Perhaps it is worth pausing to consider what is meant by the term Arts and Crafts, since whilst much has been written about furniture, textiles and ceramics of this movement little has been written with direct reference to glass. The main raison d’etre behind Arts and Crafts is that the finished product should be true to the materials used, encompassing a simplicity that, for instance, in furniture, the joints, although being part of the structure, are also part of the decoration.

In the same way glass of the oeuvre was simple and used simple forms of decoration to embellish an item, such as vertical ribbing or writhen moulding often in conjunction with wavy rims (sometimes thrown, sometimes achieved with the use of a mould). This simplicity was quite unlike anything else being produced in Victorian Britain. Much of the glass being produced at this time was ‘fancy’, or frilly, and reflected the taste for decoration on all things, whether architecture or the applied arts.

A company that is probably least understood and unsung amongst these other manufacturers is the London firm of Charles Kempton and Sons who were based in Vauxhall, but it is known through an advert of 1886 that they produced Straw Opal, Blue Opal and Old Amber – all Powell colours, which have very often in the past been mistaken as such. The ‘Trumpet Vases’ shown in this advert begin to allow us to understand Kempton’s production.

However, far more is known about this period of Stuart’s production, which is fortunate, since so much is still mistaken as the work of James Powell & Sons. In particular their green and straw opal pieces with applied spiral trailing are often attributed to the London company.

The patterned, or embossed, straw opal pieces produced by John Walsh Walsh and Richardsons, such as the ‘Chestnut’ patterned series, are distinctive and can really only be attributed to these Midlands based companies, since Powell mainly only produced pattern work on oil lamp shades. A number of these items were attributed to Powell back in the 1980’s and 90’s in major auction house catalogues, understandably, since there was so little information available. Unfortunate too, as it has led to an urban myth that is being perpetuated by unsuspecting dealers, collectors and indeed writers who have used the auction catalogues as a source of information. Perhaps we can now begin to dispel the inaccuracy and give credit to the companies where due.

Much of the work by companies other than Powell is heavier and as a result less fine in its handling, but all have characteristics that are common to each other, sometimes making it difficult to determine the origin of a piece. Things that are common are colour, dented, or pushed in sides and the styles of ribbed decoration used by most, if not all the companies producing Arts & Crafts glass. These frequently used qualities begin to give a style that can be readily recognised, but not so easily distinguished one from another, but nevertheless make it a challenging and interesting area to collect.