Akro Agate Art Association.  – J. Bourque, Box 758 – Salem NH 03079

The Akro Agate Collectors Club -  10 Bailey Street   Clarksburg WV 26301

American Carnival Glass Association – PO Box 235   Littlestown PA 17340

American Cut Glass Assoc. – PO Box 482   Ramona CA 92065

Antique & Art Glass Salt Shaker Collectors Society. Contact: AAGSSCS, 2832 Rapidan Trail, Maitland, FL 32751

Antique Bottle Coll. of N FL, Inc. meets 1st Mon except July & Dec., Faith Lutheran Church, Jacksonville. Contact: E. Biggs 904-786-8487

Antique/Art Glass Salt Shaker Collectors -  1775 Lakeview Drive   Zeeland MI 49464

Blenko Collectors Society -  PO Box 1096 – Kermit WV 25674  Contact Tammy   blenkocollectors@aol.com

Online Blenko Museum

Canadian Depression Glass Association. Contact: Walter Lemiski, 119 Wexford Rd., Brampton, Ontario Can. L6Z 2T5. 905-846-2835; E-mail: cdga@home.com

Collectible Carnival Glass Association - 2360 N. Old S R 9   Columbus IN 47203

Collector of Findlay Glass – PO Box 256  Findlay OH 45839

The Corning Museum of Glass - One Museum Way  Corning NY 14830

Custard Glass Collectors Society – 591 SW Duxbury Avenue  Port St. Lucie, FL 34983

Czechoslovakian Collectors Association (CCA). Contact person Cheryl Goyda, Box 137, Hopeland, PA. 17533 Phone: 717-738-2678, Web site: www.czechcollectors.org<

Early American Glass Club – 2204 East 27th Street, Tulsa OK   estrelle1@cox.net

Early American Pattern Glass Society – PO Box 266  Colesburg IA 52035

European Glass Collectors 

Fairy Lamp Collectors Club – Jim & Pat Sapp, P.O. Box 438, Pine, CO  80470

Fenton Art Glass Collectors – PO Box 384   Williamstown WV 26187

The Czech Republic is the glass capital of the world, and the only original remaining plant in the country is in Jablonec. The glass canes are made and the buttons manufactured from them some of the canes used were made over fifty years ago and are still used today. There are fourteen different steps used in making buttons, from cutting and shaping the glass to several different colors of paint and firing in a kiln. One of the most famous glass jewelry producers and exporters was Josef Dressler, mentioned in 1773, the house he owned is now a centerpiece museum for buttons and glass collection in the Czech Republic.

One type of glass button that is very collectible is called moonglow, due to the thin layer of glass that protects the thicker layer from damage. Some of the glass buttons are made of milk glass others include painted glass or fused glass. Art deco glass is often used in older buttons and the glass is sometimes paired with metal or gold leaf to enhance the design engraved on it.

There is a wide range of styles, types and techniques used. The National Button Society has great information of shows and collectors as well as featured articles that help the collector to find out if the button he or she has is a hidden treasure. Go through your grandmothers or your mothers button collection again, let the memories come and check out those tiny bits of glass that are so intriguing the buttons that help keep our lives in place and add the glitter of something precious to what we wear.

A single brief paragraph or so in the newspapers of West Virginia in 1998 told of the closing of an entire era of manufacturing, but opened the door for a multitude of collectors to become dazzled with, and seek out the items that had, until now, been too easily found it seems and not so very collectible.

Dalzell-Viking’s end in 1998 saw the close of an entire century of glass making. It had begun in the   New Martinsville Glass Co.  which then went bankrupt in the depression years, but was purchased by a new owner, GR Cummings, who hoped the the popular Scandinaviaon moder designs he was producing would literally sweep the collectors off their feet and find its way into the hearts of the American public. To that end, he completely abandoned the conservative crystals that had sent New Martinsville to their grave and began making the long sweeping curves, the perfect jewel tones and the wonderful crackleware type things that made him a success.

 Viking and it’s brainchild, the Rainbow Glass subsidiary (1954-1972)  were on their way upward to some very great success in the post-war time period, and the work of both companies was featured at Corning Glass Museum’s oh so prestigious exhibition of glass in 1959.

Elmer Miller, who was in fact still an original..a holdover who jointed the firm in 1923, began taking the new styles and became the most popular new modern designer. The lines of Viking put their emphasis on shaping the soft molten glassware, tapering elegant looks and lines, long twisted handles and lengthy spouts, which gave the illusion that the finished glass was still in its molten form and people absolutely loved it.

According to all reports, by the mid sixties, the Viking Epic line was the most distinctive and was made in a wide array of designs, from long tailed birds to vases that were rivaled only by Fostoria Heirloom according to the experts.
This same Epic line continued til 1975, with colors such as purple, teal and ruby, smoke and amber, featuring such favorites as glass mushrooms, animal paperweights, fruits from glass and ashtrays.

Eventually what ended the reign of this unrivaled king for their place in history was little more than foreign competition, in combination with high wages that were necessary for workers and a recession in the 1980′s. Fostoria president Kenneth Dalzell attempted to restart the firm as Dalzell Viking,with more traditional patterns in popular colors but the new lines he produced couldn’t in any way compare or compete with cheap imports and the effort was a failure.

According to the experts in glass collection:(notably George A Higby)

"Viking and Rainbow are relative bargains for today’s art glass collectors. Pieces bore sticker labels which are often gone, so knowledgeable buyers can often find undiscovered Viking pieces fairly easily. Pina’s Popular 50s and 60s Glass offers photos and catalogue reprints can help. Dalzell pieces also bore paper labels; wise collectors are amassing pieces now, while their origins can still be identified.

Best of all, the sheer variety of colors and designs makes Viking  fun for glass collectors- whether pressed patterns, animal figures, or fab ’50s style piques your interest."

Below are some examples of what makes Viking Glass so popular

 FLINT GLASS:

Flint glass is one of those rarities to collectors, so that in some cases, people don’t even know what to look for, or that they can look for it..
The Welkers, in their book describe it as a term for a specific type of glass.  The name was said to have been derived from the fact that in England in the late 17th Century that flint, a form of hard, very pure, natural quartz, was calcined and pulverized to make silica as a main ingredient in glassmaking.  Use of this pure silica makes glass highly refractive and brilliant.

This formula from the English also used oxide of lead as an ingredient, and as such there is according to the experts, an " anynonymous relationship between the terms Flint Glass and Lead Glass, although flint and lead each have a different role in glassmaking."
Technically the term lead glss is the most proper when describing flint glass in the US.
The type of glass th contains lead osxide as a principle component usualy didn’t contain the raw flint materials, so that the term, Flint glass is actually a misnomer in the US.

First made at Hobbs, Brockunier and Co. in Wheeling WV in 1864, lime was used in the production and caused that the glass that was yellow had a more pale tint to it  and included a sort of green cast when it was seen in the sunlight.
  
Between 1864 and 1900, the term VASELINE came into use as a way to describe this canary-lime glass color, but it too wasn’t actually the same as the older canary flint glass. The true Canary Flint had a much more bright bold yellow color than the new lime based  that wasnt really the same as canary flint  glass.
That lack was a topic of serious discussion during those times and the term vaseline &copy was a dealer term that mor than just  a few people had objections to.

 OLD GLASS,a book written in those times, which was Copyright 1924, by N. Hudson Moore states,regarding the glass:
"All the pieces shown in figure 207 are in this royal purple and canary yellow, which, by the way, no real collector would ever call vaseline, a dealer’s term."   This is just about the oldest book that uses the term vaseline to describe that kind of glass.
 
Reyne Haines says that true "Canary flint glass WILL glow bright green under a UV blacklight and for all intents and purposes, is collected by vaseline glass collectors as a "yellow-green glass that will glow green under a UV blacklight, due to the presence of uranium oxide in the glass formula (definition most widely used by vaseline glass collectors). Due to the content of lead in the glass, the glass has a softer feel to it.  The flint glass made before 1864 had as much as 40% lead oxide in it (as compared to todays lead crystal, which generally contains a maximum of 24% lead). Canary flint glass was
also much thicker than the vaseline glass made after 1864, but this was primarily due to the lack of refinement in the glass presses of the day, rather than a necessity of working with molten glass with a high lead content. The glass produced during this time frame also seemed to have had more simplistic patterns, which I also think was  due to the lack of refinement in the glass pressing procedures of the day."
  
Three companies made most of the Canary Flint glss that is found today, those being, New England Glass Co. , Bakewell,  Pears and Co.of Pittsburgh Pa and the Boston and Sandwich Glass Co. of Sandwich,  Mass. although notations do state tht a couple other companies did make some smal amounts of it.

 
This most illusive type of glass will of course be a bit difficult to find..  and you’re going to hve to do your research to make sure of what you’ve got, particularly if the photo isn’t a great one and its not labeled or categorized as canary flint glass. You will hve time to have a good look at the photos and take them to someone who may know a bit more if you watch the auction and then begin bidding.

The best place to find it, of course, will be those online auction sites, such as ebay, but if you search it out and use those key words, of course the price will be higher. Often its misrepresented as art glass, depression glas or something else, in which case you’re going to get a good deal.

A family owned and operated business, from 1894 to 2002, Beswick Studio was founded by James Wright Beswick, along with his sons John,Gilbert and John’s son, John Ewart, each of them played a role in the amazing success of this factory.
Until about 1918, the business was run from a works on Gold Street, that was entitled J.W. Beswick, when the company expanded its activities, maing pottery and fancy works for both their local as well as the international market place.

In 1921, JW Beswick died and in 1936, his son, at which time the company was made John Beswick Ltd, with John’s son, John Ewart Beswick the managing director and the remaining origina son, Gilbert Beswick the director of sales, and many new pieces were introduced to their existing range.

1940 saw the necessity for extensive changes for the growth of the company and some major modernisations to the factory itseld, so that by 1945, they had added an adjoining factory and converted their Gold Street facility to offices potting and firing , while the new factory gave them decorating, finishing and dispatch.

At this point Arthur Gredington was installed as the modeller for animals of all kinds and today remains quite well known for the amazing accuracy of his work and the realism of the animals that he created.

Albert Halam too contributed amazing things to the decorations, adding about three thousand pieces.
Beswick was well known and very popular with collectors in both England as well as abroad, and gained some serious recognition for their figurines of dogs, birds and wild and domestic animals as well as the beautiful Toby Jugs.

In 1989, Beswick wares were produced under the Royal Doulton backstamp, which company had purchased them some years in the past.
In 2002, Royal Doulton stopped the manufacture of al Beswick wares, and the end of an amazing era in figurines came to pass.
Beswick wares are still highly sought after collectibles, and have taken their place firmly esconces in the history of pottery.

Here are a few examples of why Beswick studios are so well thought of among collectors today:

Particular favorites of course are the Royal Doulton, John Beswick Beatrix Potter, which are becoming quite favored among collectors and are sometimes difficult to find as well as being costly in some cases.
You can however find some great deals on Beatrix Potter Figurines, particularly when scouring the realms of glass ware and resellers that are listed on Ebay.

In many cases, the antiques dealers will of course know exactly what they’ve got and what it’s worth, while the individual retailer isn’t always certain.
If you want to be sure whats up with what you’re buying, or selling, pay close attention to the detail of the figurine, as well as to the backstamp, which vary in small details and can make the difference to what the figurine is actually worth.Understanding those backstamps is imperative if you want to collect or sell your Beatrix Potter figurines.The backstamps tend toward complexity in many cases, and the actual figurines may only vary in a minute detail here or there.

Some backstamps are quite rare, having been used only for a couple years, while others are more common, being used for ten more more years.

One, which was used for just two years, 1988 and 1989, is rarely seen and not often listed in the sheets you’re going to find explaining the backstamps. Although the backstamp itself is rare, this doesn’t actually indicate that the figurine is worth substantially  more when it comes to buying and selling.

Some of the backstamps you’re going to see featured on Royal Doulton, Beswick Studios  or Royal Albert Beatrix Potter figurines will be found here..

When Tiffany Glass comes to mind, what you’re probably envisioning are those awesome bright colors and the incredible blues and golds of the Favrile.. 
Many people, even some collectors, aren’t aware th at Tiffany made a line of pastel glass.
 

During what was called the Art Deco era, particularly between 1918 to 1928 we saw pastel glass come into production in a big way for Tiffany.

During those insane twenties, styles in everything were changing and fo
Tiffany  changed with them. 

The biggest change was in the colors that were being produced..  Pastels of pink, blue, purple, yellow and green showed up to replace the former vibrant and rich colors that Tiffany had been famed for.

Suffice it to say that some of them sold, but that frankly, they just didn’t go over well for quite a few years.
Reyne Haines says that after "Tiffany Furnaces closed in 1928, Nash continued making pastel glass, however it was then signed ADNA or NASH.  Because gaffer Jimmy Stewart worked for both Tiffany Furnaces and Nash, there are virtually no differences in both firms pastel glass beyond the signature.  In 1931 A. Douglas Nash’s operation closed for good."

The past several years have seen a huge interest in the pastels, as opposed to the regular Tiffany pieces, with the pastels, particularly the wisteria, commanding an incredible price, norally about double the regular Tiffany pieces, when in reality, in years past, you’d have been surprised to see them even get the token bid when they came to auction.
A wine goblet now, in wisteria, will fetch sometimes 1200 dollars, where prior to now it would not have commanded any such price, and the regular Tiffany colors will fetch only 5-600 each.

Bear in mind, caution the experts, that not all Pastel glass is Tiffany glas, and new collectors or dealers are often fooled or confused by the pastels.

 Glass signed NASH or ADNA is not qualified as Tiffany glass, nor does it command the same price however it is still quite definitely desirable, one of the kinds of glass to collect (while prices are  reasonable) but it is NOT Tiffany.

With pastel Tiffany prices going up up up, is it possible to find a bargain.. absolutely yes..  
 LCT or L.C. Tiffany Favrile signatures on pastel pieces on the underside rim of the piece, as opposed to where it is normally found, closer to the pontil can confuse the new founded glass dealers or antique enthusiasts do not  recognize pastel pieces. You will quite often find these bits in the antique shops under studio glass, or Venetian glass, and have prices to match.. Snap it up as you can when you make these finds.

Some of the reasons why Jeannette is so popular are the remarkable pattern pieces they’ve made over their years of production. Among the most ardently collected of Jeannettes patterns are:

• Adam
• Anniversary
• Cherry Blossom
• Cubist
• Doric
• Floral
• Flora-gold
• Holiday
• Iris and Herringbone
• Poinsettia
• Sierra
• Swirl
• Windsor

Below are some examples of each pattern, so that you know what you’re looking for when you decide its time to branch out into Jeannette glassware

Most of them were manufactured by the Royal Doulton Company and were made between 1930 and 1975, give or take a few years.
She’d become pen pals with a woman from the UK who sent them to her, while she sent her back various items from the US, and each of them, both avid collectors of different kinds of glass, were thrilled with their bargain.

On rare ocassions I was permitted to take out and handle her precious jugs, and learned at that point to love the miniature wizened faces and tiny delicate features.
Each of the Royal Doulton Toby Jugs that she had were Royal Doulton and were made after a character from literature.

They included such small gnarled characters as’Sairey Gamp’, the gin-guzzling midwife and nurse from Charles Dickens fame,Martin Chuzzlewit. 
She also Had the Pied Piper, and Athos, one of the three Musketeers featured in Dumas novel, which wore a feathered hat,  and a green tunic.
I think it was from these early memories of the delicate precious little gems she collected that my own love of china and miniatures evolved to become what it is today.

Toby Jugs remain today one of my favorite things to view and to collect. The miniatures are delightful in their detail, though they can be somewhat expensive to gather, but are well worth the price you’re going to pay, just in the pleasure you’re going to get from the collecting.

If you’ve never seen a Toby jug, check them out, and be as impressed as I was with the small but finely detailed little collectibles..and while you’re at it.. share some of that knowledge you have, and your love of the art of glass, with a family member, so that what you know gets passed along.

From pink to greens to blues, in patterns that range from flowering dogwood to sunbursts, Depression glass was made by multiple companies in multiple areas and in many and varied color schemes and patterns, which makes it a bit confusing to begin collecting.

Below are a few of the patterns you will run into as well as some of the colors that you might see when you begin collecting the various types and colors of depression glass.

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Murano glass comes in a variety of differnt styles and articles, from tableware to art glass to lamps and wall art.

Murano is made on an island in Italy which has been famed for centuries for its glass production. The Murano artisans use a wide array of tools int heir glass making, primarily tongs or pliers with which they  hand-form the hot glass), a blowing pipe , an iron rod that is used to hold the glass and add final touches as well as large cilppers to cut the glass while it is still hot.

Below are a few examples of Murano glass, from vases to jewelry.