Cambridge Jugs, Part II
by Mark A. Nye
Issue No. 138 - October 1984
Note: All jugs discussed in this article are shown in the Catalog page which appears at the end of the article.
We start this month with a mystery jug or, at the very least, one that poses questions ... the #3078 84 oz. ice lipped jug.
It is as #3078 this jug appears in the 1940 catalog and price list and, under the same designation, it appeared in the 1933 Cambridge catalog supplement. However, in 1930 and 1931 what appears to be the same jug was being listed as a part of the #3145 line. Is there a difference between the #3078 and #3145 84 oz. jugs? I doubt it, but if any readers have evidence to the contrary I certainly would like to hear from them.
While it is doubtful this particular jug would have been decorated, due to the optical nature of it's pattern, it may have been produced in most of the 1930 colors. The 1940s saw the jug as #3078 being made in crystal, amber, forest green, royal blue and amethyst.
A #1206 Spiral Optic 12 oz. footed tumbler was shown in the 1933 catalog supplement and thus indicates that perhaps the #1206 76 oz. Twisted Optic ice lipped jug also dates to the 1930s. If this is the case, then you might find the jug in the 1930s colors in addition to the ones being used in 1940, namely crystal, amber, moonlight, forest green, royal blue and amethyst. Again, due to the pattern, it is highly unlikely this jug was ever decorated.
The next two jugs #956 and#935, are identical except that #956 has an ice lip while #935 does not. Both have a capacity of 64 oz. and probably both were first made in the 1920s. The Welkers, in their Book I of Catalog Reprints, have reprinted a catalog page most likely dating to the late 1920s that shows the #956 jug etched Martha. No illustration of the #956 jug was found in the 1930-34 NCC Catalog Reprint, but this does not rule out its production during that time period. 1940 saw the #956 jug being made in crystal, amber, dianthus and moonlight, undecorated only. Thus, if production did not occur during the 1930s, the jug was reintroduced in 1940.
The #935 jug was pictured at least five times in the 1930-34 Cambridge catalog: twice in the original 1930 catalog and both times etched #739 and three times in the 1931 supplement, etched Apple Blossom, Lorna and lastly in ebony with silver encrusted Lorna or D/973-S. There is every reason to believe this jug was produced in the prevailing colors of the 1930s and, colored as well as crystal blanks would have been etched. By 1940 production of the #935 jug was limited to crystal with no decoration of any type being applied.
While limited to production in crystal during 1940 and after, the Tally-Ho #1402/50 74 oz. Tankard style jug was made in royal blue, amber, Carmen and possibly other colors during the 1930s. The #1402/50 tankard has been seen with a silver overlay decoration. It is possible it was decorated in other ways, including etched, during the mid to late 1930s.
The Tally-Ho tankard jug took its basic shape from our next jug, the #96 tankard pitcher. This jug dates at least to 1933 and probably much earlier. The 1940 catalog presented five sizes of the #96 jug: 18, 32, 40, 59 and 60 oz., all in crystal, and none were available decorated. These same sizes were also available in 1933 and at that time were being offered thru a special Cambridge catalog supplement, "Beer and Bar Glassware."
Dating back to the 1920s is the #103, 2 pc. Guest Set, and our next jug. Again, we have a bit of a mystery. In the Welker Book I of Catalog Reprints we find this set on two pages that appear to have originated from the same Near Cut era catalog. Yet, on one page we find the set as #103 38 oz. Guest Room Jug and Tumbler, etched Martha. On the other page it is captioned as the #62 Guest Room Set, etched Wedgewood. On a third page showing the Marjorie etching, a jug very similar in style to the two just described is shown and listed as the #103. (This page was reprinted in the CRYSTAL BALL, issue #74, in conjunction with the article dealing with Marjorie.) Are the #62 and #103 sets the same, or are they different? If the same, why the two numbers in the same catalog? Regardless of how the set was designated, it is highly probable it was the recipient of other decorations during the 1920s.
The 1930-34 Cambridge catalog, as reprinted by NCC, contains no illustrations of the #103 Guest Room Set. The next known reference to the set is a catalog page that appears to be from the mid to late 1930s and reprinted by the Welkers in their Book II of Catalog Reprints. Here it is referred to as a 2-pc. Nite Set and was captioned as being available in crystal, plain or etched, and in the colors of amber and royal blue, plain only. One only wishes the catalog page had stated what etchings were available on this piece.
Th 1940 Cambridge catalog and price list called this set the #103 Guest Set. At that time, it was only being made in crystal and was available plain, or etched Diane, Portia, Elaine, Rosepoint and Wildflower.
The only one of the nine jugs covered in the article, "Cambridge Jugs - Part II," to survive the 1940s, this #103 2 pc. set was illustrated on a catalog page issued during late 1949 or early 1950. According to the September 1950 price list, the set was available at that time etched Candlelight, Chantilly, Diane, Elaine, Portia, Rosepoint and Wildflower. In February 1953, the set was being offered with these same etchings, with the exceptions of Portia and Candlelight, both of which had been discontinued by that time. A general price list issued in the fall of 1953 failed to include the #103 jug set, nor did it reappear during the reopen period.
With another style handle and a different knob on the lid, the #3077 22 oz. jug and cover is shown in the 1931 Cambridge catalog supplement. Once as a part of a 4-pc. Boudoir Set and again by itself, this time etched Cleo. The 1932 catalog supplement illustrated the jug with two different styles of handle. One, a ribbed slightly twisted handle is on a jug with cover shown etched #760. The other is like the one pictured on the page from the 1940s catalog that is included with this article.
In the 1932 catalog supplement, the #3077 jug was shown Rock Crystal Engraved with engraving #650. The same catalog supplement was again presenting the jug and cover in a 4-pc Boudoir Set, this time on a page headed, "Cambridge Two Tone Quick Sellers." The body of the jug and the tumbler as illustrated is dark, indicating possibly royal blue or amethyst. The tray, jug handle and lid appear to be in crystal.
The 1940 version of the #3077 jug was available with or without the lid. The lid had a solid knob opposed to the open circlet of glass used during the early 1930s. 1940 production of the #3077 jug was in the colors of crystal, amber, emerald (light), dianthus, moonlight, forest green, royal blue and amethyst. From the 1930s you may find this jug in Gold Krystol and perhaps in other colors from those years as well.
The Martha Washington #30 80 oz. jug is a part of a line that dates back to the late 1920s and with several name changes appeared in Cambridge catalogs from then until the final plant closing. The story of this line is far too long to cover here and the reader is referred to the November 1975 issue of the CRYSTAL BALL.
Over the years, the pattern was produced in most of the Cambridge transparent colors, but whether the jug was made in all, I can't say. By 1940, the line, including the #30 jug was being made in crystal only. While the line did reappear in the 1950s as Heirloom, the #30 jug was not made after the 1940s. It was being made in the early to mid-1930s and it is entirely possible you may find this jug decorated with Grape etching since other pieces in the Martha Washington pattern were etched thusly during that time period.
In Part I, I said there were a total of 39 jugs being made in 1940. Disregarding decorations, if a collector just wanted each jug in every color it came in during 1940, how many jugs would have to be found? The answer will be provided in the final article in this series. Meanwhile, start looking ... you have a lot of jugs to find!
To be continued ...
