Although flower frogs reached their heyday in the United States
in the mid-twenties and thirties during the flapper era, they
can be traced back to the 16th century in Europe where it was
customary for pottery and china houses to mark their pieces. Glass
flower frogs were not generally marked prior to 1870-- the year
it became possible to record patents and trademarks on glassware.
The oldest known record for a U.S. frog is a patent issued to
S. Van Stone in 1875 for a conical shaped flower stand with concentric
rings of holes stacked pyramid fashion. Another early creation
is the mushroom-shaped, Mt. Washington condiment server/floral
holder . A patent for this holder was issued to Andrew Snow, Jr.
in 1893.
Since the turn of the century some 20 well-known glass and pottery
houses have manufactured frogs in the U.S. They have ranged in
shape and design from simple "rounds" to elaborate and
artistic "figurals." One of the most prolific producers
of glass flower frogs in the U.S. was Cambridge Glass Co., located
in Cambridge, Ohio. Any round frog that says "PAT'D April
11, 1916" on the side is Cambridge. Some of the Cambridge
round glass frogs have "Pat. Apl'd For" on them, and
a few from the later years have "Cambridge" embossed
on the side. All of the figural ladies are covered by a patent
issued to A. J. Bennett on Oct. 18, 1927. Of the same era but
cast in pottery are the R. G. Cowan dancing ladies with trailing
scarf in hand. Many are individually patented and have double-walled
bases. They are full of life and movement, reflecting an age of
flamboyance soon overshadowed by the Depression.
The etymology of the term "frog" has proved more difficult
to research than the actual items themselves. The term "frog"
as it relates to a holder for flower stems does appear in 1968
in the Random House Dictionary of the English Language,
but it is not listed in the Oxford and Chamber's etymological
dictionaries. How it came into general use remains a mystery.
Over the years flower frogs have been referred to by many different
names; such as, flower blocks, flower bricks, flower holders,
and floral arrangers.
Oldest
US patent was on July 13, 1875, issued to S. Van Stone.
The 1916
A. J. Bennett (Cambridge) Patent #1,179,144.
Cambridge
Figural (Roses) Lady Patent 1,645,577, issued to A. J. Bennett
on Oct. 18, 1927.
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