Fratelli Toso Italian Glass 1854-1980 [Hardcover]

Leslie A. Piina (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2004

Of all the leading Muranese glass factories, Fratelli Toso was among the most versatile and productive, but the least well-known. Where Venini, Barovier & Toso, Aureliano Toso, Archimede Seguso, Salviati, Cenedese, Barbini, and others designed, produced, and marketed fabulous glass, Fratelli Toso focused on design and production. The first company responsible for the revival of Venetian glass, in 1854, Fratelli Toso went on to be one of the major contributors of modern glass design, especially in the 1950s. Designers like Ermanno Toso and Pollio Perelda were rewarded for their accomplishments at Venice Biennali and other international exhibitions. This is the first book devoted to the extraordinary glass produced by Fratelli Toso. With over 400 color photographs of 19th and early 20th century murrine glass, 20th century factory production, and unique art glass; history of the company, chronology, detailed captions, bibliography, index, and value guide this book will be indispensable to the collector, dealer, and researcher.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764320262
• ISBN-13: 978-0764320262
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,428,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars awesome murano art glass book, April 23, 2008

By 

janepodsnap "jane podsnap" (metro detroit, michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fratelli Toso Italian Glass 1854-1980 (Hardcover)

I spent a month reading books about Murano art glass from libraries in my area, and after looking at at least 6 different books, this was my favorite. The pictures are beautiful, and divided by vases/paperweights/ bowls etc. The murrine examples are terrific! The writing is well done and there are lots of examples in color. I highly recommend this book. It was a worthwhile purchase.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good reference with a couple faults, February 24, 2010

By 

Dis Hammerhand - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fratelli Toso Italian Glass 1854-1980 (Hardcover)

The photography in this book is marvelous. I did think the repeated images on pages 82 - 85 rather odd. I would have preferred much larger single images. I felt like it was wasting page space to do that. There are other pages that have blank areas that could have been filled with larger pictures.

There is one fault in this book that gives me pause: On page 202 is pictured an egg shaped latticino paperweight with scattered millefiori. That paperweight is not Fratelli Toso. It's a Chinese imitation. Fratelli's eggs have a different profile being more bullet shaped and less 'eggy.' The canes in that paperweight are very commonly found in Chinese paperweights, the spade cane being the most distinctive.

If I knew what I know now about the book, I still would have bought it. The photos of the murrine vases make the book worth it to me.

1.0 out of 5 stars colorful guesswork, October 25, 2011

By 

Frank - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fratelli Toso Italian Glass 1854-1980 (Hardcover)

I bought this book because I am interested in Murano glass paperweights, many of which were made by Fratelli Toso, and this book has a chapter on paperweights. The problem is that this books is practically useless in identifying Fratelli Toso paperweights. The paperweight chapter has 17 pages with pictures of glass paperweight with little information about which ones are Fratelli Toso and which ones are not, other than the few with Fratelli Toso labels. The first two pages show catalog pages from an importing company from the 1960s. The best information offered, with no foundation or explanation, is that these paperweights are "mostly, perhaps all, by Fratelli Toso." Really? Is that the best you can offer? There were dozens of glass companies operating in Murano at the time. Why would the importer limit itself to one company? Most of the other pictures of paperweights in the book have no information - just a photo. Some say "probably by Fratelli Toso" but most say nothing. For most of the paperweights in this book, identification is apparently little more than a guess. The chapter on paperweights may as well be called "Paperweights that might have been made by Fratelli Toso." Maybe, maybe not. I returned my copy.