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Boyd’s crystal art glass made dozens of critters, novelties and small tableware (salts, toothpicks) between the years of 1978 and 2013. When they closed, Boyd removed their mark from their moulds and sold them to various buyers.
Authentic or Reproduction?
With the recent popularity of small glass collectibles, the online market has been flooded with new items from these unmarked moulds. Sometimes these can be distinguished by the wording of the listing – sellers often use the common name of the mould (i.e. “Miss Cotton”) but do NOT use the word “Boyd” as that would get them banned from the selling platform for misrepresentation.
But the surest way to identify original pieces is to look for the mark – a letter “B” in a diamond, with or without additional lines and letters surrounding it. Sometimes there is an “R” or a number for a later series – refer to the mouldlists at https://boydglass.com/mouldlists/ for details.
General Guidelines
On “critters” with a base (kitten on a pillow, horses, unicorns, JBs) the mark is usually found on the base itself, on other critters it is usually on the rear of the piece or on the flank. For toothpicks, mustard pots and open salts, look on the bottom, or inside the bottom half of covered salts.
Open salts, toothpicks, mustard pots, salt & pepper and Pooche dogs were early pieces – pressed from moulds Boyd purchased from Degenhart when the latter closed. Boyd replaced Degenhart marks with their own, If you find a “D” in a heart, the piece was made by Degenhart. Also, Degenhart glass was unmarked up until the early-mid 70’s, so tableware made prior to that is unmarked.
Actual mark locations for some pieces are shown below:
Tableware
Cats (Felines)
Dogs (Canines)
Horses and Unicorns
Birds
Other Animals
People / Clowns
Vehicles
Footwear
Tableware:
Toothpicks , Open Salts, Covered salts, Mustard Pots, “Cauldrons”, Salt & Pepper, etc.
- Almost always marked on the bottom – either inside or outside. However there are exceptions, like the Forget-me-not toothpick, which is marked on the lower part of the side.
- Mark on the inside bottom half of a covered salt
- Mark on the outside of the bottom of a Boyd open salt
- Boyd bought these moulds from Degenhart. Pre-Boyd pieces may have the Degenhart mark (“D” in a heart). Some Degenhart was marked on the inside. Early Degenmart (prior to the 1970’s) was unmarked.
- Cauldrons / kettles marked ”Taiwan” are neither /Boyd nor Degenhart.
- Signature series salts are marked “Boyd” in script and do not have the “B” in a diamond logo.
- Covered salts are marked on the inside of the base.
- Pin Dishes – (chick, factory…) are marked on the back of the plate
Cats (Felines):
Miss Cotton the Kitten
- Marked on the right rear
- (Because somebody will ask: The line in the photo is a “straw mark”, not a crack)
Kitten on a Pillow
- Mark is on the base, on the right rear corner.
Tommy the Tiger
- Marked on the left hip
Canines:
Pooche the Dog
- Marked on the lower right, in the space between the front and rear legs.
Skippy the Dog
- Mark is on the lower back towards the right hip
JB the Scottie Dog
- Marked on the right side of the base, in the center
- The marks on the JB are very small, can be challenging to see on satin finish pieces.
Duke the Scottie
- Mark is on the dog’s left hip.
Charlie the Scottie
- Mark is on the dog’s right hip
Mac the begging dog
- Mark is on the dog’s lower back, just above the tail.
Horses and Unicorns (Equines):
Joey the Horse
- Mark is on the left side of the base, in the center.
- Additional marks denoting a later series will be to the right of the original mark.
Little Joe the Horse
- Like it’s larger namesake, the mark on Little Joe is on the left side of the base, in the center.
- Additional marks identifying a later series will be to the right of the original mark.
Carousel Horses (Taffy and Candy)
- The carousel horses were made by adding the pole to the Joey / Little Joe moulds. Like the horses, they are marked on the left side of the base.
Lucky the Unicorn
- Marked on the base in the center of the left side.
- Series indicators, when present, will be to the right of the original mark.
- The base on the Lucky is slightly concave on that side. This can make the mark difficult to see. On satin finish pieces in particular, it tends to fade into the base.
- Even if the mark is very faint, you should still be able to feel it with your finger / fingernail. A jeweler’s loupe or magnifying glass may be necessary to determine which mark it is.
Little Luck the Unicorn
- Mark is on the base in the center of the left side.
- Usually easier to see than on Lucky.
- The mark pictured also has a “2” for the 2nd series. Marks indicating a later series will be found to the right of the original mark.
Birds:
Owl
- Marked on the left side of the base (the side opposite where the owl is looking). The base is lumpy so it can be a little difficult to determine which mark you’re looking at.
Debbie the Duck
- Marked under the left wing.
Bernie the Eagle
- Mark is on the center feather at the end of the tail. It is small and can be difficult to see.
Other Animals:
Bingo the Deer
- Mark is on the back of the piece, just above the tail. Marks on Bingo can be very difficult to read and next to impossible on satin finish pieces.
Sueee the Pig
- Mark can be found on the left hip
.
Zack the Elephant
- Zack is marked on the left side of the base, starting just ahead of the rear leg.
Brian the Bunny
- Mark is on the bunny’s right hip.
Jeremy the Frog
- Marked on the right side in lower part of the space between the front “elbow” and rear “knee”.
- Because of their location and size, these marks can be very difficult to see – good lighting and a 10x or 20x loupe will help.
Sonny the Gorilla
- Mark is on the back, on the right hip.
Fuzzy the Bear
- Marked on the back, just to the right of the tail.
Patrick the Bear
- Marked in the center of the back
Dolls and Clowns
Fred the Hobo Clown
- Fred is marked in the middle of his back, near his shoulder blades .
Chuckles the Clown
- Marked on the bottom of his coattails, about where his right heel would be.
Louise (and Elizabeth dolls)
- Marked on the back, at the bottom of the skirt.
Jennifer doll
- Marked in the back, a little above the top pleat on the hem of the skirt. Can be very difficult to see
Vehicles
Trains and Taxis
- Train cars are labeled “BOYD SPECIAL” and markedon the side of each train car, towards the rear of the car.
Tractors
- The farm tractors are marked on both sides about in the middle of the front of the front, below the edges of the hood and just behind the front tires. The word “BOYD” is stamped on the edge of the hood, on both sides. Series 2 pieces are marked on the right window. (For such a small piece of glass, they certainly made things complicated!)
Cars (Sports car, Tucker car, Taxi)
- Cars are marked on the underside of the roof of the car.
- Taxis are marked “BOYD” on the top of the roof. Like the other cars, the mark is stamped on the inside of the roof. However because of the depth of the piece it is not easy to see!
Teddy the Tug Boat
- Mark is on the base, on the boat’s right rear corner. It is barely visible on the first (painted) boat of the series, but it’s there.
Airplane
- Marked BOYD across the top of the wings, stamped with the Boyd makers mark on the left side.
Footwear
Bow Slipper and Cat Slipper
- Are both marked on the sole of the shoe, in the section in front of the heel.
Texas Boot
- The Texas Boot toothpick is marked on the bottom of the heel, as were the Degenhart figures from this mould.
