Mid-Century Barware Designers: Culver, Briard, Thorpe and Fred Press

The best-known mid-century American barware designers are Culver, Georges Briard, Dorothy Thorpe and Fred Press. Culver and Fred Press are known for 22-karat gold decoration, Briard for gold-accented designs signed in gold, and Thorpe for silver-banded and sandblasted glass. A genuine signature or mark, intact decoration and a complete set drive collector interest.

These makers shaped the look of the American home bar from the 1940s to the 1970s. This hub gives a short profile of each, how their work is marked, and what to check before buying. For the glass shapes themselves, see our hub on vintage cocktail glasses.

What to look for in mid-century designer barware

Most mid-century designer barware was decorated rather than made from scratch by the named designer. Dorothy Thorpe bought blank glassware from other makers and decorated it, and Georges Briard was a designer whose work carried his reproduced signature. That makes the decoration, and the signature within it, the key to identification.

Culver: 22-karat gold cocktail glasses

According to Retro Solstice, a specialist dealer, Culver Ltd was founded in Brooklyn, New York, in 1939 by Irving Rothenberg. It became known for real 22-karat gold decoration from the late 1950s through the 1960s, applied with what the dealer describes as a super-heated, roll-on process that remains a secret.

The Joy of Cocktails notes that Culver’s earlier glassware used acid-etched, sandblasted, hand-painted or silk-screened designs, and that the company produced more than 75 designs. Its best-known pattern is Valencia, a Moroccan-style gold trellis with raised green “jewels.” Other named patterns include Seville, Antigua and Mardi Gras.

Marks help with dating. Retro Solstice says Culver glass from the 1940s through the 1950s is signed with a script “Culver,” which changed to block lettering from the late 1960s into the 1970s; later pieces relied on paper labels. Our full guide to Culver barware covers the patterns and marks in detail.

Culver glasses and sets

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Georges Briard: the designer behind the name

Georges Briard was the name used on barware and serving pieces designed by Jascha Brojdo (1917 to 2005). The Kovels’ antiques column says he was born in Ukraine, lived in Poland and came to the United States in 1937, began by painting metal trays, and later used the Briard name; it dates his greatest popularity to the 1950s through the 1970s. Fedrigoni’s magazine Pulp describes his handmade signature, reproduced usually in gold on every object.

Our guide to Georges Briard barware covers the signature, the pattern names dealers use and what to check in a set.

Dorothy Thorpe: silver bands and sandblasted glass

Dorothy C. Thorpe (1901 to 1989) ran a decorating studio in Glendale, California, according to the Art Institute of Chicago. She bought blank glassware and decorated it with sandblasting, etching and silver overlay, and her 1950s Roly-Poly tumblers carried a sterling silver band at the rim, according to the Journal of Antiques and Collectibles.

Fred Press: gold fish and starbursts

Fred Press was born on October 14, 1919, according to the biography maintained on his artwork site. Early in the 1950s he moved to New York City and for the next three decades served as chief designer and executive vice president of Rubel and Company, working in giftware on Fifth Avenue. He died on August 3, 2012, at the age of 92.

Retro Solstice says his barware is known for 22 and 24-karat gold with fine detail. His most sought-after series are the Gold Fish and Gold Starburst designs, which the dealer describes as highly collectible and hard to find. When buying a set, check that every glass matches in pattern and that the gold is even across all of them.

Comparing the four at a glance

Hosting with mid-century barware

Barware from these designers looks best in use. Listings sometimes pair the glasses with a matching ice bucket, caddy or pitcher, which lets a host build out from one pattern. Serving pieces follow the same checks as the glasses: a matching pattern, even gold or silver, and no chips at the rim.

The piece that ties a mid-century bar together is the bar cart. Drinks writer Wayne Curtis traces it to the tea trolley and notes that carts peaked in the 1950s, when homes averaged about 1,100 square feet and a cart could turn a corner of the living room into a bar. Before buying one, check that every caster turns and that any glass shelves are original and uncracked.

Our guide to a mid-century home bar setup covers the cart, the ice bucket and the glass shapes a host needs. For present ideas built around these designers, see vintage barware gifts.

Vintage mid-century bar carts for a home bar

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Is mid-century designer barware valuable?

Signed pieces by these designers have active collector markets, but value depends on the pattern, on completeness and on the condition of the decoration. Asking prices vary widely, so compare sold listings. Our guide on how to tell if vintage glassware is valuable explains the signs that matter, vintage colored glassware covers colored glass and gold-rim care, and how to buy vintage barware on eBay safely covers questions to ask sellers.

A note on Robert Lloyd

Robert Lloyd is sometimes mentioned alongside these names. The sources we found describe Robert Lloyd Vintage Barware as a shop in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, rather than a mid-century manufacturer or designer. We could not verify a Robert Lloyd barware line, so we have left it out of this guide.

Guides in this series

• Culver barware: the 22k gold patterns and how to read the marks.
• Georges Briard barware: the designer, the signature and what to check.
• Dorothy Thorpe glassware: silver-banded tumblers and the look-alikes to avoid.
• Vintage highball glasses: highball vs Collins and decorated sets.
• Vintage cocktail glasses: every shape from the coupe to the rocks glass.
• Mid-century home bar setup: the cart, the ice bucket and the glasses.
• Vintage barware gifts: ideas for the host, the martini purist and more.