The old cliche, one man’s trash in another man’s treasure, can be applied. Left over stained glass window cuttings along with an eye for design, made cutoffs into a whole new product world. Over time others copies the Tiffany works, there are ways to identify the originals made by the Tiffany Studios. The original lights either had no markings at all or a simple number sequence or the word “Favrile”, a word Tiffany coined for his delicate work. After the turn of the century, some lights were stamped with “Tiffany Studios”. Other originals do bare a mark or letters such as “L.C.T.”, but initials such as that were actually added to the originals after they had gained in notoriety.
The term Favrile is an interesting side note. This word was taken from an old world French word meaning handcrafted. Tiffany used the term first relating to his iridescent glass, patenting it under the name, “febrile iridescent glass”. This man did have a big ego, I would say, and choosing a new name for things would be his style.
Also very note worthy in the legacy of Tiffany is the Tiffany Girls and Clara Dirscoll. As more artists were hired a small group of ladies that were hired by the company were named the Tiffany Girls. These were unmarried ladies, as it was unlawful at that time in history to work after a woman was married. And so the term ‘girls’ was chosen to describe them. One woman who has come to the forefront of history just recently is Clara Driscoll. She was a highly educated and trained designer that Tiffany hired. Under her guidance, the lovely Tiffany lamps developed a step further. Departing from the roots of geometric shapes, the ladies put some of their own touches in the lamps. Simple outlines and shapes were stunning in the beginning, but the ladies had an eye for nature. The stained glass was to reflect the natural rays of a sun set, so why not tie nature into the designs. And so a whole new age of lights were developed. Letters from Clara Driscoll to her extended family detail that “she and the girls made the Daffodil design”. Other letters talk in depth about the Dragon Fly, Wisteria, Peony, and other designs they were instrumental in turning into reality.
Due to history at that point in time, it was known that Tiffany Girls existed, but it was not until the letters from the Driscoll descendants came to light, that it was known that L.C. Tiffany and other craftsman in the employment of Tiffany were not the designers of the most popular lamps, as listed above. Today whole museum displays are now dedicated to the ingenuity and skill of these ladies.
