The following treasure is from the living estate of Ailene & Buddy Ford; noted dealers and lifelong collectors of exceptional antique & vintage heirlooms. The Ford estate presents highly valuable items from a diverse group of genres, 95% + in excellent condition. This exquisite estate has something for every eclectic collector! xxxxxxxxxxx. The AEAA is exceptionally pleased to present one of a mammoth group of approximately (100) Rare & beautiful Mt. Washington + Rodefer Glass / C.F. Monroe, hand decorated Wave Crest pieces, to be sold over several auctions, including incredible Kelva & Nakara examples. This lot represents a lovely & Scarce, Rodefer puffy deep medallion Rococo relief, floral Opal Glass blank ladies trinket box, lovingly finished in the Wave Crest hand painted line, by the renowned C.F. Monroe. This tight waisted, Ormolu box, is finished in a warm hand painted blue spring floral, sports the original lining, and carries the proper Block Wave Crest stamp. Boxes of this type can be Cohen PP. #86 This stunning Rodefer / Wave Crest puffy is in wonderful condition, weighing 14 oz. and measuring 3.25 x 3.25 inches tall, and is estimated today (needing clasp) between $250 & $300 in its wonderful condition. xxxxxxxxxxx. The T.A. Rodefer Glass Co. mainly produced hand-blown and hand-pressed items for other companies (blown and pressed specialties in private moulds), but also prismatic sidewalk, floor, sash and skylights, battery jars, opal ware blanks, lantern globes and lamp chimneys in lime and lead glass. Up to 1910, opal glass blanks were to send to Meriden, Connecticut, to be decorated at C. F. Monroe's factory. The final product: Wavecrest, Nakara and Kelva vases, plaques and boxes. xxxxxxxxxxx. In 1877, Charles Fabyan Monroe was hired as a decorator by the Meriden Flint Glass Co. He showed such promise and imagination, that he was frequently sent abroad to study new designs and techniques of European glass manufacturers.Having developed an exceptional sense of style, C.F. Monroe opened his first shop in Meriden, CT. in 1880, located at 36 West Main Street, operating initially in the format of a European glass importer. Shortly thereafter in 1882, he began his decorating studio, and by 1885 had opened an art academy also in Meriden, that became the C.F. Monroe opal glass decorating works in 1886. The C.F. Monroe Co. was formally incorporated in 1892, and introduced the Wave Crest line that was patented on Oct. 4, of that same year. Using primarily the highly stylized original glass forms from Mt. Washington / Pairpoint Glass, the Monroe decorations became some of the most beloved creations of the late Victorian and early Edwardian eras. When the 1890’s arrived and the demand for finely decorated glass was its height, the Monroe company was located in several large buildings on the corner of West Main Street and Capitol Avenue, and employed such fine artists as Carl V. Helmschmied (the Helmschmied swirl pattern was designed and patented by C.F. Monroe Co. during Carl’s employ), Walter Nilson, J.J. Knoblauch, Joseph Hickish, Carl Puffee, Flora Fiest, Gustave Reinman, Florence Knoblauch, Emil Melchior, and Alma Wenk, Blanche Duval, Gussie Stremlan, Elizabeth Zeibart, and Elizabeth Casey. The financial details are not entirely clear, however, by the start of WW I, external pressures were taking a major toll on C.F. Monroe. Consequently, the glass decorating works only survived until 1916, when inexplicably, Monroe took a lesser position as the glass foreman for Edward Miller & Co. Glass Works of Meriden. Stranger yet, C.F. Monroe soon relinquished the position at E. Miller & Co., subsequently moving to New Hampshire in 1919, C.F. Monroe passed away quietly on Nov. 19, 1919 at his home in Meriden, and was buried in the Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, R.I.

XA - B6 - Excellent condition - * needs clasp