(12) Stuart Crystal Hardwicke Collection Cut Crystal Wine Glasses. Diamond-cut bowl with faceted prism sides terminated two-thirds of the way from the neck join, with a bulged stem and a starburst pattern in the foot. This style first appeared in the 1970s and was one of their most popular. Marked on the underside of the feet. 

Size: 3 1/4 x 3 1/4 x 7 in. 

In 1827 an eleven year old orphan named Frederick Stuart was sent to work at the Red House Glassworks on the “crystal mile,” an area just outside Stourbridge, England, and he eventually rose through the ranks to be considered one of their most accomplished glass makers, leaving the company at twenty-four to become an independent glass salesman. The next year he purchased the Glassworks, moving into the iconic 18th Century cone building that had become a national landmark, and in 1853 Stuart entered into a partnership with two other companies, forming Mills, Webb & Stuart to buy the Wordsley Iron Foundry adjacent to the glassworks and renaming it the Albert Glassworks. In 1883 Stuart consolidated the business into Stuart & Sons, dividing it evenly between himself and his seven sons, before retiring in 1897 and eventually passing away in 1900. The company expanded to become the sole provider of crystal stemware to the White Star Line, with their largest shipment lost in the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, and in 1936 all glass production was transferred from the Red House factory to new facilities at White House Glassworks, with the original glassworks inside the cone turned into a museum open to the public. In 1966 Stuart & Sons opened a second factory in South Wales, and in 1979, due to safety issues, the White House factory was demolished, transferring surviving assets to a new company formed in Crieff, Scotland called Stuart Strathearn Glass. In 1995 the company and all its assets were acquired in a takeover by Waterford Wedgwood, and glass production ceased altogether in 2001, with the name Stuart Crystal now used on a nostalgic giftware collection line. 

All items are sold AS IS. Lot and condition details are for descriptive purposes only. Sarasota Estate Auction is not responsible for errors and/or omissions of condition. The absence of a condition report does not imply that the lot is perfect or free from wear, flaws, or characteristics of age. Please bid according to your own expertise, or request any additional information and/or photographs you deem necessary.