Carlese Westock, Woodland Park, N.J.
Review and Photos by Jackie Sideli
WEST BARNSTABLE, MASS. – This year’s Cape Cod Glass Club Show and Sale, sponsored by the club and running September 14-15, took place at the Cape Cod Community College. The show was small and focused, and the gate was steady.
Among the many exhibitors was C&J Antiques, from Norfolk, Mass., who brought Victorian glass as well as art and elegant glass. Club president Betsy Hewlett Lessig had a comprehensive selection of period early American pattern glass offered in her booth. Regular exhibitor Diane Lytwyn, who came to the show from Fairfield, Conn., was showing mercury, Bohemian, opalescent, engraved and carnival glass in her exhibit. She also had a selection of Scandinavian glass for sale, as well as a set of glasses with hand painted chickens. She reported good sales.
Exhibitor Bruce Mitchell, who came to the show from Orange, Conn., was offering a selection of early American pressed, blown and cut glass in his booth. Dealer James Poore Antiques from Sagamore, Mass., had a substantial collection of Sandwich glass, paperweights, Italian, cut and contemporary glass. Pleasant Valley Antiques from Brookeville, Md., dealer James Lessig, who is treasurer of the club, had a comprehensive selection of American and European art glass, including two pieces of Tiffany. Lessig had a Tiffany vase in his booth, which was priced at $2,400, and a Tiffany art glass wine glass, priced at $300.
A feature of this year’s show was the presence of glass restorer Robert Lehmann, who came to exhibit from New Hope, Penn., where he has his antique glass restoring business. Lehmann learned the craft from his grandfather, Frank Daddario, who was considered by many to be the foremost expert in the United States for antique cut glass repair work and cutting. Lehmann specializes in pattern reproduction, recutting and resurfacing. He attended school for glass engraving in Corning, N.Y., and studied extensively at Steuben Glass Works. In addition to repairing glass at the show, he had an assortment of period glass in his booth for sale.
John Stewart and Candace Heublein of Riverbend Antiques in Canton, Conn., were offering a substantial selection of Pairpoint glass. They were showing an outstanding leaping stag piece of sculpture, which was manufactured by Pairpoint. Apparently, Pairpoint did a lot of silver plate as well as metal and glass in the 1880s. Rose Colored Glass from Ogunquit, Maine, had American, Victorian, pattern and art glass on offer. A dealer commented about the gate, “The gate today has been very respectable – everyone coming in leaves with a smile and a bag.”
This period blue compote in the booth of Syd’s A&J was priced at $125.
Director Kirk Nelson of the New Bedford Museum of Glass was pleased to announce that the museum is moving from the New Bedford Antiques Center to the James Arnold Mansion at 427 County Street, New Bedford. He was also pleased to share a rare, vintage photo of a period Nineteenth Century glass cutting workshop, a donation to the museum. Dealer Carlese Westock from Woodland Park, N.J., was showing Nineteenth Century American blown, pressed and cut glass.
A chat with director Ed Beard in the booth of the Cape Cod Glass Club revealed that Beard was very happy with the gate and sales at the show. Among the things exhibited in the Cape Cod Glass Club booth was an early (circa 1840) Sandwich loop vase, which bore the original tool marks by the glass maker.
The Cape Cod Glass Club began in 2000, starting as a division of the Founders Chapter of the National American Glass Club. The goal of the club is to educate the public about all periods of glass. The show was started by Founders Chapter of Sandwich.
The club conducts many events during the calendar year for its members. Some upcoming events include November 5 – Bring and Brag, members with Jim Lessig, chair; December 3 – New at the Sandwich Glass Museum, with Dorothy Hogan Schofield, curator; April 7 – Field Trip to New Bedford, Kirk Nelson, museum director; May 5 -Stretch Glass by Cal Hackerman, Stretch Glass Society president; June 7 – Annual Luncheon Meeting at the Yarmouth Port Inn, speaker to be announced.
For information, contact membership chairman Brenda Hayes at 508-385-4893 or Betsy Hewlett Lessig, 1 Gingerbread Lane, Yarmouth Port MA 02675; 508-776-9098 or visit www.capecodglassclub.org.
