As with any other collectible, the beauty of a flower frog is in the eye of the beholder. Flower frogs can be whimsical, classical glass beauties such as the Cambridge figural draped ladies, or a one of a kind creation designed by Tiffany or Steuben. Others like the functional Metal Flower Holders can look like twisted pieces of metal, dented mesh or dull gray lead. And let's not forget all that rust.  

It was probably the Japanese art of ikebana that held the most influence over the practice of flower arranging. Early ikebanaartists fashioned flower holders from blocks of charcoal, straw or heaps of rocks or piece of bark. Above is a great example of the design of a flower frog. This is the Loop Arranger patented in 1935 and issued to Jay P Orben of New York, NY. It is 3.5" h and the base is 3" d. Made of cast iron there are eight tiny feet on the outer rim of the underside. There are 13 loops and the design was to hold heavy headed flowers. You can still find these at antique shops with the original green paint, some more rusty than others and there is one in www.stores.ebay.com/flowerfrogsrus that is painted gold.

Some people enjoy collecting the metal flower frogs. Some of the earlier ones made by Dazey were the cages. In the day of the fashionable flower arrangement you did not dare have your flower holder show. Today floral designer enjoy the art of using the metal instrument as part of the design, a contrast with the texture of the flower. Dazey, Beagle and Blue Ribbon Flower Holder all produced functional metal flower frogs in the later 1920s through the 1950s. In the 1930s it became necessary to make a needle or a pin cushion flower holder. This push was to accommodate the florist industry who was starting to delivery flowers to location. This required something to hold the flowers tight in the arrangement. Thus the sharps were mass produced and still today remain a main stay for flower arrangements especially ikebana.