Tag Archives: Chase

Chase Specialty Line – Russel Wright Designs

7 Replies
Chase Brass & Copper logo.

Chase Brass & Copper logo. Image from a 1934 advertisement.

 

For this installment of Driving for Deco’s series on the Chase Specialty Line, we will look at the pieces we have in our collection designed by Russel Wright.

 

Russel Wright

Russel Wright in 1940.

Russel Wright, 1940. Image from Condenaststore.com.

A multimedia designer, Russel Wright (1904-1976) designed 13 items for the Chase Speciality line during the 1930s. Born in Lebanon, Ohio, Wright’s lineage goes back to signers of the Declaration of Independence. He entered the industrial design field while working as a set designer for Norman Bel Geddes. Wright’s approach to design came from his belief that the dining room table was the center of the home. By the early 1930s Wright began to establish his designer reputation with a series of spun aluminum, raffia, cork and wood serving pieces.

 

Russel Wright's spun aluminum pieces.

Russel Wright’s spun aluminum creations of the 1930s. Image from atomic-ranch.com.

These very modern articles caught the attention of Chase, which then hired Wright. After Wright’s time with Chase he went on to design the best selling American pottery line of all time, American Modern for Steubenville Pottery. Wright would design pottery for Bauer and Casual China by Iroquois. Vinyl fabrics for DuPont and furniture and lighting for various companies. Throughout the 1950s & 1960s Wright slowly retreated from the design field, retiring in 1968. Russel Wright died eight years later in 1976.

 

Now let’s take a look at some of  Wright’s designs for the Chase Specialty Line.

 

Pancake and Corn Set

(1935 -1939)

 

The four piece Pancake and Corn set by Russel Wright for Chase.

Russel Wright’s 4 piece Pancake and Corn set for the Chase Specialty Line. From the collection of the author.

 

This amusing four-piece set designed by Russell (sic) Wright in polished chromium will add sparkle and color to any table setting. Deep blue glass forms the bottom of the tray. The pitcher made be used for syrup, drawn butter, cream, French dressing or chocolate sauce for ice cream. The spheres will hold salt and pepper, powered sugar or other condiments. Price complete $4.50 ($91.30 in 2021); pitcher only $2.00 ($40.58 in 2021). – 1935 Chase Catalog.

 

Pancake and Corn Set sold by Chase between 1935 and 1939.

Chase Pancake and Corn Set. Sold between 1935 and 1939. From the collection of the author.

 

This is one of the most collectible sets of the entire Chase line. A complete set usually sells for around $300.00, but some online stores sell these for as much as $950.00. With some effort the set can be put together from the individual pieces. The blue glass tray is prone to scratching so be careful when purchasing one online sight unseen.

 

Salt & Pepper Spheres

(1935 – 1942)

 

Russel Wright's salt and pepper spheres in the original box.

Salt and Pepper Spheres in their original box. From the collection of the author.

Costing only $1.00 per set ($20.29 in 2021), these salt and pepper shakers were very popular. Today these are easily found in the collectors market. From 1935 – 1941 they featured screwable metal bases. For 1942 (their last year of production), due to the beginning of wartime restrictions on metal, white plastic bases were used. A couple of condition issues to look out for when purchasing a set today are to make sure the bases screw on and off easily, they tend to fuse to the body of the shaker. And to look at the chrome around the holes, it tends to wear off, especially from corrosion from salt.

 

Ice Bowl and Tongs

(1935 – 1939)

Russel Wright's Ice Bowl and Tongs for the Chase Specialty Line.

Ice Bowl and Tongs designed by Russel Wright. From the collection of the author.

This classic bowl, 7 inches in diameter designed for Chase by Russell (sic) Wright, holds an ample supply of ice in cracked or cubed form. The bowl may also be used without the tongs for potato chips, pretzels, crackers or nuts. The handle makes it easy to hold in passing food when entertaining. Finished in chromium or combination polished brass and polished copper. Price, complete with tongs, $4.50 ($91.30 in 2021) each. – 1935 Chase Catalog.

 

Handle detail of the Ice Bowl designed by Russel Wright.

Handle detail of Russel Wright’s Ice Bowl. From the collection of the author.

 

The ice bowl is a relatively easy piece to find. What is more difficult is finding one with its original tongs. A simple but stylish design, the only decorative element of the set is the fluting on the curved handle and matching tongs. The ice bowl and tongs is typical of Wright’s  aesthetic and fits the Streamline Moderne movement of the mid-1930s.

 

Cocktail Ball and Olympia Saucer

(1936 – 1942)

Looking like an explosive mine or a really spiky version of Sputnik, the Cocktail Ball and Olympia Saucer added an almost avant-garde, modernist touch to parties in the 1930s. These are more examples of a Wright design that is simple yet striking.

 

Russel Wright's Cocktail Ball and Olympia Saucer for the Chase Specialty Line.

Chase Cocktail Ball and Olympia Saucer, both designed by Russel Wright. From the collection of the author.

Cocktail Ball – This shining Cocktail Ball is for serving cocktail sausages, tiny fish balls, shrimp, olives wrapped in bacon, and other hors d’oeuvres on toothpicks. – 1942 Chase Catalog.

Olympia Saucer – This saucer, shown with the Cocktail Ball, can be used with a syrup or cream pitcher, or marmalade or berry jar. – 1942 Chase Catalog.

 

At only $1.00 ($20.00 in 2021) for the Cocktail Ball and $0.75 ($15.00 in 2021) for the Olympia Saucer these two items sold very well. Finding them today at antique stores and flea markets is relatively easy. The only conditions to be aware of (other than surface scratches) is the chrome plating wearing off and exposing the brass base metal. And the drying out of the maroon rubber base on the Cocktail Ball, causing it to crack and eventually fall apart.

 

Sphere Pitcher

(1937 – 1939)

Sugar Sphere

(1937 – 1941)

Sugar Sphere and Sphere Pitcher, designed by Russel Wright.

 

And here is a look back at the two of Wright’s designs from our previous article on the Chase Specialty Line,  the Sphere Pitcher and the Sugar Sphere. To read more about these two pieces click here.

 

For our next installment on the Chase Specialty Line Driving for Deco will take a look at the barware and drinking accessories they made.

 

Anthony & Chris (The Freakin’, Tiquen Guys)

 

SOURCES

The Complete Chase – Donald-Brian Johnson & Leslie Piña

The Chase Era 1933 and 1942 Catalogs of the Chase Brass & Copper Co. – Donald-Brian Johnson & Leslie Piña

Chase Catalogs 1934 and 1935 Catalogs – Donald-Brian Johnson & Leslie Piña

Art Deco Chrome Book 2: A Collector’s Guide Industrial Design in the Chase Era – Richard J. Kilbride

Russel Wright Creating American Lifestyle – Donald Albrecht, Robert Schonfeld, Lindsay Stamm Shaprio

 

Chase Speciality Line

8 Replies
Chase Brass & Copper logo.

Chase Brass & Copper logo. Image from a 1934 advertisement.

As mentioned at the end of our “There’s no place like Chrome” Driving For Deco post, even though I collected Art Deco pieces, actively acquiring chrome items came later. In 1999 I purchased a Chase Bubble Cigarette Holder for $3.00.

 

Chase Chrome Bubble Cigarette Server.

The Chase Bubble Cigarette Server, available from 1937-1941. From the collection of the author.

Getting that first piece started a trickle of other chrome items. Within a few years the trickle became a flood. And since I now was looking, there seem to be Chase pieces everywhere.

Chrome, with its clean, cold look, appeals to my “Deco aesthetic” and the chrome items look great on my cobalt mirror tables.

 

Chase Blue Moon Cocktail set.

Chase Blue Moon Cocktail set on my coffee table.

 

Chase Antelope ashtray on blue mirror top table.

My Chase chrome and glass Antelope Ash Receiver on one of my blue glass tables.

Another nice feature of Chrome is it does not tarnish, so unlike silver it will never need polishing. During the 1930s lots of companies sold chrome items. But one company stood out from the others, not only in terms of quality but also in the variety of products. And that was the Chase Brass and Copper Company.

Henry Sabin Chase founded the Chase Brass & Copper Co. of Waterbury Connecticut in 1876. Soon after opening the company became one of the leading manufactures of industrial brass products in the United States. In 1929 the company became a subsidiary of Kennecott Utah Copper. The same year Chase opened business offices at 10 East 40th Street in Manhattan. In honor of being the first tenant the building became known as the Chase Tower.

 

The Chase Tower on January 8, 1930.

The Chase Tower at 10 East 40th Street, New York City. Photo by Samuel H. Gottscho taken on January 8, 1930. From the collection of mcny.org.

 

During the 1930s to say that the economy was bad is an understatement.  The Great Depression put a strangle hold on business. Needing to reach new customers some companies reinvented themselves. As for Chase Brass & Copper this meant starting a whole new division. By adapting items like brass pipes and toilet tank floats into vases and syrup jugs, in 1932 the Chase Specialty line was born. High quality products at reasonable prices set the standard in this new industry. A stable of designers, in house and from outside, created these very modern items.

 

During the Specialty Line’s early production a copper finish on items predominated. But once Chase perfected their Chrome plating process, that became the most popular. And while many companies offered chromium plated items, their finishes were plated over rustable metals, such as steel. This lead to pieces becoming pitted and the thin veneer chrome wore off over time. Chase chose to use brass or copper, both non-rustable, as their base metal. Then nickel plating applied before finally applying a heavy coating of Chrome. As a result many Chase products look as good today as they did in the 1930s.

 

Gerth & Gerth's Four Tube Bud Vase for Chase.

The Chase Four Tube Bud Vase in chrome and copper and brass, designed by the husband and wife team of Gerth & Gerth. From the author’s collection.

 

The Four Tube Bud Holder, pictured above, is a perfect example of adaptive use. Thin pipes of varying lengths were transformed into an ultra-modern piece. The main tube rising from the ringed circular base had the smaller tubes attached to it. Credit for this piece goes to the husband and wife team of William and Ruth Gerth. In reality it is most likely the creation of Ruth Gerth alone. Part of the Specialty Line for its entire run, it retailed for $1.25. Today the Four Tube Bud Holder is one of the more common pieces of Chase on the collector’s market.

 

Ruth Gerth in the 1940s, after the demise of the Chase Specialty line.

Ruth Gerth in the 1940s. Photo from eichlernetwork.com.

Another pre-1933 Gerth and Gerth Chase piece is the Dinner Gong. Unlike the Four Tube Bud Holder, the Dinner Gong is not easy to find. Discontinued in 1933 its production life was only about a year or so. Available in copper or chrome it has a book value of about $160.00.

 

The copper version of the Chase Dinner Gong.

Gerth and Gerth’s 1932 Dinner Gong and striker. From the collection of the author.

 

With The Glow Lamp of 1933, one can see Ruth Gerth’s transformation of a toilet float into a charming little lamp. Offered in copper, chrome or combination of half copper and white paint or chrome with black paint. Retailing for $1.25 ($26.00 in 2021) for copper or $1.50 ($31.00 in 2021) for chrome, they stayed in production until the late 1930s.

 

The Chase Glow Lamp by Ruth Gerth.

Ruth Gerth’s Glow Lamp for Chase. From the collection of the author.

 

German immigrant, Walter Von Nessen, made his name by creating very modern lamps. Hired by Chase in the early 1930s, his designs for the company became some of their best selling items.

Walter Von Nessen in the 1930s.

Walter Von Nessen in the 1930s. Photo from Modernism.com

And like Ruth Gerth, Von Nessen readapted ordinary pieces in the Chase inventory to create strikingly modern items, like the Taurex Candleholders. For these Von Nessen took an ordinary curved pipe mounted and mounted it on a circular base.

 

Walter Von Nessen's Chase Taurex Candleholder, even style.

Walter Von Nessen’s even Taurex Candleholder. From the author’s collection.

The two style of the Taurex candleholders, even and uneven, introduced in 1933 were the most popular in the Chase specialty line. Like most pieces in the line they were finished in chrome and copper. The chrome must have been more popular as those are found more easily on the collectors market. This is also true of the uneven version, which Chase kept in production up to 1939. The even style was discontinued in 1936.

 

The Uneven Taurex Candleholder.

Chase’s Uneven Taurex Candleholder by Walter Von Nessen. From the collection of the author.

During the first couple of years of the Chase Specialty Line, Von Nessen designed a series of bookends. And like the Taurex candleholders, he created strikingly modern or whimsical pieces from the Chase inventory of pipes, rivets, ball bearings and other items. Because of their short production life, most of these bookends were discontinued in 1933.  Today they are hard to find and command premium prices. And rank high on my  Chase most wanted list.

Whimsical Bookends

Architectural Bookends

 

 

By 1933 chrome plating over took the copper and brass finishes and the Specialty Line really began to take off. Chase greatly expanded the line during the 1930s. Driving For Deco will be taking a look at the different aspects of the Chase Specialty Line in future posts.

Anthony & Chris (The Freakin’, Tiquen’ Guys)

SOURCES

CHASE COMPLETE: Johnson, Donald-Brian & Pina, Leslie; A Schiffer Book

ART DECO CHROME BOOK 2: Kilbride, Richard J.; Jo-D Books

THE CHASE ERA: Johnson, Donald-Brian & Pina, Leslie; A Schiffer Book