McClelland Barclay vintage costume jewelry

14.12.2020

341 1 minute read

McClelland Barclay vintage costume jewelry
A member of the Artists Guild, US Naval Reserve officer, McClelland Barclay (1891-1943) was a real hero, killed in Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Before the war, such famous jewelry company as Rice – Weiner collaborated with McClelland Barclay. During 1938 to 1943 he created wonderful collections of geometric jewelry, as well as the famous leaf motif silver brooches and bracelets. The marking included “McClelland Barclay”.
In the mid-1940s, Alvin and Robert Rice, together with designer Louis Mark, created Barclay Jewelry Inc. The company continued to move on by bringing in new designers. Among them were the Jeray and American Beauty Pearls brands.
Most people know McClelland Barclay as a talented illustrator, jewelry designer and sculptor, who patented his works in 1931-33. Also, in the 1930s Barclay formed a small company, McClelland Barclay Art Products Inc, which produced lamps, ashtrays, book stands and other household items from bronze or patinated base metal.
The company had offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Orlando and Toronto. According to sources, the first items released under the McClelland Barclay name date back to the late 1920s. Products were usually labeled McClelland Barclay with a copyright mark, sometimes with the year of manufacture.

Double leaf gold tone clear rhinestones brooch

McClelland Barclay vintage costume jewelry

Noteworthy, the renewed Barclay company founded in Providence in 1947 ceased to exist in 1957. Also, registered in 1975 Barclay trademark, owned by New York based ArtCarved, Inc. was active until 1991. Their products were labeled with script word BARCLAY.
According to the author of costume jewelry guide Fred Rezazadeh, if you ever come across a piece of jewelry marked McClelland Barclay, buy it without hesitation. Extremely rare, it stands among the very best costume jewelry ever made in the USA.