[PA-NJ Glassblowers] Online "Cabin Fever" auction of antique glass bottles and glass whimsies
Tony Patti
gaffer at glassblower.info
Sun Jan 20 11:46:09 EST 2013
>From Friday's Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper:
http://articles.philly.com/2013-01-19/news/36417644_1_defensive-linemen-foot
balls-art-glass/2
Absentee bottle sale. Glass Works Auctions of East Greenville, Pa., is
conducting an online absentee "Cabin Fever" sale of bottles, pickle and
fruit jars, inkwells, fire grenades, stoneware jugs, and whimseys, the
sometimes playful objects that glass blowers made for their own pleasure at
the end of the work day. The deadline on bidding, which has begun, is 11
p.m. Monday.
The 280-lot sale opens with three dozen lots of bottles for bitters, the
patent medicine for stomach ailments (these days about 90 proof) that became
popular in the mid-19th century. The lot attracting the most attention is a
circa 1880 New York amber Tippecanoe bottle; bidding reached $1,100 early
this week.
The highest overall bid so far is for a pint bottle depicting a bust of
Washington, "the Father of his Country," made around 1850 by the Dyottville
Glassworks of Philadelphia. With 18 bids registered, it had already reached
$5,500, well above its presale estimate of $3,500 to $4,500.
Of local interest, though with more modest expectations, is an emerald green
pint bottle made around 1875 by the Whitney Glassworks of Glassboro. Its
presale estimate is $250 to $350.
Stoneware includes a circa-1830 New York gallon jug ($800 to $1,400). Among
the fire grenades (used to stop fires, not start them) is a circa-1890
"Healey's hand fire extinguisher" ($1,800 to $2,750).
The top inkwell is one shaped like a log cabin, made around 1890 by George
Ohr ($2,500 to $3,500). Nine of the 10 pickle jars are in the "cathedral"
style, so named because of their similarity to gothic arches. They should
bring $180 to $900.
The whimseys include four free-blown drum major batons ($400 to $600), a
half-dozen free-blown canes ($180 to $350), and a circa-1875 blue-green
drinking vessel from the Saratoga Springs area described in the auction
catalog as an "extremely rare end-of-day glass blowers whimsy" ($2,500 to
$3,500).
http://www.glswrk-auction.com/
If you click on the thumbnail images, there are some nice high-resolution
images.
The inkwells and other whimsies start around lot# 143.
I was particularly curious about the "fire grenades", an early form of fire
extinguishers.
I found more information here:
http://antiqueshoppefl.com/articles/july08/grenadebottles.htm
111. Fire Grenade, "HAYWARD'S HAND - GRENADE FIRE - NEW YORK /
EXTINGUISHER", New York, ca. 1875 - 1900, yellowish amber, 6 5/8"h, "DESIGN
PATD." on smooth base, sheared and tooled lip, original contents, perfect
condition. A very rare fire grenade in both the larger size and color that
is normally found in either cobalt blue or clear glass.
Current Bid: $ 950 (10 Bids)
Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200
My favorite glass whimsies are still Jacob's Ladders, because they
demonstrate the flexibility of very thin glass.
I have a web page about the Jacob's Ladders I made, and how I learned about
them:
http://www.glassblower.info/jacobs-ladder-glassblowing/jacobs-ladder-glassblowing.html
The end of that web page describes old Jacob's Ladder fragments being dug up
during 2011 by the
Archaeological Laboratory of URS Corporation as part of a large project
along the I-95 corridor just north of center city Philadelphia,
Most likely related to glassblowing activities at Dyottville Glass Works
during the 1800's.
http://planphilly.com/articles/2012/01/20/penndot-archaeologists-uncover-his
toric-dyottville-glass-works
Tony Patti
<http://www.glassblower.info> www.glassblower.info
<mailto:gaffer at glassblower.info> gaffer at glassblower.info
<http://www.glassblower.info/qr-code.html> QR Code for Tony Patti -
www.glassblower.info
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