Review And Photos By Greg Smith
OLD GREENWICH, CONN. — The Westchester Glass Club celebrated the 40th anniversary of its annual Collectors Glass and Ceramic Show and Sale the weekend of April 9–10. Every year, the show brings together knowledgeable collectors, sellers and specialists of glass and ceramics ranging from early American to Depression glass, as well as pressed, cut and blown examples ranging from Nineteenth Century to contemporary artists.
Early morning shoppers browsed the shelves at Splendor in the Glass, Harrison, N.Y.
The show’s co-manager Jim Russell describes the show as “glass through the ages.” A glassblower by hobby, he said, “One of the best ways to appreciate glass is to work with it,” citing the club’s trips to the Corning Museum of Glass and scheduled lectures by talented glassmakers and historians. He added, “Our mission is educational: to promote the interest in and enjoyment of glass.” True to his statement, the show featured half-a-dozen dealer lectures as well as a Saturday talk by Paul Doros, author and researcher, on the blown glass of Louis Comfort Tiffany. Attendees were also presented with opportunities to have glass repaired onsite and glassware identification from knowledgeable members of the club.
The weekend weather cooperated pleasantly enough and clear skies meant plenty of visitors to the Greenwich Civic Center.
Russell noted there are vendors that come year after year, and with more than a few dealers returning annually for the past 30 years, that statement was no exaggeration. On that list was From The Cutters Wheel, Webster, N.Y., which had a selection of early American pattern glass, including a fine “Pattern 99” Dorflinger lamp. The dealer also had select pieces by Tuttle, Hawkes and Libbey.
Kevin McNamara of KPM Antiques, Berlin, Conn., talking to shoppers in the first few minutes of the show opening.
C&J Antiques exhibited a Mt Washington Royal Flemish perfume bottle with original top and a floral and butterfly decoration to the body. The piece stood among rows of fluorescent favrile vases and bottles.
Mike Labate of Pittsburgh brought along a stunning iridescent glass demilune transom window in iron frame, pulled from a house built in the 1850s. He also exhibited a historical English blue and white mug from the 1850s depicting an Asian village scene, a piece he has had since childhood. A reference with it stated that the cup was used by British officers at the Avery house.
Right down the center aisle was Philip Cortina and James Megura, exhibiting early American glass. The dealers had a rare pair of Millville trumpet vases, Cortina said, “They’re the only known example,” as he motioned to an image of a picture currently hanging in the Museum of American Glass at Wheaton Village in Millville, N.J. The image shows the pair of vases in a 1900 exhibition among other forms. Cortina said, “We had a good show. I sold a few Pittsburgh pieces, some others from New Jersey.”
A Toots Zynsky bowl sat front and center at the New Bedford Museum of Glass, New Bedford, Mass.
Splendor in the Glass, Harrison, N.Y., has been doing the show for more than ten years, bringing along elegant glassware from Heisey and Cambridge, as well as a large collection of Roseville, including a standout geometric vase titled “The Balloons Globe” from the Futura line. The dealer said, “It’s nice to be able to do a show in our own backyard.”
In line with the show’s mission to bring education to the front line, the Museum of Connecticut Glass, Coventry, and the New Bedford (Mass.) Museum of Glass were both represented among exhibitors. The Connecticut Museum of Glass had diorama displays detailing early Connecticut glassmakers and the history of glassmaking in the region. President Noel Tomas was on hand to answer questions and educate attendees about current and future projects.
Among the contemporary makers at the show was Lotton Art Glass, Crete, Ill., the studio of Charles Lotton and his sons, David and Daniel. The gallery displayed a fine selection of iridescent and blown glass forms ranging from paperweights and vases to full table lamps. All of Lotton’s glass creations are made from scratch with raw materials like sand, soda ash and zinc.
Buyers perused a selection of elegant and Depression glass at Baker Antiques, Newtown, Conn.
KPM Arts and Antiques, Berlin, Conn., brought a shining selection of art, engraved and cut glass with makers ranging from Moser to Loetz and Tiffany. The dealers reported sales of Quezal, Moser, Webb and Stevens and Williams. Owner Kevin McNamara said, “The gate was better than it has been in the past few years. We’ll be back next year.”
The New Bedford Museum of Glass had an array of offerings that spanned Victorian and elegant glass to studio art glass by modern masters. One offering was a red bowl by Toots Zynsky, an artist known for her “filet de verre” technique of fusing thousands of glass strands together over molds to create unique and highly collected forms.
Baker Antiques had a clean display of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century elegant and depression glass, incorporating works by Tiffin, Imperial, New Martinsville, Cambridge and others. The dealer showed a Hamilton half-gallon water pitcher with applied handle, circa 1860s, by the Cape Cod Glass Co. in Sandwich, Mass.
The show will be back next year in April. For information, www.westchesterglassclub.com or 203-394-8956.
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