As is the style of the U.S. Glass Co. catalog, take two existing item, in this case 'Cheese Stand' (#4016-58) and 'Plate, 14 1/2in' (#4016-15), then combine them to make a new catalog listing. In this instance, however, there is a discrepancy on what exactly the 'Cheese Stand' was.

Both clearly show the plate and its scale in relationship to the stand, verifying that it is indeed the 14 1/2in plate. But the image to the left also shows a center piece with a curved lip, whereas the other shows a flat piece. Click on the 'Sm. Flat Compote' tab to the left to see how the catalogs further confuse the issue by identifying these two possible cheese stands as the Small Flat Compote. Now click the 'Cheese Stand' tab to see yet a completely different item.

So the question remains, which was the piece combination to maek this catalog entry? U.S. Glass Co. used catalog numbers as identifiers when you ordered, but also to identify the mould itself (See our U.S. Glass Co. page for more information). A great example of this is '3 Pc. Mayonnaise Set' (#4016-41A). In that catalog item, the number represented all three pieces when used within the catalogs, but only the spoon itself when identifying the mould.

A third possibility is that the catalog number referenced the lipped object, and an artistic mistake drew the set with the flat compote. If you take the catalog at it's word for the Cheese Stand being the V shaped piece, and that the Small Flat Compote is actually 'flat', then that leaves the lipped object orphaned. As it does appears in the left-hand Cheese And Cracker Set image, that makes it possible that the color image is wrong. And that is what we have decided for now based on our review of the catalogs and possession of the three objects in question. So when you visit the 'Cheese And Cracker Set' page, you'll see we've posted images reflecting that piece as the center object. Keep in mind that I have no proof of that, so its just a guess.

This should not have been a mystery at all. But there is only one stand-alone catalog image of the Cheese Stand that I could find, and that image clearly shows a V shape to the glass, which would make perfect sense for holding and serving a soft cheese.

But switch to the 'Cheese & Crackers' tab to the left, and you'll notice that the images there aren't the Cheese Stand, as defined by the stand-alone image. Was this truely a unique item and not used with the Cheese And Cracker Set? Or was there an artistic mistake in the drawings of both Cheese And Cracker Set images?

We have the V shaped Cheese Stand in our collection, so we know that drawing itself was accurate, but with the other mistakes in the catalog, there is always the possibility that the object drawn was mismatched when the caption was added to the page and wasn't really the actual Cheese Stand.

(It's a great piece for soft cheese, by the way. I used it at one of my smaller dinner parties recently. It was a great conversation piece as well as being very functional.)

Are we a flat serving surface, or a lipped compote? Do we ignore the descriptor 'Flat' or ignore the descriptor 'Compote' when trying to figure it out?

To make matters worse, click to the left on the 'Cheese & Crackers' tab and you'll see that both styles seem to make an appearance for that mystery combination - but in the guise of the Cheese Stand! (Click on the 'Cheese Stand' tab to the left to see that convoluted issue!).

We have both of these objects in our collection, so we know they exist. So the mystery remains as to which is the real Small Flat Compote. We've made an executive decision in our pages that the flat object was the actual 'Small Flat Compote', and not the lipped one. Which, of course, leaves a bit of a mystery as to what the lipped item was. You'll notice that we've assigned it as the true center object for the Cheese And Cracker Set, but that is just a guess.