Eda Sweden Encore Blue Breakfast Set
Description
This incredibly rare blue breakfast set came to us via a dealer in the late 90s. We were told the pattern was Encore and that it was produced by Eda. It had allegedly come from the home of a relative of an Eda factory worker and was thought to be a one off. We were later offered a marigold open sugar in the same pattern also as an only one. The design is a very deeply cut geometric pattern and you can see just how deep cut from the photos. As is usual with European glass there is a ground base.
We had had the items a number of years when I bought an Imperial catalogue from e-Bay featuring Nucut patterns. Imagine my surprise when looking through the book I discovered what I thought was the identical breakfast set. The Nucut pattern number was 526 and showed a clear drawing of the sugar & creamer. I contacted two reputable glass experts and as far as they were aware, Imperial only made this pattern in Crystal. I got in touch with the museum of a famous Swedish department store Nordiska Kompaniet. I sent them photos and they sent me a copy of a page from a 1915 catalogue showing the very same breakfast set. The set was made for the store by Eda Glassworks but was listed as Crystalware. As far as they knew, Eda had not produced the pattern in Carnival glass. Not being one to give up, I sent photos and copies of the drawings to The Swedish Glass Museum and The Eda Glass Museum.
After quite some time they both said they believed it to be 95% certain that they had been made by Eda and that if this was definitely the case they were indeed extremely rare items. These items seem to be the only items made in this pattern.
Today to date, there are only two reported Blue Breakfast sets. The Marigold sugar remains the only one. I was also told at the time we bought the blue set that there was a blue water pitcher but I have never seen this. I am still doing research on these items. I would like to think that these might have been a first try out by Eda into iridized glass.
Measurements :
Encore Blue & Marigold Open Sugars: Overall Height 3", Overall width handle to handle 6.25", Top Opening 4.25", Base diameter 3".
Encore Blue Creamer: Overall height 3.25", Overall width 5.5", Top diameter 3.75", Base diameter 2.5".
The Ellen & Keith Richardson Collection UK
