Lancaster Glass Was Prominent In Its Day

BOOK REVIEW

The Lancaster Glass Company, located in Lancaster, Ohio, was one of the prominent glass manufacturers of the early 20th century in the manufacture of tableware and decorative glass pieces. It is the glass that it produced during the Depression-era that is of most interest to collectors. Lancaster Glass Company, 1908-1937, a value and identification guide by John P. Zastowney, traces the history of this company in a recent Collector Books publication.

The company’s wares were very similar to those produced by several other companies during this same period of time, and this book will be of great help to collectors in correctly identifying many pieces of glass that have either been unidentified or incorrectly identified.

[I speak from personal experience. One of the candleholders pictured on the back cover is Lancaster’s Iris Ice, the name the company gave to its crystal stretch glass. I mistakenly purchased it to use in a display of Fenton stretch glass, which has a very similar color. Fortunately, a knowledgeable friend straightened me out, and I withdrew it from the display. A year or so later, we sold it to Mr. Zastowney; he said it would be on the cover of his book, and we’re delighted to see it there. My mistake found a happy home.]

The Hocking Glass Company purchased controlling interest in Lancaster in 1924, and this has led to some confusion for collectors, since blanks and design styles began to be used interchangeably by the two companies. Hocking marketed both its wares and those of Lancaster in combined advertising and at trade shows, and continued to use the Lancaster name until 1937, when it, in turn, went through another merger and became Anchor Hocking Glass Corporation. At that time, the Lancaster name was discontinued and the company ceased to exist.

While most of the book is devoted to the Lancaster Glass Company, there are also brief sections on the Lotus Glass Co., the Monongah Glass Co. and the Standard Glass Mfg. Co.

 Lotus was a decorating company, and used blanks from several different companies, including Lancaster.

The Monongah Glass Co., at one time a huge manufacturer of stemware and tableware , was located on the West Virginia side of the Ohio River valley. There has been little reference material available on this plant, although the building is still standing. In 1927, Lancaster took over all of Monongah’s handmade lines.

The Standard Glass Mfg. Co., also located in Ohio, was organized in 1924, and Hocking owned a 60 per cent interest in it. Standard was Hocking’s primary cutting company and did many cuttings and etchings on Lancaster blanks. (The two Standard plants are still in operation today, under the Anchor Hocking name.)

Lancaster Glass, 1908-1937 (ISBN: 978-1-57432-568-3) should be a must-have in the library of anyone who sells or collects Depression-era glassware. It is priced at $29.95. Contact your local bookseller of order online at www.collectorbooks.com

Donna Miller

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Mom & Dad Could Surf While Kids
Played In The Sand

BOOK REVIEW

Summertime fun for children for many years has meant playing in the sand - whether it be at the beach or a sandbox in the backyard. And playing in the sand needs a sand pail.

Among the most popular sand pails through the years have been those made of tin, and if they’ve been decorated with cartoon characters, they’ve been especially desirable. These are the subject of Comic Character Metal Sand Toys, by Doug & Pat Wengel.

Character metal sand toys have been made since the 1920s, and some are still being made today. Frequently they came with candy, with the cartoon character helping to do the marketing. Once the candy was gone, the pail could be used for play.

As is true with most collectibles, condition and rarity are the major influences on value. Since these were outside toys, the condition is often poor, especially with those which were used at a salt-water beach. In general, larger pails have more value, and an original shovel also adds value.

The characters included in this book include some from many years ago, such as Baby Snooks and the Katzenjammer Kids. There are also some new ones, such as SpongeBob SquarePants. The Disney characters, Raggedy Ann, Davy Crockett, Betty Boop and many more are just a few of the others you’ll find examples of in the book.

Comic Character Metal Sand Toys (ISBN: 978-0-7643-2851-0) is priced at $39.95 and includes a price guide.

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While the little kids are playing at the beach with their sand pails, older members of the family might be out on their surfboards, catching a wave.

This sport has given rise to another whole field of collecting, and many examples are included in Surf Art: Graphics and Memorabilia, by Rod Sumpter.

Sumpter as been a champion surfer for many years, and this book is a compilation of graphics and collectibles from around the world. Movie posters, handbills, magazine covers, decals, patches, vintage photographs, advertising, trophies, program books and ticket stubs are among the items photographed in this book.

If you like to catch a wave yourself,  watch it done by someone else, or just admire the amazing control that surfers exhibit, you’ll enjoy this book. It’s an interesting collection of graphics for their own sake, too.

Surf Art: Graphics and Memorabilia (ISBN: 0-7643-2495-0) is priced at $24.95 and includes a value guide.

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Both books are published by Schiffer Publishing. Check with your local bookseller; contact Schiffer at (610) 593-1777; or see the online catalog at www.schifferbooks.com.

Donna Miller

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Newspaper Articles Detail Quilt Making

BOOK REVIEW
 

For about two centuries, the women of America have been taking their scraps of fabric and piecing them into quilts. Sometimes these quilts, many of them works of art, caught the attention of local newspapers, and mention of them was made in the press. Quilting News of Yesteryear, 1,000 Pieces and Counting, by Sue Reich, is a compilation of these newspaper accounts, placed on a colorful background of quilts contemporary with the news article being quoted. It is a colorful look at a portion of quilting history.
 

In 1834, the Adams Sentinel of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, reported “A young lady in Charleston, S.C. has recently manifested the possession of an uncommon stock of patience and perseverance, in the completion of two great achievements of the needle - a Hexagon Quilt, composed of 7630 pieces, and a Star Quilt composed of 7239 pieces.”
 

In 1859 another Gettysburg publication, the Gettysburg Compiler, reported that “An old folks quilting took place at Smith Sutton, Mass., a few days since. The “quilting” was done at the house of widow Joshua Luckey, and was attended by sixteen ladies, whose united ages amount to ten hundred and fifty four years...”
 

The Globe, of Atchison, Kansas, reported in 1881 that “...an old lady named Miss Kate Smith, blind from infancy, has made a quilt containing 55,550 pieces. She worked on this quilt three years; used 100 spools of thread, and threaded every needle herself. Miss Smith is an inmate of the Union Home for aged ladies in Philadelphia, the Press, of that city, vouches for the truth of this seeming improbable feat.”
 

All of the quilts mentioned in the 300 newspaper articles contained in the book had a minimum of a thousand pieces and most had many, many more. One can truly appreciate the work these ladies did and the esteem in which their work was held by their local communities.
 

Quilting News of Yesteryear, 1,000 Pieces and Counting, ISBN: 0-7643-2595-7) is a 2007 Schiffer publication. It is priced at $25.95.
 

Donna Miller

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