Designer: Wilber L. Orme (1889-1972)

Item:  Pair "Pristine Table Architecture" glass candleholders

Manufactured by: Cambridge Glass Company

Country of origin: United States

Year made: 1937

Materials: Glass

Dimensions: Each 5 ¼” x 5 ¼” x 2 1/8”

Condition: Good to Very good.  One has a very minor fleabite on the base of one rear corner that cannot be seen unless turned upside down and examined closely, and we grade that one very good. The other has a few fleabite nicks on the bottom near one back corner and one slightly large chip as shown in the photos that also cannot be seen when standing up. Also on this one there is a loss to the beveled top back edge that really is hidden because of all the bevels and different angles of glass, and that is also shown and we grade that one good. Given the extreme rarity of these objects we believe these are forgivable flaws and these are acceptable examples for any serious American modernism collection.

References:  Johnson, Stewart J., American Modern: 1925-1940 – Design for a New Age, Harry A. Abrams, 2000; John Stewart, A Modern World: American Design from the Yale University Art Gallery 1920 – 1950, Yale University Press, 2011.

Description:  An exceptionally rare and important American modernist design.  Although these were commercially produced and advertised in magazines such as, House and Garden in 1937, very few seem to have survived.  Examples can be found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Yale University Gallery of Art and other public collections.