Was Harry Powell responsible for the design of the “leather bottle” carafe?

The oval “leather bottle” (J.1.) design, which has an oval base and echoes of a medieval leather bottle, appears in the Powell catalogue in the 1870s, an extract of which can be found in Whitefriars Glass: James Powell & Sons of London, 1995 Museum of London - P.262. The design remained in Whitefriars’ catalogues until 1920, however it was also used by other makers, including Stuart.

Whitefriars Glass: The Art of James Powell & Sons, 1996 ©Richard Dennis, Edited by Lesley Jackson (P30 fig.75) shows a photograph of a leather bottle type glass vessel with moulded vertical ribs, a cork stopper and a wrought metal finial, taken from The Architectural Review 1899, with the design being attributed to Harry Powell.  But was Harry Powell responsible for the design of the plain, un-ribbed, carafe?

Henry (Harry) Powell, was a grandson of the founder and a remarkable man, who joined the firm in 1873 and took the firm’s success to new heights. Something of a Rennaisance Man, he was an Oxford graduate with deep interests in chemistry, history and the natural world all of which he turned to the advantage of the family firm. Harry Powell travelled widely, sketching, amongst other things, ancient glass and artefacts. His notebooks, now held by the Museum of London, recorded his finds and provided inspiration for his designs.

It seemed (to me!) a reasonable assumption that the unstoppered version in plain glass was similarly designed by Harry Powell early on in his time at Whitefriars. However, a telephone conversation with Alex Werner of the Museum of London, and one of the co-authors of the Museum of London publication referred to above, has put me right. In Harry Powell’s book, Glassmaking in England (1923 Cambridge University Press) – a copy of which Amazon are hurrying to me as I write – Powell notes that the ‘leather bottle’ design was put into production at Whitefriars in 1865, eight years before his arrival with the firm.

In any case, James Powell & Sons’ interest in antiquity did not start with Harry Powell but it certainly flowered under his direction.

Small carafe in fine quality pale grey glass: “leather bottle” design. Probably Whitefriars, English C1870. It is in good condition and rare in the small size. The item was sold by Fortnum & Mason, Piccadilly.