This solid glass desk tidy is designed with grooves to hold a pen, and has two wells for holding pins, tacks, paperclips or others small items. It is also heavy and makes a good desktop paperweight. The desk tidy has 'Made in England' embossed in small letters on the base.
They were made in England by Bagley & Co. Ltd's Crystal Glass Company (commonly just referred to as Bagley's!) and an example can be seen in Angela Bowey's books 'A Treasury of Bagley Glass' and 'Bagley Glass: Fourth Edition'.
Bagley & Co. began in Yorkshire in 1871 as Bagley Glass of Knottingley and although they remained predominantly a manufacture of bottles, in 1913 they began manufacturing glass tableware and art glass under the name 'The Crystal Glass Company'. They were soon the most prolific manufacturer or pressed glassware in Britain, and produced a wide range of designs, until finally closing for financial reasons in 1976.
I can't find any information on when these pen racks were produced, however a feature of this one is that it glows yellow-green under UV light which shows the glass contains manganese. Manganese was added to glass to improve its clarity, however its use died out from the mid-1910s onwards and by the 1930s and 40s it was rarely used commercially. Its presence in this pen rack suggests that it was made by Bagley earlier in the 1900s rather than later.
- English glass pen rack and desk tidy
- Bagley & Company Ltd.'s Crystal Glass Company (Bagley's for short)
- unknown date, most likely from 1930s to 40s
I prefer using recycled packaging materials as far as possible.
*Please pay within 3 days, if payment has not been made within 7 days, the order is cancelled.
*I try to ship as soon as I can, should you be in a specific rush - please let me know.
*I reserve the right to close auctions early.
Happy bidding!
Have a look at my other listings. I gladly combine items. 📦
https://www.bobshop.co.za/seller/1431565/Human01
