhibitors of
differeut kinds of gless ware. Messrs. Doulton and
Co. showed many specimens of the potter's art,
• and some very artistie specimens of terracotta
work were exhibited by Messrs. J. King and Co.
Cases of china ware and electro-type ware had also
been sent from the South Kensington Museum, as
well as carpets from Kidderminster, and pictures,
plaster casts, &c., from South Kensington. The
exhibition is the most successful and important of
' its kind ever held at tourbridge, and it is a ques-
tion whether such a choice and numerous exhibiiion
of glass has ever been in any one building in the
kingdom previously. The space being taken up in
this way very little room was left for the works if
the students. and only a few of the best specimens
were on view in consequence.

The p oceedinga having been briefly opened, the
report was read by Mr. A. 'Worthington. This
stated that the number of pupils who had attende.;
ihe classes was as follows :—At Stout bridge, 11)6 ;
at Brierley Hill, 76. Besides these, about 180
pupils of the St. James's. Wollaston, and the
Wollaston Road Schools had received
instructisns from the masters. At the May examin-
(then, 61 pupils attended from Stourbridge, and 26
from Brierley Hill. Of the 100 papers worked by
the Stourbridge pupils, three were marked "ox-
client," obtaining second grade prizes, 23 passed
and 74 failed to pass, Of the 37 papers of the
Brierley Hill pupils, one was marked "excellent,"
16 passed, and 30 failed to passed. Four students
from Stourbridge had gained six third grade prizes
and two Queen's priz.s in the National Competi-
tim, and 1,598 works of 114 pupils from Stour-
bridge and 325 works of 46 pupils from Brierley
Hill tad been sent to the Science and Art D.cpart-
meat. At the International Health Exhibition
there were exhibited 112 articles in glass mane-
:ll.3l4re, designed by present or past pupils of th
'oho .1. The Midland Association of Flint Glass
Manufacturers. with a view to Encouraging work at
the school which might more directly promote the
excellence of local glass manufacture, had generously
promised to place at the disposal of the committee
the annual sum of £lO, to be awarded as priz-s to
pu, Ha at the school who are actively engaged at
toe glass works. The committee had received
dun i g the year £l4O ss. 6d. from the Worcester
Exhibition, the Science and Art Department hal
promised £l4O is. towards the cost ot repairing arta
eltering the school, which was now complete.l.
The Ch &man, Sir P. Cuuliffe Jwen, said thys.
who inhabited that locality hardly realised Vie im•
mense replication they possessed, in ;ill pal ts of
tbe 'world he might say. He wished s rne of his
fun !s could come down there and visit even that
small exhibition arranged for their bensflt roid in-
struction in the next ro nfl. It gave him an earnest
of what Stourbridge was going to do in the tutur, ,
and he hoped to see it with a museum of is own,
illustrating the history of the glass manufacture
not only in the neighbourhood, but in othes
csunties besides their own. It was important to
them that they should have a permanent museum
of that kind, and have a collection of historical ex
amples showing the progress of the glass manu-
facture It was a very r •markable thing that only
sine twenty years ago they hardly knew much
about what Stourbridge was doing. but since then
in many assemblies in Paris aril other parts of
the world, he had had the pleasure of hearing the
merits of their manufactures ecknowledled. Si,.
Philip referred to the labostrs of Mr. Simms, the art
master, in the past, and expressed his sacisfactio
at the way the school had been remodelle i anl im-
proved. This was only the beginning, however, of
what they were going to do. because he did no:
believe they would allow the exhibition to ba
swept away. However small it was, it should be-
come permanent, and it would grow as their in-
dustries had grown. He trusted, before he retired
from the nubile service, to come down to the open-
ing of their museum, where the industrial lasses
might have an opportunity not of copying what
others were doing, but of inspiring themselves for
fresh efforts in the particular trade which interest-'d
them, He mentioned that the Science and Art
Department had now about thirty collections of
ebjects, which they sent down y. at- by year int
the country, and which w--re interchangeable. So
he trusted that the exhibitioa he had hail the
pleasure of sending down to Stourbrid;se would t)o
made such aue of that they would le always ask--
ing for a renewal of the co 1 ictien year by year. an
so finally form a museum of (11, it own. Sir Philip

caLed uttk•ntion to the official nport upon the gla43

axhinits at the P.tris International Rxhibition of
1878. ma.le to the Froech Minister of Commero-
by Messrs. Didron aol Clerna.nd, t. It was no'
published tiil me time after 'he exhibition, awl
he had been reading it on his way down to Sour-
bridge. Besides France, only four other large
countries exhibited at Patis—England, Austril.
Belgium, and It sly—ind the above ger tlemen said,
England has always been acknowledged as the
country in which crystal glsss (or-lean gia..s) was
first manufactured, ani shown as the most appko-
pi.tte irnititi,n of the diamond. English crystal
was a manufacture which represented all the m ,st
desirable qualities, especially • when shown eitner
opaqii,., cut, engraved, or polished. They preferred
English crystal ef great thickness, cut in such a
manner as alone the Briish workman excels in.

they Admir?,l loss English crystal in engraving,
Lowever lich in design, and incontestbile in its
Ertlish manufacturers were munificently
representod at the Paris Exhibiion of 1878,
especially by Messrs. Thos. "Webb and Sons, or
Stourbridge. to whom the international jury. unani-
mously awnrded the wr-Pearnel and exceptionally
grind medal of honour and the distinction of the
deems on of the Legion of Honour to their Mr.
Thomas Wilkes Webb. As a whole the exhibition
of Briti-h glass was magnificent. . As usual, the

. -
crystal glass was unapproachable in its pure and
limpid whiteness, and was splendidly cut admirably
polished, elegant in form and design, shoving how
much the English had known how to profit by
succeeive international exhibitions. No one, the
writers procee 'ed, should be ab:e to accuse them
(the French) of anything like injustice in d.aling
with that beautiful and admirable manufacture se,
admirably produced by their neighbours. Finally,
it asked whether they would give the preference to
English or French crystal glass, they should have
to confess that great progress had been made by
their (the Frtnch) manufactwers, and that it had
become difficult to give an opinion. Mons.
Clcmandot, the eminent expert selected by the
French Government to draw up a report upon the
glass exhibits n 1878, warned his countrymen, not-
withstanding ;he beauty of their productions, to be
not-
( withstanding
alive and concerned at the progrets being
made by the trade in Eng tind. The English
manufacturer and the B itish publie, he said, had
gr,a :y benefited by the spread of art knowl•dge
i and instructien pruvided by the establishment of
the 13Mence and Art Department, and through the