L.E. Smith Glass Company Is Gone,
But New Book Shows History

The L.E. Smith Glass Co., one of the last survivors of the American glass-making factories, appears to have closed its doors for good in June of 2010. The company, which has tended to be overlooked by collectors of American-made glass, was founded in 1907, and managed to survive most of the economic events that closed most of the other companies during the 103 years in which it produced glass.

In 2004, it was thought the company was going out of business, when all 57 remaining workers were laid off. However, a sale in the following year brought it back into operation briefly. In June of 2010, though, all production of glass was discontinued and the factory was offered for sale.

The L.E. Smith Glass Company is the subject of a recently released book by Tom Felt. L.E. Smith Encyclopedia of Glass, Patterns & Products, with identification and values, is a Collector Books publication.

The author begins with a timeline of the company, when it was founded in Jeannette, Pennsylvania by Louis E. Smith and three other investors.

In 1909, the group bought the bankrupt Anchor Glass Company, with the intention of making mustard and olive jars and some souvenir ware. They also announced they would make mustard.

Among the products offered through the years were glass sanitary drinking fountains for chicken farms in 1911; decorated glass novelties for the confectionary trade in 1912; covered butter jars at 5 cents each, as advertising pieces, also in 1912; invented the glass lid for coffee percolators in 1914; originated the glass mixing bowl in 1915; and offered a two-piece sanitary shaving mug in 1916.

During the 103 years of operation, the company went through multiple ownership and management changes. There were also many instances of buying molds from other companies (and sometimes buying the companies themselves,) which has created confusion for collectors over time. Felt’s book should help to clear up some of this confusion.

L.E. Smith made some of the most popular patterns for several decades. Its hobnail pattern, made in many colors and dozens of items, is often confused with those made by the Fenton Art Glass Co. Its numerous pieces in the Moon and Star pattern, also found in many colors, are very similar to those marketed by L.G. Wright. Pieces from its Simplicity line are often mistaken for those made by the Viking Glass Co.

There are also many pieces included in the book that led me to say, “Oh, that’s who made that!”

This will be a valuable reference book for anyone collecting or selling American-made glass of the 20th century. L.E. Smith, Encyclopedia of Glass (ISBN: 978-1-57432-693-2) is published by Collector Books. It is priced at $29.95.

Donna Miller

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Movie Posters Bring Back Lots Of Memories

Collectors of old movies memorabilia, as well as those who are just fans, will enjoy the recent Schiffer publication, The World’s Rarest Movie Posters, by Todd Spoor.

Over 300 color photos of vintage movie posters are shown, including the rare drive-in theater posters, which were printed in fewer numbers and consequently are harder to find. The author states that all of the posters in the book have less than ten known copies in existence, and many have only one or two examples remaining.

By early in the 20th century, the one sheet 27” x 41” posters began to be used for theatrical advertising. This was the standard size, used inside the lobbies or in showcases outside, and printed on a light paper stock. They were printed in quantity and leased to the theaters by the movie studios. Pressbooks were provided to theater owners to choose other sizes, also, such as the 11” x 14” lobby cards. However, the large 30” x 40” and 40” x 60” were usually not included in these pressbooks, so were rarely ordered. It is primarily these large posters, printed on a heavy stock, that are the subject of this book.

Not only were they large, but also bulky, and most were disposed of or re-used (the back was very useful for other advertising purposes,) when the feature film was over.

The graphics of these posters is wonderful, and almost anyone can enjoy just browsing through the book, and remembering some of the old movies, especially those of the mid-20th century.

The World’s Rarest Movie Posters (ISBN: 978-0-7643-3498-6), hard-cover, is priced at $39.99. Check with your local bookseller or see the Schiffer on-line catalog at www.schifferbooks.com.

Donna Miller

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Collector Book Identifies & Prices
Novelty Timepieces

When I think of novelty watches and clocks, I think of Mickey Mouse watches. And I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the first thought that many others have, also. A Mickey Mouse watch seems to be the epitome of novelty and/or character watches.

This type of timekeeping device is the subject of Character & Novelty Clocks & Watches, by Jim and Merlyn Collings, a recent publication of Collector Books.

According to the authors, however, novelty watches are actually much older than Mickey Mouse, dating back to the 19th century. These aren’t easy to find any more; most were inexpensive to start with , and discarded when they no longer worked.

The book begins with advertising pieces. You’ll see examples of such pieces as Buster Brown and Coca Cola pocket watches and Mr. Peanut and Kool-Aid wristwatches.

There are alarm clocks featuring everything from Hopalong Cassidy to the Maltese Falcon (and, of course, Mickey Mouse.) Some are animated, which are especially interesting.

Another section portrays animated shelf clocks. There’s a Statue of Liberty clock – no, she doesn’t move, but there are moving boats near her base. A Huckleberry Finn clock has Huck moving his fishing pole up and down, while fish swim in the stream below.

The section on comic watches contains most of the cartoon characters – and Mickey wasn’t the only one to appear on a watch, although there were certainly dozens of varieties of these. Howdy Doody, Jiminy Cricket and Paul Bunyan are just a sampling of the others.

Other sections of the book include watches and clocks featuring famous personalities, Scouting, and Western characters.

Character & Novelty Clocks & Watches (ISBN: 978-1-57432-690-1) includes a suggested value for each item. The book is priced at $29.95. Check with your local bookseller or visit www.collectorbooks.com online.

Donna Miller

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