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From Pat:
Dear Miss Kitty,
My brother and I found two new tidbits of information on the Gay Fad Studios that I would like to share with you. We found an article by Dr. Donna McGrady about Gay Fad first published in the May 1999 issue of Glass and More. It would be fascinating to contact Dr. McGrady and find out more about her but I’m not sure how to go about it.
I also thought it was fascinating to see a Gay Fad patent from 1952! Aunt Fran would have been 37 years old at that time.
Ken, Rick and I will be traveling to Madison, WI next week to visit a cousin who also has a few pieces of Gay Fad. I have to take the time to get a bit more organized with this.
Stephanie (Fran’s daughter) traveled recently to Ireland where she went horseback riding!
I hope all is well your way.
Sincerely,
Pat
Hello Pat:
So good to hear from you again and what marvelous tidbits you’ve found! Fran’s patent for the tumbler (see below) is the first time I’ve seen this Gay Fad design and I wonder what name she gave it. Isn’t it interesting, in fact downright strange, that an inventor could patent an ornamental design without assigning it a name! I also find it interesting that the patent was for only 3-1/2 years, and I wonder why. I wonder how many designs Gay Fad actually patented. As we’ve already discovered, there was a lot of “cross-pollination” of designs among the various decorating companies of the 1940’s - 1960’s, many of which appear to be outright thefts!
 For instance, I have found documentation that this fruit design universally attributed to Gay Fad is actually the Washington Company’s “Vintage” pattern. They were producing this pattern as early as 1956 and as late as 1965, two years after Gay Fad ceased doing business.
On the other hand, I’ve seen no Gay Fad catalogs or ads from prior to 1949, so we know nothing about what designs Gay Fad produced in its early years, Gay Fad having started in 1945. So we’re left with a bunch of questions. Did Fran produce this fruits pattern in Gay Fad’s early years? Did she ever patent it? If so, for how long? Did Washington Co. “steal” this pattern from Gay Fad and produce it as their own Vintage pattern? We may never know!
By the way, I, too, have been trying to find Donna McGrady, but without success. Several months ago I thought I had tracked her to an Ohio town where she was the president, or immediate past president, of the historical society. I sent an email to the society saying I was trying to contact Mrs. McGrady, and why, and asked them to forward my email to her if they could. I never heard back from either the society or Mrs. McGrady. I agree with you that it would be fascinating to find her and “talk” with her about Gay Fad, so if any of our site visitors know how to do that, please email me!
Enjoy your trip to Wisconsin and I sure hope you’re taking your camera along so you can take pictures of your cousin’s Gay Fad pieces. I’d love to see them.
Thanks again for your latest email, which I’ve added to our Gay Fad email pages.
Best wishes,
Miss Kitty
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I appreciate the information provided by your site. I've acquired a water set made by Hazel-Atlas marked H over A with a music themed, whimsical, stenciled and hand painted design. This set has all the "earmarks" of Gay Fad Studios, but I am not sure, due to its uncommon design and not being signed. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
