GLIDDEN POTTERY ALFRED MID-CENTURY HIGHSTYLE STONEWARE

Ronald J. Kransler

Universal-Publishers

Boca Raton

Glidden Pottery: Alfred Mid-Century Highstyle Stoneware

Copyright © 1985-2011 Ronald J. Kransler All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information

storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher

Universal-Publishers Boca Raton, Florida

USA • 2011

ISBN-10: 1-61233-016-9 ISBN-13: 978-1-61233-016-7

www.universal-publishers.com

Front and rear cover subjects from the collection of the author.

Cover photographs provided courtesy of the Everson Museum of Art.

Dedication

Karl Taylor, David Ammering, Ellen Meek Meldrum

It would have been impossible to write this book without the help of many people. I dedicate this book to everyone who helped me pro-duce it, with special dedications as follows:

Ellen Meek Meldrum— My (and my mother’s) high school English teacher, advisor and friend during my formative years. This woman helped cement the love of publication onto my soul. When working with her on school publications, she gave me the confidence needed to get the job done; her lessons and demands for quality remain with me today.

David Ammering— It was David that got me ‘hooked’ on Glid-den in the first place, and our desire for information led to the de-velopment of this book. There is heartfelt regret that he is not alive to see its long-awaited conclusion.

Karl W. Taylor— I’ve never had a friend who has meant more to me. During our seventeen and a half years together, Karl pushed me along with this project. Despite a long-term illness, he never gave up in the constant quest for Glidden and the goal of finishing this “Glidden book.” He left us in 1997 and I will never stop missing him.

Special thanks and a dedication to my parents, John and Marilynn Kransler

Throughout my good times and my worst, they always stood behind me and believed in my ability. Sadly, my mom and dad never will get to see this book or dedication.

Editor's Note: Mr. Kransler passed away in the fall of 2010. One of his greatest desires was to widely share his knowledge of Glidden Pottery. In loving memory of Ron, this book has been seen to com-pletion by his dear friends and family.

Foreword

From my first purchase of Glidden, a gift for a dear friend, to my second – intended for the same purpose, but mysteriously replaced at the last moment by another present, I have been obsessed with the collection of this mid-century highstyle stoneware that was pro-duced in Alfred, New York.

From day one, I have been amazed by the lack of substantial in-formation available on the subject and finally decided to remedy this by producing a book about Glidden.

My quest for information began by placing small ads in the Al-fred Sun seeking information and pieces of pottery for sale. The ads provided me with some basic information, a list of some of the principals involved plus many interesting pieces of Glidden for my collection. From there, I sent letters and questionnaires to designers and former workers. I had one-on-one conversations with former designers, dealers and employees. I used the libraries in Alfred, in-vestigated the “Glidden archives,” contacted museums, most notably the Everson in Syracuse, NY, and publications like the Santa Fean which published the last Parker interview one month after his death. In addition to my own collection of over 2,900 pieces, I have been fortunate to have been provided access to photograph many wonderful private collections including those of Charles Rand Penney, Vincent vanZwanenberg, Terry Scanlan and Tom Moogan who did not live to see this book become a reality – I miss him a great deal. This information process has allowed me to meet many people who have become some of my better friends.

The publication has had false starts, setbacks and problems on many levels, and as information changed, extensive reworks that have made it a very difficult, stressful, part-time job.

Throughout the process, my driving goal has been to pro-duce an accurate, detailed record of the company and the people who produced Glidden pottery; a book that provides the reader or collector with information.

Will the information process ever be complete? No, but I hope you appreciate this book as it has developed.

Ron Kransler

Table of Contents Glidden Pottery, Inc.............................................................................. 7 Glidden Parker .................................................................................... 21 Fong Chow ........................................................................................... 39 Sergio Dello Strologo .......................................................................... 47 Nelson, Fosdick, Secrest, & Robinson .............................................. 53 Markings on Glidden ......................................................................... 61 Decoration & Patterns ........................................................................ 69 Catalog Section

1-99 .............................................................................................. 99 100 range .................................................................................... 116 200 range .................................................................................... 128 300 range .................................................................................... 134 400 range (Sculptured Oval) ................................................... 136 500 range .................................................................................... 142 600 range .................................................................................... 143 700 range (New Equations) ..................................................... 147 800 range (Casual “Saffron” Buffetware) .............................. 151 900 range .................................................................................... 158 1000 range .................................................................................. 164 4000 range (Designer Line) ..................................................... 166 Unique Numbers ...................................................................... 178 Unmarked ................................................................................. 179 Glidden/SAFEX ...................................................................... 192

Stonecraft of Alfred........................................................................... 193 Studio Pieces Produced at Glidden ................................................ 194 Glidden Exhibition 2001 ................................................................... 195 St. Pat’s ............................................................................................... 196 Looks Like Glidden, But is Not ...................................................... 197 Stoneware by Glidden of Alfred Catalog (8 pages) ..................... 201 Color Product Line Cards ................................................................ 209 Ads, flyers ......................................................................................... 211 Index ................................................................................................... 215 Afterword ........................................................................................... 223 Thank You & Author Profile ........................................................... 224

Glidden Pottery, Inc.

lidden Parker’s association with the small, university town of Alfred, New York, had a profound impact that will more than likely never be duplicated. Parker’s Glidden Pottery, Inc. pro-vided a livelihood for many and gave the community some-

thing that they could point to with pride and say “This is Glidden Pot-tery... it’s made in Alfred.”

In 1939, after completing his courses at Alfred and while teaching at the university, Glidden Parker began work on the first designs, then re-finement and the molds for a line of pottery that would be faithful to hand-crafted despite being mass produced. In July of 1940, he officially formed Glidden with the help and assistance of his good friend, interna-tionally known ceramist, first dean of the College, Marion Fosdick. Ms. Fosdick let Parker use her studio for creating and firing the first pieces of Glidden before moving to small facilities at 100 Main Street.

Glidden Pottery was designed and created on a wheel or hand formed, then molds were made to allow for mass production of the pieces. Slip, clay that is thinned to a consistency to pea soup, was then poured into these molds, with hollow items it was left set for (approxi-mately) twenty minutes, the remaining liquid was then poured out to allow for partial drying before removal from the mold.

After being released from the mold, the mold marks were removed by hand, rough edges smoothed and the name ‘Glidden’ and a number was added by hand into the bottom of the still slightly damp greenware (unfired pottery). It is quite safe to assume that most early pieces of Glidden were signed by Parker or his wife, Pat (Harriet Hamill) because until September of 1940 when they hired their first employee, Ms. Jane Walkley, they worked alone.

Walkley, another Alfred graduate, was put in charge of molding the pot-tery. Output at the time was between 200 and 300 pieces a week; with steady orders coming in the three people were kept quite busy. Glidden Parker was responsible for all design work, much of the hand decoration, the bookkeeping and sales.

G

Illustrated is a piece of Glidden pottery presented by Ms. Walkley as a wedding gift shortly after her employment at Glidden. Glidden Parker personally did the bold Sgraffito on this piece for her.

Despite doing production work, commercial glazes were never used at Glidden; Pat Parker created the first glazes, textural treatment and some of the hand decoration. Mrs. Parker devel-oped the most often found and most popular Glidden Glaze, Ma-trix (a blue-green turquoise), that was used throughout the entire his-tory of Glidden. The Parkers worked together refining Glidden’s clay and glaze formulas to necessitate just one firing. This innova-tion saved time and gas.

Glidden was made from a (still) secret combination of Kentucky, Ohio and New York clays that were fired at cone 6 to become a dura-ble, ovenproof stoneware. It is said by many in Alfred, that students at the university used to try and duplicate both the Glidden clay for-

mula and the glazes, but for the most part were unsuccessful.

Parker insisted from the be-ginning that his pottery, targeted to be sold in high-class shops and stores, would be hand-decorated. In an interview given to Frank Bredell on the tenth anniversary of Glidden Pottery, Parker told him that there was no point in simulating hand decorating with

Thelma Burdick and VestaPalmer sign freshly molded

Glidden Pieces while BillPalmer unmolds others. Thisphoto was taken prior to the

enlargement of the businessin the summer of 1944. This

photo was provided by Mrs.Lyle (Thelma Burdick)

Palmiter.

One of the countless specialorder designs produced atGlidden. Believed to have

been done by Parker himself,this Pennsylvania Dutch

design plate was a limitedproduction pattern and verydifficult to locate today. The

glazes themselves appear tohave been developed by

Walter Robinson. From thecollection of Vincent

vanZwanenberg.

a machine. Parker said “We try to combine handwork with tech-nical developments without destroying the intimate quality.”

In the interview with Marian Love in the Santa Fean, Parker re-called that “Handcraft couldn’t support us totally, so during Easter vacation, I walked up and down Madison Avenue (New York City) with pots under my arms.” He told Ms. Love that he was “willing to do special shapes, colors and glazes with special designs done by hand if desired.”

Parker’s sales trip to New York City was a tremendous success. He was able to secure Rubel & Fenton, Inc. as a national distributor. Soon orders from all over the country came flooding into the small shop in Alfred. More employees were hired to take care of produc-tion and shipping. Parker said to Marian Love, the demand for the informal dinnerware and basic casual pieces was “Terrifying....” He went on to tell her that “When our son, Christopher, was born in July, 1942, our wholesale orders were remarkable.”

In addition to being sold in the better shops around the country, Glidden was available in Alfred, at Erma Huitt’s Terra Cotta Shop. Many of the pieces available in Alfred were test pieces and ‘seconds’ which is undoubtedly why there are so

A group of Glidden workers in a circa 1940s photo provided by Mrs. Lyle Palmiter. Employees that could be identified are Gif Cook, Fern Carnes, Josie Cook, Enid Wilcox, June Chisholm, and Wanda Horton. Others could not be identified.

many of these interesting forms of Glidden available in upstate New York.

In 1944, Parker bought land from Ruben Armstrong on North Main Street and had a cement block building constructed on the site. The building was twelve feet high, 47 feet wide and 105 feet long, the shipping dock was in the rear. Built into an embankment behind the building were the clay bins – making the overall length of the manufacturing facility 125 feet long. It is interesting to note that the demand for Glidden was so large that by the time the facili-ty opened in 1945, the clay that filled the bins was being shipped to Alfred in carload lots.

With the new structure came an increased need for employees. Orders taken in 1944 for delivery in 1945 topped 100,000 pieces! To keep up with the demand, the new facility incorporated a 50 foot tunnel kiln of the sliding plate type. Unlike the periodic kiln used in the original facility, the new kiln ran continu-ously and required at-tention at all times. The new kiln required Glid-den Pottery to run con-tinuously 355 day a year, using a 10 day ‘shut down’ for repair, vaca-tions and maintenance.

In 1945 when Glid-den Pottery incorporated and Parker became pres-ident in addition to being chief designer, there were over 200 different shapes in production, a great jump from the 37 that Glidden Pottery started business with. Glidden Pottery was

This advertisement featuringdinnerware in Glidden’s

Running W pattern available atupscale Washington, DC

department store: The HechtCompany, appeared in

Good Housekeepingmagazine in 1945.

Illustrated are two advertise-ments that featured food using Glidden Pottery. The first is a 1952 Hunt’s Tomato Catsup that appeared in Good Housekeeping magazine; the second is a 1951 Simtex ad featuring Glidden Chi-Chi din-nerware.

beginning to show up in national magazines in advertisements for fan-cy shops, write-ups about gift items, and many times in food company advertisements. Much of this exposure was undoubtedly stimulated by Glidden’s inclusion in ceramic shows, design shows and trade shows. Art directors for the advertising agencies were obviously impressed with the innovative original designs and used Glidden pottery fre-quently. The Hecht Company featured Glidden in a Good Housekeep-ing ad in 1945, and by the time that Glidden had incorporated the de-signs of a second and principal designer and contracted third principal designer, Glidden had appeared in advertisements for Ivory Snow (Women’s Home Companion – 1947); House Beautiful featured Glid-den Parker’s prize winning covered casserole (163) in an article “Muse-um Pieces Belong at Home”; Better Homes and Gardens featured Glid-den in an article dealing with round and square tableware in 1947; in 1948, Life magazine featured Glidden pottery in a full-color Hunts To-mato Sauce advertisement. This continued exposure was an indication of how popular and successful that Glidden Pottery had become.

Glidden Parker was constantly looking for new ways of improv-ing his product. New ceramic designs were constantly added to the Glidden line, as well as new surface treatments. In 1948, Glidden’s newest pattern design, Will O’ the Wisp, was featured in Successful Farming magazine in an article that also featured Stangl, Lunt and

other fine-crafted china and pottery. Fine stores such as Bergdorf Goodman were handling Glidden, the demand for the product in-creased. To keep up with this ever increasing demand, Parker in-vestigated using the recently developed Ram Process for the pro-duction of his pottery.

In 1949 Glidden Pottery, Inc. became the second pottery manufacturer in the country to use the innovative Ram process to mold ceramics. The Ram pro-cess developed at Ohio State, pressure injected the clay into molds made of gypsum cement. The molded objects were then released through fluid pressure forced through the permeable dies. For oversized pieces, that were made more possible through this process, metal dies were created with the assistance of Wallace C. Higgins and were cast in nearby Friendship, New York. In addition to being fast, efficient, and semiautomatic, the Ram Process changed many things at Glidden. The large inventory of molds requiring slip were no longer needed, more floor space became available, production increased to a thousand pieces a day and the process allowed for far more creative expression of physi-cal design.

Many of the original numbers of Glidden were taken out of production with the initial change over to the Ram process. Slip was no longer used, therefore molds were designed that allowed for the thickness to be consistent. Only 87 designs were initially in-corporated for the ram process, a drastic drop from the 200-plus designs that were in process previous to this. Parker did redesign some of the more popular items such as the flat planter dishes in the 100 range, giving the redesigned pieces corresponding num-bers in the 1000 range. For example, 107 became 1007, etc.

Illustrated is a copy of anadvertisement sheet that

RAM process used topromote themselves.

This piece features Gliddenpottery pieces decorated in

Counterpane and astatement by owner/designer,

Glidden Parker.

Because of logistics of the Ram Process, the edges no longer curved over– they were flared out instead. Many new designs were added to Glidden, most notable being the entire range of ‘sculptured-oval’ dinnerware (400 range). It should be noted that at least part of this range was designed by Philip Secrest, another Alfred ceramic graduate and prize winner at the National Ceramics Exhibitions in Sy-racuse.

Rubel and Fenton also began having Glidden pieces made to their specifications. The ‘Laizy-Daizy’ serving unit, the Ferris Wheel serving

unit that incorporated a rede-signed 1005 (1005FF) and other pieces were done for Rubel. In conjunction with Rubel and Fenton, Fred Press, a designer of many of the very popular blackamore statues (lamp bases, etc.), created a series of designs that look very much like decals,

A late 1940s photo of Glidden workers Veva McHenry and Ralph Colegrove at work in the enlarged Glidden Pottery facility. Many familiar pieces can be recognized in this photo that has been provided through the courtesy of Mrs. Lyle Palmiter.

Fred Press’ fish and leaf designs could be found on numerous items in the fifties. Illustrated here is a tray, a rocks glass and a divided glass serving dish with gold leaf fish designs on it.

but were, in reality, designs of glaze that were manually applied to the ceramic piece using an innovative hand-held screen process. (Fred Press designs were also used on many products distributed by Raymor.)

Glidden Pottery was included in the Good De-sign Shows at the Muse-um of Modern Art (N.Y.C.) and the Mer-chandise Mart in Chicago. The show, juried by Edgar Kaufman, Jr. of MOMA and Alexander Girard, di-rector of the Detroit Insti-tute of Art, featured Glid-den’s recently created sculptured oval din-nerware in the Bluestone pattern. The show, held in Chicago and at MOMA in New York City featured high quality design items for under $100 that were available for sale in this country. The show was designed by Meis van der Rhoe internationally renown architect and designer.

Through Glidden Parker’s urging, Fong Chow, well respected painter and ceramist, came to Alfred to earn his graduate degrees and to work for Glidden. Chow’s designs were very successful, also winning awards at MOMA. Fong Chow was responsible for many of the new glaze patterns and physical designs for the pottery itself. Boston Spice, High Tide, Roman Lines, Gulfstream Blue, and the award winning Charcoal and Rice, are among the most popular Glidden patterns created by Chow. Fong Chow also worked to pro-duce, in glazes, the herbal designs created by freelance designer, Ser-

gio Dello Strologo. The patterns were created by Strologo with a syringe to grace a line of pottery that he was commissioned to design for Glidden. By the time that Strologo came to Glidden it was being handled na-tionally by Raymor, the partnership with Russel Wright and Richards

The invitation card fromMuseum of Modern Art “Good

Design” show. Reproducedfrom Glidden Parker’s copythat bears Edgar Kaufman’s

autograph.

One of at least three versions of the Raymor label that may be found on pieces of Glidden.

According to Strologo, hecreated a series of herbaldrawings with an India ink

syringe while waiting for a trainback to New York City. Fong

Chow then refined thedrawings for use on the

Casual Buffetware line thatSergio had designed.

Morganthau. Strologo had worked for Wright redesigning pieces of the Iroquois line of casual dinnerware, and was referred to Glidden by Wright personally.

Dello Strologo, Italian-born designer was the last (named) principal designer’s work to be added to the production line of Glidden. He too, was an Alfred graduate and made an indelible mark on the designs produced at Glidden. Strologo’s designs (800 range – Coffee Stand with Warmer, Carving Platter, Sugar and Creamer, Covered Casserole) won recognition in the National Ceramic Exhibitions in Syracuse. He will be best remembered for his innovative use of wood to comple-ment the ceramics. Many pieces by Strologo have wooden (oak) co-vers, handles or carving boards. They are usually decorated in Saffron, Parsley, or Cayenne, and incorporate herbal designs by Strologo that were refined for glazing by Fong Chow.

The wooden pieces for Glidden were created by local craftsperson, Bill Palmer. The wrought iron and wire work that was used throughout the 1950s was created by another local craftsperson, Frank Plummer. The designers at Glidden or distributors like Rubel and Fenton would design the piece and these men would fabricate them for Glidden. Most notable among the wire creations were the ‘Fin and Wire’ racks used to hold bowls, casseroles and planters; the covered fish casserole (de-signed by Philip Secrest 1952) with Fong Chow’s Charcoal and Rice glaze included a fin and wire rack– it was in one of the “Good Design” shows. The sugar and creamer that Strologo won his awards in the National Ceramic Show in Syracuse, included an oak cover for the sugar bowl. The carving platter in the same show in-cluded an oak cutting board created by Palmer.

Glidden Pottery remained in the visual forefront, continually being used in ads by others and in ads for Glidden itself. Vogue

Philip Secrest designed the Glidden classic “(handsome) Fish Casserole dish illustrated here in Fong Chow’s award winning Charcoal and Rice, sitting on one of Chow’s “Fin and Wire” stands.

magazine had ads featuring Glidden Pottery, and ads appearing for the better shops featured Glidden using the ‘Good Design’ logo to promote it. Part of this continued interest came as a result of Glid-den Parker being granted a patent on his trigger-handled cup and the subsequent inclusion of the cup into the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

In 1954, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez bought service for 48 of Glidden to use in their new home in California. The story was carried in most papers as ‘filler copy,’ but did help make Glidden more fa-miliar to the fans of this very famous couple. The fact that Lucille Ball was from Bemus Point, New York, near Jamestown could have helped with the decision for the purchase. Alfred is in the same gen-eral area of the state.

In 1955, Glid-den Parker opened the Glidden Galler-ies in Alfred, New York. The object be-sides sale of Glid-den was to bring in shows of paintings, glassware and fine crafts. The building was known to Al-fred residents as the “Woolworth Building” named after the two sisters who had owned it for a substantial period of time. Originally known as Sadler house, located opposite of the Alfred Mutual Savings and Loan As-sociation, the landmark building was over a hundred years old.

The renovation of the building took about two months. The downstairs became gallery space with the upstairs being made into an apartment. The concept of the gallery, in addition to being a display place for Glidden Pottery and a clearing house for discontinued pieces, patterns and seconds, was to provide gallery space for other artists and crafts persons to exhibit their work. One of the most prestigious shows (August 1956) featured the new prototypes of Fong Chow’s designs for Glidden and the photographic work of the legendary Ansel Adams.

Glidden Galleries in Alfred, NY.Photo from Hinkle Library’s

Western New York HistoricalCollection.

A second, but fairly short-lived, Glidden Galleries was also opened near Geneseo, New York. It was located where the Water Wheel Antiques stood for many years. This could account for the heavy deposits of Glidden that are in the Livingston and Monroe County area. Many very exotic ‘se-conds’ and experimental pieces continue to delight and amaze Glidden collectors.

In the late 1950s a large percentage of American ceramic and glass companies, including Glidden, were hurt severely when import pottery from Italy and Japan began to flood the U.S. market. Because this almost destroyed the demand for American produced ware, Glidden Pottery underwent reorganization. Heretofore closed, the company went public to raise capital in order to try and keep pace with the volume of orders and to market the product better.

Glidden was still enjoying critical success, having been chosen for use in the newly opened Museum of Contemporary Crafts in New York City, and having been selected by the Raymond Loewy Corporation for display in the building they planned and designed for the Interna-tional Trade Fair in Damascus, Syria.

The #35 plate illustrated here is typical of the great finds that were available at Glidden Galler-ies. This plate which has an experimental design of very limited production also has a glaze formula incised on the back.

Glidden Galleries Showroom with an exhibit of Fong Chow Designed pottery in Charcoal and Rice. Photo by John Wood is provided courtesy of Fong Chow.

At the time of reorganization, there were thirty people em-ployed at Glidden. The staff size would increase to between forty and fifty. Glidden Parker was re-elected president; William Harrison, vice president; Margaret Metzger, secretary; Harry F. Joyce, treasurer; Andrews Hritz, assistant secretary and assistant treasurer. The com-pany engaged John D. Dickson of Wellsville for legal counsel and ap-pointed Glidden Parker, William Harrison, Robert Campbell, Marga-ret Metzger and Harry F. Joyce directors.

Part of the expansion involved an additional kiln and enlarge-ment of the general facility. New products were planned including those made of a white semi-vitreous clay (4000 range) and new dis-tributors, Richards Morgenthau and Haberge, Inc. both located in New York City on Fifth Avenue. The new designs and patterns seemed to be targeted to accessorize the “Danish-Modern” look that was sweeping the nation at the time. Boat dishes, weed pots, wall planters and other more exotic pieces became the most predominant pieces produced at Glidden. The older patterns were produced less and less with Gulfstream Blue, Sandstone, Green Mesa, and other patterns more consistent with home decoration being produced in larger quantities.

It is unfortunate, but this reorganization could not over-shadow the economic slump, non-aggressive sales representa-tives, lack of working capital and consumer trends of purchasing cheaper imports instead of the more expensive American goods.

Glidden Pottery produced its last pieces in December 1957 and filed for bankruptcy in Feb-ruary1958. Glidden’s closing left many Al-fred area residents without jobs and it was quite an emo-tional loss to all those who worked

Designer- line pieces such asthe #4023 “Mask” wallpocket

in Sandstone were theprimary concentration near

the end of Glidden Pottery’sproduction.

so hard to produce this outstanding example of American art pottery. Former board member, Margaret Metzger said that when she assisted in the bankruptcy that it was like “burying an old friend.”

Glidden Parker kept Glidden Galleries in Alfred, as an outlet for the inventory left when Glidden Pottery, Inc. closed, but it too eventual-ly closed because Parker found it to be difficult to live in Arizona and run a gallery in New York State. Fong Chow left Alfred and took a cu-ratorial position (Far East Art) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City; some workers took jobs with Bennington Pottery, but for the most part, the general workers remained in Alfred or the im-mediate area.

The importance of Glidden and its lasting impact was, perhaps, best expressed by Fong Chow, now living in New York City. In his responses for this publication he indicated “It is impossible to look at many of the designs we take for granted today, like the Corn-ingware casseroles, without thinking of the designs created at Glid-den.”

“A most attractive stoneware, in shapes that are, for the most part, simple, agreeable and highly useful,

has been created by Glidden Parker of Alfred New York. This pottery, which is

ovenproof, is distinguished by a mat surface, soft color combinations, and, in general, well-thought-out forms that one

won’t see duplicated in other wares.” THE NEW YORKER September 1949

Blue on Blue

Glidden Parker

lidden McLelland Parker, Jr. began life in the rugged state of Maine on July 26, 1913, in the small community of Phillips. His parents, Glidden McLelland Parker and Avilla May Hersey

Parker, were both from families that had arrived in Massachusetts in the 1630s, over a century before the American Revolution.

Little could be found about Glidden’s childhood except that he at-tended a one-room country school where four grades were taught in

G Glidden Parker working on a stained-glass cartoon while at Glass Art Studios.

the same room. In the last interview and resultant article about Parker in 1980 by Marian F. Love in The Santa Fean, he indicated that he had been in love with his teacher and used to stay after school excessively to color maps and make holiday decorations but did not really have any interest, at that time, in art.

According to Love, Parker’s interest in art and art forms hap-pened when his grandfather took him to visit the Philadelphia Sesqui-centennial. There, he along with the rest of the nation, was impressed with the Art Deco displays made of plaster and lath that were created for the occasion. He indicated that he spent nights dreaming of the waterfalls, gardens, fountains and paths; creating entire environments in his mind... he decided to become an architect or an archaeologist that digs up and reconstructs the ruins of ancient cities.

At thirteen, Glidden’s parents enrolled him in the Hebron Acade-my, a private boys’ school, which he hated. His mother, sympathetic to

his plight, transferred him to the public high school in Lewiston, Maine, where she lived. He loved school there and became very interested in writing. Each week, he wrote another part of a mys-tery serial for the school newspaper. He wrote poet-ry, tried other forms of writ-ing and became fiercely in-terested in films. He is quot-ed as saying that he went to the movies “...five, six, or seven times a week... three times on Saturdays.” He was also interested in theatre and made an attempt to see eve-ry touring company that came to the area. After high-school, he spent the summer taking an English Literature

Glidden in his twentiesstanding next to a tree.

Photograph provided forthis publication by his

granddaughter,Katherine Parker.

Glidden photographed while drawing probably while studying with C. Katherine Nelson in Alfred. Photograph was provided for this publication by Katherine Parker.

summer taking an English Literature course at Bates College in Lewis-ton before entering college there in the fall.

Parker’s next four years were spent at Bates College in Lewis-ton, Maine. The college had a very liberal background and had a record, that it maintains to this day, for providing equality of ed-ucation despite race, economic background or sex. At Bates, Glidden was fortunate to have an excellent English department, which stimulated his desire to want a career in writing. Parker began writing short stories, poet-ry and books many of which ap-peared in local and national col-lege publications. In 1935 Glidden

Parker received his B.A. in Literature from Bates College.

With graduation behind him, Parker and a friend, Gray Adams, left for a summer in Europe. This vacation was actually a rest for both of them before continuing their educations in Europe. Parker recalled to Marian Love that “We had very little money but we managed to keep going by staying in youth hostels.” In the same interview he went on to explain that once that they had explored Paris, visited the museums, a train trip was taken to Belfort where they bought bicycles to continue their trip. Continuing his recollections of those days to Love, Parker indicated that “We had to push them up the mountains in the Black Forest for three days, but on the fourth day we just coast-ed down at 40 or 50 miles an hour.” The two ended up in Mannheim and then spent their remaining time together cycling through Bavaria. They then separated, Gray went to Berlin and Glidden Parker went to Vienna, Austria to attend the University of Vienna.

Parker took advantage of every facet of European life and the abundance of cultural events there, recalling that he stood through 35 operas for a shilling a performance and even stood through the tiring length of Parsifal. By his own admission, he was not a proficient

Glidden Parker, June 1965.Art created in PhotoshopTMfrom Xerographic copy of

vintage printed article.

linguist, but did learn to speak and read German, and matriculat-ed at the University.

Parker indicated to Marian Love that the degree he was awarded was the equivalent of a doc-torate and therefore was allowed to study what he wanted to. In his Glidden Pottery years when he wrote a small autobiog-raphy for the Syra-cuse Museum of Fine Arts, he indicated that his field of study had been Compara-tive Literature. To Love, he said that during the year of 1935-36, “I studied Philosophy, the History of Film, the Origins of Speech and a Survey of German Literature where there were 1200 of us in the class.” He also indicated that he started to write a novel at that time. Parker actually studied a lot more in Vienna than he indicated to Ms. Love; German Language, Parallel Developments of Novel, Moorish Influences on Romanesque Architecture, Evolution of Gothic in Germany and France, The Baroque of Bavaria and Austria, History Painting, and an exhaustive study of museum collections in Edinburgh, London, Paris, Berlin, Dresden Budapest and Vienna.

Upon his return to the United States, he stayed with an aunt in Buckfield, Maine to work on a novel that was never published. It was a trip to Alfred with his relatives, the Halls, that changed his entire life and made Glidden Pottery possible.

Parker’s painting instructor and dear friend, Katherine Nelson re-called that the Halls were planning a vacation to Europe and came to Alfred, New York, to study German in anticipation of that trip.

Oil on canvas of a tree by Parker that exhibits the strong influence of cubism on his work. Signed on the front “G PARKER”, on reverse “Weld 2/25/45.” Collection: Ron Kransler