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Post by fernwood on Dec 26, 2019 7:56:01 GMT -5
Since there have been a few people here showing interest in tumbling old glass, I had to share my thoughts on destroying old pieces of glass. Below are some examples of antique/vintage glass that I have. Am a firm believer that they are pieces of history and should not be destroyed. I really do not care how inexpensive garage sale/thrift store finds are. Please do not destroy a piece of history, which might be valuable. Am sharing any special meaning each piece has for me, along with any ID info I am aware of. MsAli could you post some examples of other items that should not be broken up for tumbling? jamesp please add to this post. RocksInNJ any thoughts on bottle collecting with your Dad? A 1930's Depression Glass Desk box my Grandpa had. Glass boxes to contain items in desks were popular then. Portion of a 1920's Peacock Tail Carnival Glass plate my G-Grandma had.  Amber, Diana Depression Glass bowl that was given to my G-ma.  Uranium/Vaseline Glass serving dish. These glow under black light and do contain some uranium. The one I have is the first photo. The second is to show the glow.   End of Day glass vase. Circa 1920's. Back in the day, workers at glass manufacturing facilities were allowed to create their own projects with scrap glass. This vase was given to my G-ma and Grandpa for an Anniversary present.  Fire King Oven Ware. It was a revolutionary item when introduced. Glass that would not break when heated. Below is a Trivet that hot containers could be placed on.  Some old bottles. Especially those in shapes of animals or with other depictions. Any writing also adds value. I have an amber one with spider webs on it. That contained insect poison. Blue and Carnival glass ones are sometimes valuable. I found this one when I was 11 years old. Walking through the woods with friends. It is a cod liver oil bottle and in perfect condition. Only the top was sticking through the ground, but I carefully removed it.  Original, 1920's Carnival Glass. Some was reporduced in the 1970's. Learn how to tell the difference. Some of my antique pieces.    Other Misc Depression Glass. Iris pattern. I was given a few pieces that were in the family for my 12th Birthday. Since then I have been purchasing more when I can. Now have over 120 pieces.  Any child size Depression Glass still holds some value. This is part of a Pretty Polly set I have. Pink is a desirable color for collectors. Yes, there are still some out there.  Royal Ruby Depression Glass. This was made from the 1920's to the 1950's. My Mom collected it.  In the 1960's Schlitz contracted with Anchor Hocking to manufacture Royal Riby beer bottles. These came in a variety of sizes.  I do not own any vintage art glass. Do not have photos of some other pieces in my collection, but figure this will give the basics. If anyone has a certain piece they are thinking of breaking to tumble please post it here. Am sure you will receive input on whether it has value or not. |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller 
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,619
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Post by jamesp on Dec 26, 2019 8:05:16 GMT -5
Interesting point fernwood. Most of the glass I tumble comes from hand blown vases like the one in your photo above. The history of art glass work like this is difficult to trace. The new ones are made the same way as they were made 100 years ago so dating them is near impossible. The thrift shop's(or consigner's) next stop if the item does not sell is the city dump. I chose to repurpose(destroy) most of the ones I find in the thrift stores. A few I identified as having historical or high art value were not repurposed. But the biggest problem is identifying them due to the 1000's of artisans that make them. Recently the largest collectable art glass store in Atlanta was shut down because they had little sales. Italian, Polish, Czech, blown glass from all over the world. Some inventory over 100 years old. Their incredible inventory was auctioned off for little of nothing to thrift store dealers. A shame. It boils down to people not having space to store them and such glass not being trendy. No different than old historical buildings, old cars, old furniture, etc. It is a cold world out there. Lol, us old engineers can't get a job because are brains are apparently blown out or we are too grumpy to get along in the new team effort arrangements. Discrimination has no conscience. Life goes on... |
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Post by fernwood on Dec 26, 2019 8:09:47 GMT -5
jamesp Huh? Your post did not come through for me. Only the vase photo.
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Post by MsAli on Dec 26, 2019 8:12:19 GMT -5
I would say before you break it, look it up. Both vintage glass and pottery can bring hundreds and plus it would mean something to a glass collector.
Which in turn you can sell it and buy cheap glass & more rocks.
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Post by MsAli on Dec 26, 2019 8:12:42 GMT -5
He is having thoughts of smashing it up |
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Post by fernwood on Dec 26, 2019 8:17:39 GMT -5
He is having thoughts of smashing it up Never! |
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Post by knave on Dec 26, 2019 8:30:08 GMT -5
fernwood that is some beautiful art, and history. Thanks for the trip.
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Post by fernwood on Dec 26, 2019 8:35:31 GMT -5
Info on Carnival Glass. Since the rainbow appearance was only on the outer surface, tumbling will remove the rainbows. You will be left with the base color of the glass.
I do have a few pieces of carnival glass that are badly damaged. Purchased those for minimal at garage sales.
Once I have my lapidary set up done next year, am considering on the following:
Using saws to cut the pieces into portions. Doing some wheel shaping. Then doing finish polish on wheels or maybe vibe. Thinking I would have more control with wheels and not lose the rainbow effect. Would be able to kep any patterns intact, well a little.
Any thoughts?
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,619
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Post by jamesp on Dec 26, 2019 8:57:21 GMT -5
jamesp Huh? Your post did not come through for me. Only the vase photo. Check it again as I had a lot to say. Their are other realities. I am aware MsAli thinks I am a Mafia vase hit man, but in fact few want this type of art glass any more. Market = dead. The glass blowers in Atlanta make their income by having glass blowing parties/classes. Or making chandeliers and sculptures. |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,619
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Post by jamesp on Dec 26, 2019 9:01:17 GMT -5
He is having thoughts of smashing it up Be nice |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,619
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Post by jamesp on Dec 26, 2019 9:04:50 GMT -5
Carnival glass has a coating that the tumbler will quickly remove.
Another glass is Fenton. I stay away from it too.
Both of those are easier to identify.
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Post by RocksInNJ on Dec 26, 2019 9:44:46 GMT -5
The only thought that comes to mind is how saddened I am that Verizon put up a huge cell phone tower back in the woods, right on top of where a lot of the old bottle pits were. Of the entire forest, they chose right where they were. So many good things and so much history is lost to modern day building. I live in an old town, which the college here has taken over. I’ve seen so many old mansions turned into frat houses and destroyed to only be demolish and built over. All the old shops in town are gone, old homes and more. Everything is basically gone and covered over by new buildings and parking lots.
It’s a shame, cause I had hopes of metal detecting many of those locations and now they’re all covered up. It sucks getting old and seeing everything you’ve ever know disappear, but I guess such is life as I too with all my memories will disappear some day too.
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,619
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Post by jamesp on Dec 26, 2019 10:32:14 GMT -5
The only thought that comes to mind is how saddened I am that Verizon put up a huge cell phone tower back in the woods, right on top of where a lot of the old bottle pits were. Of the entire forest, they chose right where they were. So many good things and so much history is lost to modern day building. I live in an old town, which the college here has taken over. I’ve seen so many old mansions turned into frat houses and destroyed to only be demolish and built over. All the old shops in town are gone, old homes and more. Everything is basically gone and covered over by new buildings and parking lots. It’s a shame, cause I had hopes of metal detecting many of those locations and now they’re all covered up. It sucks getting old and seeing everything you’ve ever know disappear, but I guess such is life as I too with all my memories will disappear some day too. Another catch 22 and similar situation, Native encampments are being destroyed constantly at similar construction sites. Should the artifacts be removed before/during construction ? The guys profiting from the project will have you hung if you shed light on an archeological site by trespassing. There are several such projects happening within 10 miles of my house during the month of December alone. Progress does have it's costs. Saving vintage glassware is a do able situation but there appears to be a shortage of people interested in participating. |
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Post by fernwood on Dec 26, 2019 12:28:44 GMT -5
jamesp Was finally able to see your original response. Agree, ID is often tough. The pink/yellow/white one I posted has mold marks on the bottom. If it was hand blown, some type of a mold was involved. Guess it is a sign of the times. The lack of interest in high quality glass. Most of the thrift shops by me, price vintage/antique glass close to "book value". Art glass is snapped up right away, when priced low. Found another photo to share. I would love to find some damaged milk glass like this. According to my Mom, this belonged to my G-G Grandma. Every Christmas my Mom would fill it with small, glass ornaments. Then put some art deco, 1940's deer in front of it. When held to the light, the thinner portions are opalescent blue. This is technically called a salt dip. It was designed to be used to hold salt at the dinner table. I have no idea who the manufacturer was. It is higher quality than the similar Westmorland sleigh. I have part of my G-Grandma's dresser set from the same type of glass. Pattern is similar. 
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Post by fernwood on Dec 26, 2019 12:41:00 GMT -5
Agree on Native encampments, burial grounds, etc.
There has been a several year battle in WI about this. A wealthy businessman vs an every increasing number of people.
I was thrilled to recently find out that someone who purchased some of my land was working towards having 2 parcels designated as significant.
One was where part of the largest battle for Tribal Harvesting Rights occurred. It has about 500' of lake frontage.
The other is a prime lake lot of over 1 acre. It was an encampment. There are possible burial mounds on the property.
If they receive the designation, they will be protected from development, just why he purchased them.
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Post by MsAli on Dec 26, 2019 12:42:07 GMT -5
jamesp Was finally able to see your original response. Agree, ID is often tough. The pink/yellow/white one I posted has mold marks on the bottom. If it was hand blown, some type of a mold was involved. Guess it is a sign of the times. The lack of interest in high quality glass. Most of the thrift shops by me, price vintage/antique glass close to "book value". Art glass is snapped up right away, when priced low. Found another photo to share. I would love to find some damaged milk glass like this. According to my Mom, this belonged to my G-G Grandma. Every Christmas my Mom would fill it with small, glass ornaments. Then put some art deco, 1940's deer in front of it. When held to the light, the thinner portions are opalescent blue. This is technically called a salt dip. It was designed to be used to hold salt at the dinner table. I have no idea who the manufacturer was. It is higher quality than the similar Westmorland sleigh. I have part of my G-Grandma's dresser set from the same type of glass. Pattern is similar. Really cool piece. It is Westmoreland . Should of been a cover to it as well at one point |
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Post by fernwood on Dec 26, 2019 14:07:19 GMT -5
Cool. Have never seen one with a cover. Do you have a photo of one with the cover?
Have never seen this labeled as Westmoreland.
My daughter laughed when I put about 2" of bubble wrap on this before it was packed in a box. Then reminded her of what my Mom did with it. She remembered. Then carefully packed it in a box with lots of packing peanuts.
My daughter wants this piece.
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,619
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Post by jamesp on Dec 26, 2019 14:22:13 GMT -5
Agree on Native encampments, burial grounds, etc. There has been a several year battle in WI about this. A wealthy businessman vs an every increasing number of people. I was thrilled to recently find out that someone who purchased some of my land was working towards having 2 parcels designated as significant. One was where part of the largest battle for Tribal Harvesting Rights occurred. It has about 500' of lake frontage. The other is a prime lake lot of over 1 acre. It was an encampment. There are possible burial mounds on the property. If they receive the designation, they will be protected from development, just why he purchased them. This property had a fortunate outcome. Not many fare so well. It is a good thing that you treasure the sentiment of the milk glass piece. The tons of heirlooms in the thrift stores sadly did not receive the same TLC. Would you agree that the family members that held the heirloom auction would be the prime villains ? Betting Grandmom rolled over in her grave ! Then place blame on jamesp for moving in for the kill whom hammers the heirloom into pieces. Perhaps Grandma thanks me for repurposing. The thought has passed my mind. |
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Post by fernwood on Dec 26, 2019 15:46:03 GMT -5
I still remember my first auction purchase.
Was 12 years old. The Grandpa of a neighbor and long time family friend had passed away. A couple hundred acres of farm land. He farmed until a week before he passed on.
He did not have a will. Had 6 children.
I went to school with his grandchildren.
I had $20.00 of baby sitting money to spend. Already was into collecting the Iris Depression Glass.
Had notice a clear, large fruit bowl and 3 matching berry bowls.
My Mom and Uncle let me bid. The auctioneer mentioned that this was my first auction and that I was using baby sitting $. Well, after that, I won the 4 pieces for $10.00. Then was given the 4th berry bowl by a family member. They ha found it later. It was dirty and not included in he auction.
I saw so many belongings of the children, that were stored at their Dad's sold. They could not afford to compete with others, but they bid.
Since, I had $10.00 left, I talked with my Mom and Uncle. There was one very special item that was going to be sold. A quad axle lawn tractor/snow plow. I knew that William would love to have it, since he had built it the year before. He used it often. H did not have much $, nor did we. We were into helping neighbors, as was William. They agreed to bid on it. Told me that $100.00 was the max.
I watched. It was a very popular item. The bid went up quickly.
When it reached $100.00, my heart sank. Then, my Uncle kept bidding. He ended up purchasing it for $150.00.
William congratulated him on his purchase. My Uncle told William that it was purchased for him. That I told him to do so.
William started crying. Then took me in the house. There were many items there that were not part of the auction. They had been classified worthless.
He told me to take what I wanted. Pointed out some things he knew this young collector might like.
I took a set of 1950's mixing bowls. A Shirley Temple Calendar in envelope. A blue Shirley Temple pitcher, with the face applique slightly damaged. Some other glass pieces. A few bottles. William told me to take more, but I said no.
I thanked him for his kindness.
He thanked me for caring about his family.
I thanked him for allowing me to save what was considered garbage by many.
That was the start of my saving pieces of history.
BTW. My Mom sold the Shirley Temple Calendar for $150.00 in the 1980's. I still have the pitcher and some of the bottles. Also the Iris Depression glass.
People do what they must. Often have no choice, once an estate is in probate. If they have a will, then it is different.
I have a will, that I often update. Some items are specified. Anything not specified go to my daughter. What she chooses to do with them is her business.
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braat
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2016
Posts: 350 
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Post by braat on Dec 26, 2019 16:25:59 GMT -5
I'm one of the recent glass convertee's of which you speak and I take your concerns to heart.... there was a lady unloading her glass collection on a local Fb bidding page and there wasn't much interest. She was amping up the salespitch using words like (from memory), "depression glass"," cobalt", the usual "rare" word (so rare I'm dumping it dirt cheap) and other words I forget. Anyways some of the stuff she was selling looked like your pictures but they were boring color wise with too much texture/patterns to wear off so I never really considered buying even though it was cheap. But I did wonder about potentially destroying something historic totally due to ignorance on my part so I guess going forward I'm more aware... but for sure I'm already learning to be more selective avoiding painted pottery that looks like glass at a casual glance and colors "coated" (my description) on glass that wear off real quick in the tumbler.
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