Shoe X Ray Machine

We are at the end the week and time for a subject other than glass. This site is all about quackery -  unproven or fraudulent medical devices.  One of their pages shows an x-ray machine for taking pictures of the foot inside a shoe. The machines were outlawed in 33 states by 1970. The machine shown was found in a department store in 1981!  http://www.museumofquackery.com/devices/shoexray.htm

Buttons! Buttons! Who Has the Button?

Well, these two collector groups have lots of buttons! My daughter in law saw me cutting buttons off a old shirt. Why are you saving buttons? In case I need one I answered. But then I talked about my mom, my aunts,and  their friends all saving buttons in jars and tins. I have memories of my childhood playing with buttons. Ok, so I am easily amused. But now every time I save a button I think of those ladies who wasted nothing and saved buttons ( and foil and paper bags and string and glass jars)

http://buttonsintime.com
http://nationalbuttonsociety.org

The Antique Glass Salt & Shaker Club

This club is all about salt and shakers from the 19th and 20th century. They have pages for research, ways to collect, conventions, photos, etc. http://antiquesaltshakers2.com/

The L.G. Wright Glass Company

If you are collector or seller of glass how many times have you been fooled by reproductions? It can happen to anyone no matter how much knowledge you may have. This book shows many color photos and information on glass that was reproduced by the L.G. Wright Glass Company from the mid 1930's through the 1990's.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1570800308/ref=nosim/glassmuseumonlin

Westmoreland Glass Club

This club has been around since 1969 and is still going strong. Their mission statement is "to promote the appreciation for the artistry and craftsmanship of Westmoreland glass and to continue the preservation of this important part of American history."

http://westmorelandglassclub.org/

Electrotherapy Museum

All things one can do with electricity. If you like the show Oddities this is a site you might be like. There are pages about history, experience, restoration and creation of electrical items. Also lots of pictures.

http://www.electrotherapymuseum.com/about.html

H. C. Fry Glass Company

This site is dedicated to preserving the heritage of the H.C. Fry Glass Company of Rochester, Pennsylvania.
The link is to their museum page. The company was in business from 1901 until the early 1930's. Their newsletter is called the Shard. Conventions every three years. They have Fry Glass for sale at different on line auctions and links to sellers with Fry glass for sale. Kudos to them for keeping the flame alive!

http://thenostalgialeague.com/fryglass/index.htm

Aladdin Alacite Dancing Ladies Urn Lamp

Check out the Dancing Ladies Urn Lamp made in 1942. The glass is called Alacite and was made by the Aladdin Company. 

http://www.aladdinknights.org/electric-alacite.php

Plated Amberina

Amber on a plate? What?  Plated Amberina was patented June 15, 1886, by Joseph Locke and was made by the New England Glass Company. It is similar in color to amberina, but it has a cream colored or chartreuse lining. There are small ridges or ribs on the outside.Check out these two links for great photos and info.

http://www.kovels.com/Price-Guide/Glass/Plated-Amberina.html 

http://www.earlyauctionco.com/art-glass-gallery-spring-08/Plated-Amberina.asp

Who's looking at you kid?

There does not seem to be any collector groups or web sites for antique glass eye collectors. Many of the new manufacturers of glass eyes have information on the history of glass eyes. Here is one with great photos and info:

 http://artificialeyeclinic.com/history.html

Original Dorflinger Label

This is an original Dorflinger label. It was confirmed by members of the Cut Glass Association as well as the Dorlinger Museum as being authentic. There are not many labels left because the label would dissolve in water. This label is on whiskey 3 part tumble up. The label we think was used between 1897-1910. The container is very dirty as we don't dare get the label wet. It is a floral rye pattern and at this point the start of the floral period in cut glass.

American Brilliant Cut Glass By Dorflinger

Our link today is to the Dorflinger Glass Museum. They opened on May 20th 1989. They have the largest collection of Dorflinger Glass at  over 900 pieces.  Christian Dorflinger was from France and worked at the St Louis Glass Factory. He came to America and in 1852 started Dorflinger one of the premier companies of  American Brilliant Cut Glass in the United States.

From their web page: "That the firm's reputation for excellence in glassmaking was unsurpassed by any American competitor for over fifty years is further attested by the many special commissions with which it was entrusted. Foremost among these was the distinction of supplying the tableware for the eight presidents of the United States from Abraham Lincoln to Woodrow Wilson. The first of these sets, and one of exceptionally fine and delicate design, came from the Brooklyn plant in 1861 when Mrs. Lincoln was refurbishing the White House, and was purchased through A.P. Zimandy, a Washington dealer, at a cost of $1,500. All were engraved with the U.S. coat of arms, each having its own individual pattern, and it is further interesting to note that Theodore Roosevelt ordered the first highball glasses. Other prominent customers were the Smithsonian Institute and the United States Navy. Many orders of elaborate design were prepared at the White Mills factory for use on some of the largest private yachts, including the Vanderbilts, Goulds, Reids and one for Henry Clay Pierce, valued at $60,000. In the early 1890's, a set of fluted tableware was specially designed for the Prince of Wales and another, comprising 2,300 pieces, was assembled for President Mario Menocal of Cuba, and engraved with the coat of arms of the Cuban Republic."

http://www.dorflinger.org/glass_museum.html

Christian Dorflinger died in 1915. The firm closed in 1921.

Dating Belleek

Belleek Pottery started in the mid 1850's and is still going strong. Their company web site has pages for the Belleek Collector's Society. And this page shows the different back stamps so you can identify the age of your Belleek.

http://www.belleek.com/Company-Info/Company-Information/Date-your-Belleek

Glass Memorial Urns?

Have you ever thought about a hand blown art glass cremation urn or, hand crafted crystal cremation keepsakes or cremation jewelry?  There are probably more sites that offer this service, but we found 3 when doing a quick on line search:

 http://americanartglassurns.com/
http://www.memorials.com/glass-urns.php
http://www.urns.com/udc-1908.html

American Art Glass

We have had this book, The Collector's Encyclopedia of American Art Glass, in our library for many years. It was published in 1988. The author is John A Shuman. A second edition was published in 2006 with 15 new chapters and many new photos and information. Whichever edition you own this is a book we highly recommend to learn about American Art Glass from the late 1880's through the 20th Century.

Vaseline Glass vs Vaseline Glass

What? Vaseline Glass vs Vaseline Glass?  There are two definitions for Vaseline Glass. Definition number 1 the glass itself is a yellow color. Definition number 2 is anything that fluoresces a yellow color under a black light is Vaseline Glass.

The Vaseline Collector webpage  http://www.vaselineglass.org/  states " Vaseline Glass is a particular color of yellow-green glass that is made by adding 2% Uranium Dioxide to the ingredients when the glass formula is made". And "yellow to yellow-green glass that turns fluorescent, bright green (under UV light) is the only true verification of Vaseline Glass".
 
This means that if the glass is clear or pink and glows green it is not Vaseline Glass. We think this "controversy" could be solved by calling any glass that fluoresces Fluorescent Glass and any glass that is a yellow color and fluoresces yellow to yellow-green Vaseline Glass.
           

Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website

 While searching on line for 19th century glass making machines we ran across this website. What a wealth of information! All you ever wanted to know about bottles is here. You can identify marks on bottles and styles and age and on and on. Great site! http://www.sha.org/bottle/index.htm

Durand Art Glass

Sadly, there do not seem to be any group or clubs for Durand art glass.Victor Durand was a contemporary of Tiffany, Steuben, and Quezal. Durand began producing art glass in 1924. In 1926 Durand won a medal of
honor at the Sesquicentennial International Exposition in Philadelphia. Durand died from injuries from a car accident in 1931. By 1933 the company was out of business.

We found a link to historical information on the company: http://antiques.about.com/od/artglass/a/Durand-Art-Glass.htm  Also a link with great photos of Durand glass for sale http://www.earlyauctionco.com/art-glass-gallery-spring-08/durand.asp

In 1998 Edward J. Meschi wrote the book: Durand The Man and His Glass. Published by The Glass Press Inc. It can still be purchased. We did a search of the author, but no luck, except for finding the book still for sale. The book has great photos of Durand Glass in addition to info on shapes, cuttings and signatures.

More On Glass Automation

We also found this article on the Corning Museum of Glass. Owens worked for Libbey.

http://www.cmog.org/article/fabulous-monster-owens-bottle-machine

Glass Blowing vs Automation in the late 1880's

Automation began in the glassblowing field in the late 1880's.  Bottles were starting to be made by machine. This would phase out the glassblower in the bottle industry. Take a look at these glass making machines.

http://www.cmog.org/article/one-step-closer-iron-glassblower

Antique Trader article about us!!!

The Antique Trader did this article about us in 2008. Before we had a blog. 
http://www.antiquetrader.com/antiques/living_on_the_edge_couples_glass-repair_business_has_a_clear_mission