[Newspaper]
Publication: The Cincinnati Enquirer
Cincinnati, OH, United States
vol. 110, no. 308, p. 1, Sect. 3, col. 5-7
Old Glass To Sparkle
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When Avid Collectors Gather For Anniversary Of Club
At Cincinnati Hotel
BY MAY DEARNESS.
THERE'LL BE sparkle aplenty at the Early American Glass Club's crystal anniversary dinner next Saturday at the Hotel Metropole, for charter members of the 15-year-old club will bring some of their finest glass, dating hack as far as 1820, for an exhibit at the celebration.
Founded here by Mrs. Samuel Joseph, a few years after the initial club was organized in Boston, the local group has grown from its charter membership of 10 to a list of 300 enthusiastic glass collectors of this area.
And enthusiastic they are many of them having outstanding collections which they have assembled over a long period of years, with much patience in seeking and long trips in obtaining.
Mrs. Joseph has hats — dozens of them in all sizes and colors of glass and beautiful old "friendship cups," traditional gifts of the by-gone century and all romantically labeled.
With her in the “original 10" — who have set the pace for the newcomers in the club — are Mrs. Frank M. Coppock, Mrs. Stanley M. Straus, Mrs. Carl Weber and Mrs. Bertrand Rauh, all Cincinnatians; Miss Perle Riley, Lebanon, and Mr. and Mrs. Henrv Kessling and the Misses Josephine and Helen Kessling, all of Hamilton.
Mrs. Coppock, who was the club's second President and who is chairman of the crystal anniversary, has an exceptionally rare collection of table settings in the famous old Westwood Ho, Bellflower, Three Face and Lion patterns. She is having a hard time deciding which one to bring to the party.
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THE KESSLING FAMILY has enviable pieces of the old caramel glass; Mrs. Straus has cup plates galore; Miss Riley specializes in lustre ware pitchers, and Mrs. Rauh has more pitchers.
So members are looking forward to quite a glitter on the sidelines at their coming party, just as they often have when they have their meetings at the homes of the various members who always arrange a display of their collections.
Dr. Parke G. Smith has gone in for bottles and flasks — thousands of them and some of them dating back to a little glass factory at Moscow, Ohio, 100 years ago. He's written about them for magazines.
Mrs. Charles S. Moch's rare "actress glass" with pictures of the great old-time actresses, was made for only a few years back in the 1870's at Bridgeport, Ohio. In her collection of Tiffany cut glass, she has a punch bowl now valued near four figures.
Mrs. N. A. Olson, now the President of the club, and her husband have divided their interests a bit in their collections. Mr. Olson has goblets — 500 of them and each a different pattern of long ago. Mrs. Olson's 100 plates are all of milk glass.
Mrs. R. N. Speckman's collection joy is milk glass, one of the most extensive assortments in this area, Mrs. Lloyd Uhl, who is reservations chairman of the coming party, has colored glass pitchers by the dozens, and Mrs. Luther Gambell has miniature lamps, 500 of them.
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NOW THE GLASS club members are taking a keen interest in trying to find some of the old glass made in Cincinnati before the 1850's.
The Hemingray family owned a glass company here at that time, William S. Wabnitz, Professor of English at the University of Cincinnati and Vice President of the glass club says. The factory was in Covington and the salesroom on Third Street. The prize output was crystal tableware, but the concern also made red bullseyes for railroad lanterns.
The company was sold to an Indiana concern and then to the Toledo Glass Co., which now manufacturers glass insulators for telephone and telegraph poles. The old Hemingray crystal tableware was very beautiful and has become highly valuable and the glass club members are out hunting. But they aren't sure just what they are looking for Mr. Wabnitz says, because they don't know exactly how the Hemingray crystal is marked.
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The prized glass pieces pictured here will make the heart of any collector pound madly. The covered compote flanked by decanters of matching pattern shown at the top are in the collection of Mrs. Frank M. Coppoch. People who know glass refer to the objects as Bellflower glass of 1820, Shown at right is the well-protected glass hat collection of Mrs. Samuel Joseph, founder of Cincinnati's Early American Glass Club. Mrs. Joseph prizes dozens of these hats in all sizes and colors.
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