Spiers v. United States

43 Cust. Ct. 149
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedSeptember 25, 1959
DocketC.D. 2119
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 43 Cust. Ct. 149 (Spiers v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Customs Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Spiers v. United States, 43 Cust. Ct. 149 (cusc 1959).

Opinions

Johnson, Judge:

The merchandise involved in this case consists of a stained glass window, valued at over $15 per square foot, depicting the baptism of the infant George Washington, imported by the party in interest at the port of New York and installed in St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Shreveport, La. It was classified by the collector free of duty under paragraph 1810 of the Tariff Act of 1930, under the provision for stained glass windows which are works of art when imported to be used in houses of worship, valued at $15 or more per square foot. The plaintiff herein, an American manufacturer, has filed a protest pursuant to section 516(b) of said tariff act, as amended, claiming that the merchandise is subject to duty under paragraph 230(a) of said tariff act, as modified, under the provision for [150]*150stained or painted glass windows, and parts thereof, not specially provided for.

The pertinent provisions of the tariff act are as follows:

Pak. 1810. Works of art, * * * including stained or painted window glass or stained or painted glass windows which are works of art when imported to be used in bouses of worship, valued at $15 or more per square foot, * * *. [Free.]
Par. 230(a) [as modified by the Torquay Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, T.D. 52739, effective October 19, 1951, T.D. 52836]. Stained or painted glass windows, and parts thereof, not specially
provided for_30% ad val.

The only issue involved in this case is whether or not this stained glass window is a work of art within the meaning of paragraph 1810, supra.

At the trial, it was stipulated that the window was produced in the following manner:

1. The window was produced and exported by the Studios of J. Wippell and Co., Ltd., at Exeter, England.
2. A water-color design, drawn on a scale of one inch to one foot, showing the subject of the window was created by Mr. Arthur Frederick Erridge, an artist commissioned to design and supervise the execution of this window by J. Wippell & Co., Ltd. The artist’s water-color design was made into a full sized drawing in black and white, known as a cartoon, by Mr. Erridge himself.
3. The glass from which the window was made was cut by glass cutters following the lines of the cartoon made by Mr. Erridge. A “glazing drawing” was made by a draftsman from the cartoon by tracing over carbon paper and transferring the main lines of the drawing on the cartoon to a “glazing drawing”. The glazing drawing was subsequently used by the lead workers who were to lead the pieces of glass together.
4. The colors of the glass were selected by Mr. Erridge, partly from glass on hand at the Studios and partly from colors ordered from the glass factory, in tones to match the color of the water-color design.
5. The pieces of glass making up the ensemble of the window were then painted under the supervision of Mr. Erridge, after he had prepared a sample palette of the shading and tone for the use of his three assistant glass painters. These assistants were Mr. B. Endacott, Mr. K. Croker, and Mr. Charles Lamb. Each glass painter is a specialist in one phase of the work; one specializes in the painting of the heads of the figures, another in creating the drapery lines and folds, and the third in ornamental detail.
6. These painted pieces were then fired in a kiln built specially to properly fuse the paint and the glass.
7. The pieces of glass were then placed upon the glazing drawing by a glazier who inserted narrow strips of lead, known as carnes, between the various pieces.
8. The joints formed by the lead carnes were then soldered, the entire window was then cemented on both sides to make it watertight, and the window was then shipped.
[151]*1519. The operations described in paragraphs 6, 7, and 8 were all performed under the supervision of Mr. Erridge and necessary corrections were made in accordance with his directions.

It was stipulated also that—

* * * Mr. Erridge attended the Central School of Arts and Crafts [in London] from 1914 to 1918 studying a course in stained glass, life and antique church decoration and design. He received a diploma and is a Fellow of the British Society of Master Glass Painters (F.B.S. of M.G.P.).
He was a pupil of James Hogan, the well-known designer of the windows installed in St. Thomas Church at Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street, New York City, and the Church of the Transfiguration at 1 East 29th Street, New York City. He started designing stained glass windows in 1920. He has exhibits at the Lambeth Exhibition of Church Art, the Central Council for the Care of English Churches, The Exeter Art Society, and the Exmouth Art Group.
These exhibits consist of oil paintings, water-colors, stained glass and church furnishings. Mr. Erridge is listed in “Who’s Who in Art” and described as an artist and designer in stained glass, ecclesiastical furnishings, an artist in oil paintings, tempera water-color and a designer in leaded glass and embroidery.
* * * the glass used in producing the stained glass window in suit was entirely hand-blown, not rolled glass, known as “Hand-Blown Antique Glass.”
* * * the three assistants mentioned in paragraph 5 of the stipulation, named Mr. B. Endacott, had 30 years experience in glass painting, including at least 4 years of apprenticeship to a stained glass artist, and who has also done modeling and sculpturing;
* * * Mr. K. Croker, a graduate of Exeter Art School and the holder of two diplomas from the British Society of Master Glass Painters, a pupil of Mr. Erridge for 16 years, and that he has also produced paintings in water-colors; and
* * * Mr. Charles Lamb was a student of James Hogan and a graduate of of The Central School of Arts and Crafts, and that he has had experience in glass painting with many firms in London.

Counsel for the plaintiff offered in evidence a photograph of the window in question, which he stated he received from counsel for the party in interest. There being no objection, the photograph was received in evidence as plaintiff’s exhibit 1.

Six witnesses were then called, four by the plaintiff and two by the party in interest, on the question of whether the window was a work of art.

The qualifications of these witnesses may be summarized as follows:

Arnold Gottlieb has been a painter in oil for the past 25 or 30 years; he studied at several art schools in New York, and spent a year and a half abroad, studying in France and Germany; he has exhibited his work in galleries and museums in New York, Baltimore, and Virginia, and in Europe, Japan, and India; he has taught at Pratt Institute and the University of California at Los Angeles; he has done some work in stained glass, including a large glass wall for Steinberg House in New York; he has served on art juries during the past 10 years, passing on work which is to be admitted to art exhibits and awarding prizes.
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Bluebook (online)
43 Cust. Ct. 149, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/spiers-v-united-states-cusc-1959.