I'm trying to locate information about Hazel Blake French (1890-196?). She utilized glass fragments from the Sandwich Glass Factory, Sandwich, Mass. and incorporated these items through her creations of intricate sculptural jewelry inspired by the flora and fauna of Cape Cod. In 2003 there was an exhibit of her works entitled "Colors In Nature: The Glass Jewelry of Hazel Blake French." I am interested in learning how to recognize her work and where to go about starting a collection of her interesting art pieces

Ken,

Glenn Griffin wrote a small booklet on Hazel B. French and it is well illustrated with examples of her work and mark. As I recall her interlocked initials are flanked by fish swimming in a clockwise oval.

You may wish to contact the Museum in Sandwich, Mass and they may still have a copy of the booklet that accompanied the exhibit held there.

Please share with us what you have found of hers and any items you may find in the future. She was a creative artist.

Fred

Thank you. I was able to obtain a copy of the publication Colors In Nature: The Glass Jewelry of Hazel Blake French that accompanied the Sandwich Glass Museum exhibit, May 3-December 31, 2002. How does one go about finding items for purchase. I've tried a number of antique jewelry dealers and they have never heard of this artist.

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Originally posted by Ken Shea:
How does one go about finding items for purchase. I've tried a number of antique jewelry dealers and they have never heard of this artist.

Other than touching base with dealers, as you note, the key internet options are to do regular Google searches and ebay searches - for rare pieces and makers you will likely find nothing for several months but eventually something will pop-up. The other option of course is to attend large antiques shows and hunt hunt hunt because the larger the show the larger the chance that what you're after might be hiding somewhere, but alas you need to be prepared to really dig through all the merchandise.

Ken,

Stonecat gives good advice... I only know of one dealer who occasionally offers Blake's jewelry for sale. Ark Antiques in New Haven Connecticut has had a few pieces by Ms. Blake. If you were to contact them they might be able to keep an eye open for you and could notify you of their availability. Her work is not that common and I am not surprized that many dealers are not familiar with her work. There are a great many craftmen and women of the Movement who are not well known and who's work is scarce. If you live in the Sandwich area you might be able to snag a deal at one of the local shops. Good luck. Tell us about the catalogue you acquired. The booklet I have is small with few pages. I understand there is a larger format catalogue out there.

Fred

Thanks to everyone for their great advice. I will let folks know what success I have. Should others who see my request for information have suggestions/information, please dont' hesitate to respond.

Status on the booklet: Colors In Nature: The Glass Jewelry of Hazel Blake French. Size of booklet is approx. 6 3/8" x 7 1/8 and consists of 21 pages (text and colored photos). Contained in the booklet are some wonderful color photographs of her jewelry. Cost was a little over $7.00 not including postage. Catalog is available from Sandwich Glass Museum, 129 Main St., P.O. Box 103, Sandwich, MA 02563-0103. Website: http://www.sandwichglassmuseum.org.

Ken,

Thanks for the information I will be sure to acquire a copy of it for my reference library.

Fred

I have a Hazel B French pendant that I will be listing on eBay shortly if anyone is interested. I will have Hazel B French in the title so you should be able to find it quickly. It is a beautiful sterling silver pendant with an aqua Sandwich glass stone and a beautiful bird. I am trying to find out more about it before I list as I am not sure of the pricing. I may also have matching earings which are birds almost identical to the pendant but are not signed.

Mary,

If you post both items on ebay you are sure to draw attention to them and I suspect the bidding will be high. I look forward to seeing the items you are offering for auction.

Fred

Hello Fred, I was happy to get a reply. I had no idea how often anyone looked at this topic. I am going to list the pendant and earrings tomorrow, 1/1. I am going to list the earrings sepatately because they are not signed.I will cross reference. However my mother and father lived in East Sandwich for years. They were antique dealers and these were in their collection so I assume they are both HBF but cannot attest. I will be interested to see what happens. Thanks again for the response, this is great. Mary