U.S. Glass Virginia Blackberry Cobalt Blue Child's Pitcher

The maker of this cobalt blue child's pitcher was unknown to me at the time I bought it from Tom Mordini. He told me he originally purchased it on eBay and said, "I am aware of one other example owned by John Britt that sold at his auction in 1994. His example was cracked." This tells me there are at least two of these reported.

This toy pitcher is only 4" in height and 2.25" across the base. It has a very unique star impression on the base with 14 rays. This base would become the clue, as to who made it, when I presented it to the membership of the Hooked on Carnival Fred Stone nightly newsletter in December 2018. The results of my request for indentification were answered by two friends and fellow collectors as follows:

To: Miss Christina
From: David Kastor
I’ve always loved the Virginia Blackberry child’s pitcher.  Thank you for sharing your pictures.  It looks exactly like the US Glass pattern Galloway (aka No. 15086 or Mirror) except that Galloway doesn’t have the blackberries.  The base of the Galloway pattern matches that of the Virginia Blackberry pitcher.  Here are a couple of pictures of Galloway in ruby stain showing the pattern and the base. 

To: Miss Christina
From: Pat Lynch
I borrowed these pictures from the EAPGS web site. The Child's Creamer is U.S. Glass Pattern No.15086 Mirror (AKA: Galloway, Mirror Plate), c. 1904. The pattern is identical to your Virginia Blackberry piece, sans the blackberries.  The picture of the bottom pattern is from the toothpick holder. Although not exactly a match, it is certainly close enough to be, due to space limitations. I would guess, then, that your piece was from U.S. Glass or from another glass company that acquired the original molds and did a (very beautiful) modification. Just my humble opinion.

Thank you David Kastor and Pat Lynch for your humble responses. Thanks to you the mystery of the origins of the Virginia Blackberry pitcher have been revealed! The information is very much appreciated. If the pitcher could talk, it would tell you it doesn't feel so much like an orphan anymore, now that we know its roots!

Previously, there had been debates on whether or not it is a child's pitcher or actually an adult creamer. I believe it's a child's pitcher as I have found it does not function well as a creamer due to the shallow spout area which doesn't guide the liquid out and away from the edge well. Another reason to consider is that it doesn't hold enough cream compared to any other standard size creamer I've compared it to.

Also, the small loop inside the handle is very small which makes it difficult for adult fingers to comfortably grasp whilst pouring cream. Most adults would have to pinch the handle between thumb and idex finger to lift it. If you notice the placement of this handle, I believe it is positioned to imitate that of a life size water pitcher whereas most creamers typically have handles that span the whole side of a more bulbous vessel.

The Christina Katsikas Collection