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College of the City of New York, and New York
University Law School. After qualifying for the bar, Glass practiced law for several years while writing semi-professionally on the side. In 1909, Glass abandoned the practice of law to write full-time. Glass' transition from law to professional writing coincided with the emergence of the a pair of characters that would prove to be his most enduringly popular creations: Abe Potash and Mawrus Perlmutter. He died on February 3, 1934, at his home in Westport, Connecticut and was buried in
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in the cloak and suit section of New York, and we get it through its own language." In rendering the characters' dialect in print, Glass primarily relied on word choice and word order, seldom misspelling words for effect. Thus, a critic in 1917 distinguished Glass's style from "dialect stories ... in which the "Hoot mon" and "Ah'. gwuine, Suh" are sprinkled as liberally as caraway seeds in rye bread."
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Glass was born in
Manchester, England, but spent his childhood in Baguley, in Cheshire. Glass's father worked in the linen and cotton trade. The Glass family moved to New York in 1890, in pursuit of Glass' father's business interests. Glass married Mary Caroline Patterson in 1908. He attended The
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In modern times, Glass and his work have been largely forgotten. In part, changing attitudes about the portrayal of race and ethnicity have led to the near-total disappearance of dialect writing such as that featured in the Potash & Perlmutter stories. In an extensive biographical and critical
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the "most successful - and the best -- play now running in New York." She acknowledged, however, the play was "rather loosely made" and the plot negligible, stating that it was "built upon the theory that people are more interested in character types and in live lines than in situations." Writing
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The characters of Potash and
Perlmutter were both Jewish, like Glass himself. The characters' Jewishness is highlighted by Glass' use of dialect in rendering their dialogue. One contemporary critic wrote: "His method is photographic and phonographic; that is, we get the life just as it stirs daily
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a book of the month in August 1910. In a two-page review, its critic James
Oppenheim declared: "Mr. Glass is an artist. ... live as really as Pickwick, Becky Sharp, and Falstaff." The same review speculated and hoped that Mr. Glass might employ his aptitude for creating memorable characters in
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Glass, trained as a lawyer, derived the plots of many of the stories from his own experience of the legal problems typical of traders in goods: breached contracts, deliveries of non-conforming goods, problems with trade credit, etc. "For ten years Mr. Glass was present almost daily at bankruptcy
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The characters seem to have been enjoyed by Jewish audiences. Cather wrote, "During the long run of 'Potash and
Perlmutter' here, we learned as much about the garment trade in New York from the very characteristic audiences as from the play. Far from dissenting or disapproving, the great Jewish
29:(July 23, 1877 – February 3, 1934) was a British-American Jewish lawyer and writer of short stories, plays and film scripts. His greatest success came with the creation of his fictional duo Abe Potash and Morris ("Mawrus") Perlmutter, who appeared in three books, a play, and several films.
232:(1926). In most of these adaptations, the roles of Abe Potash and Mawruss Perlmutter were played respectively by Barney Bernard and Alexander Carr, both of whom were lauded for their performances by Willa Cather. Although several of his other plays received favorable notices, except for
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his characters (not just his two protagonists) is the speech he actually heard as a lawyer in dealing with Jewish members of the garment and other industries in New York. Certainly, the language he utilizes is not nearly as much a caricature as, say, that of
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introduction to a modern reprint of selected Potash & Perlmutter stories, editor S.T. Joshi cites examples of modern criticism of Glass's use of dialect, but responds: "There is no reason to doubt Glass's assertion, in
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population of the city packed Cohen's
Theater night after night, roared at and applauded the play, greedily appropriated it, fairly ate it up." She added: "Mr. Montague Glass's characters were not counterfeits."
58:, in 1909. In the first story, Potash and Perlmutter meet and become partners in the "cloak and suit" business. Subsequent stories seek humor in the pair's business dealings with buyers, suppliers and employees.
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of both the early short stories and plays featuring the characters, author Arthur
Bartlett Maurice wrote: "here is not more vital trail in recent fiction dealing with the city than that of Mr. Montague Glass"
393:"COLLEAGUES MOURN AT GLASS FUNERAL; Notables of Stage and Radio at Service for Writer in the Free Synagogue. EULOGY BY RABBI S.S.WISE Pastor Praises His Tenderness and Compassion--Burial Is at Woodlawn"
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was based on a story about Potash and
Perlmutter, although the names of the characters were changed for the stage production. Several film adaptations of the stories were made, including
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meetings, closing of titles to real estate, and conferences with reference to the entrance into or dissolution of co-partnerships." These experiences formed the basis of his stories.
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Glass also wrote many short stories and essays that were unrelated to the characters of Potash & Perlmutter, publishing several collections largely composed of such work:
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In 1915, a monologue written by Glass, “Cohen
Telephones the Health Department”, was recorded by Columbia for their popular “Cohen on the Telephone” series.
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Glass's print and stage presentations of the characters Potash and
Perlmutter were positively received by contemporary critics. The literary journal
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260:(1930). In addition, he was author or co-author of several plays that did not feature Potash and Perlmutter, including
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Glass wrote a series of stage comedies featuring Potash and Perlmutter, co-writing the majority of them with
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166:'s Hyman Kaplan. ...The use of Germano-Yiddish expressions adds richness and vibrancy to the characters."
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Potash and Perlmutter made their debut in the short stories published serially in the
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Oppenheim, James (August 1910). "Montague Glass's 'Potash & Perlmutter'".
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collection in 1909, Glass wrote four more books starring the characters:
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Potash & Perlmutter: Their Copartnership Ventures and Adventures,
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Potash & Perlmutter: Their Copartnership Ventures and Adventures
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Potash & Perlmutter: Stories of the American Jewish Experience
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Potash and Perlmutter: Their Copartnership Ventures and Adventures
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Abe and Mawruss: Being Further Adventures of Potash and Perlmutter
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Abe and Mawruss: Being Further Adventures of Potash and Perlmutter
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Potash and Perlmutter: Their Copartnership Ventures and Adventures
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619:"Answers - the Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions"
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The use of dialect was carried over into the stage adaptations.
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The Truth about Potash and Perlmutter and Five Other Stories
421:. New York: The Curtiss Publishing Company. p. 419.
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Cather, Willa (February 1914). "New Types of Acting".
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542:Cather, Willa (January 1915). "The Sweated Drama".
565:. Racine, WI: Western Printing and Lithography Co.
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129:: "t is to be hoped that this book is Mr. Glass's
823:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
93:also includes one Potash and Perlmutter story.
377:. New York: Moffatt Yard and Company. p.
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210:(1926) (with Jules Eckert Goodman). The play
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125:future works to match the best works of
120:named the characters' debut collection,
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223:In Hollywood with Potash and Perlmutter
838:British emigrants to the United States
155:The Truth About Potash and Perlmutter,
144:Willa Cather called Glass's 1914 play
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264:(1916) (with Jules Eckert Goodman);
206:(1922) (with Jules Eckert Goodman);
202:(1919) (with Jules Eckert Goodman);
198:(1917) (with Jules Eckert Goodman);
447:. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company.
326:Potash and Perlmutter Settle Things
135:and that he is going on to write a
83:Potash and Perlmutter Settle Things
69:Following the success of the first
484:Encyclopedia of American Humorists
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778:The Potash and Perlmutter Stories
441:Maurice, Arthur Bartlett (1916).
208:Potash and Perlmutter, Detectives
170:Stage, film and radio adaptations
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769:Works by or about Montague Glass
371:Masson, Thomas Lansing (1922).
178:. These stage works included
16:American dramatist (1877-1934)
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444:The New York of the novelists
598:"Internet Broadway Database"
89:(1925). The 1927 collection
789:(public domain audiobooks)
348:You Can't Learn 'Em Nothin'
258:You Can't Learn 'Em Nothin'
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280:(1932) (with Dan Jarett).
561:Glass, Montague (1913).
480:Gale, Steven H. (1988).
417:Glass, Montague (1909).
308:Elkan Lubliner, American
196:Business Before Pleasure
833:Writers from Manchester
783:Works by Montague Glass
760:Works by Montague Glass
236:, they had short runs.
100:wrote of the 1913 play
46:Potash & Perlmutter
488:. Garland Publishing.
374:Our American humorists
314:The Competitive Nephew
27:Montague Marsden Glass
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278:Keeping Expenses Down
234:Potash and Perlmutter
217:Potash and Perlmutter
212:Keeping Expenses Down
200:His Honor: Abe Potash
180:Potash and Perlmutter
146:Potash and Perlmutter
102:Potash and Perlmutter
71:Potash and Perlmutter
52:New York Evening Post
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176:Jules Eckert Goodman
659:"Internet Archive"
583:. Wild Side Books.
544:McClure's Magazine
518:McClure's Magazine
397:The New York Times
320:Worrying Won't Win
262:Object - Matrimony
112:Critical reception
79:Worrying Won't Win
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764:Project Gutenberg
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302:Object: Matrimony
192:Roi Cooper Megrue
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272:, music by
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118:The Bookman
85:(1919) and
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664:4 February
495:0824086449
355:References
266:Why Worry?
164:Leo Rosten
603:1 January
787:LibriVox
550:(3): 18.
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