Oliver Egginton, who had served as Hawkes’ manager for 15 years, opened his own cutting firm in 1896. When he died just four years later, his son Walter took over the business. Walter had been a Hawkes designer in the 1880s, and according to family tradition, he designed some of the glass that was displayed at the Paris world’s fair in 1889. In its early years, which coincided with the peak period of glass cutting, the Egginton firm remained prosperous. It employed as many as 100 men, but by 1918 the company was bankrupt. All of its patterns were designed by Walter Egginton, who preferred heavy brilliant cutting to engraving. One of his patterns, “Arabian,” is shown on this plate, which was made near the start of the 20th century.