​Cameo glass is an art form that was largely developed in England and France in the mid to late nineteenth century. However, examples of cameo glass supposedly date back to a time before the birth of Christ. Cameo glass is glass that has been carved. Typically items like vases have various scenes and decorations delicately carved into the glass. The carving process of the nineteenth century included acid etching and hand tools. And acid resistant material, or resist, is applied to the glass to prevent the etching from an acid, like hydrofluoric acid, into which the glass piece is dipped. The acid dipping creates the basic shaped of the artwork on the glass piece. The finer details are often obtained with drills and other glass carving tools. Unlike wheel carved decorations in glass where the glass piece is moved against a stationary grinding wheel, the glass piece of a cameo creation is kept stationary on a well padded bench and worked with fine glass tools. Generally, multiple layers of glass, also known as cased glass, are used with different colors. Scenes carved into the glass appear much more vibrant using contrasting colors of layered glass. The initial glass vase is called a blank.
Several English families were well known for making fine glass. The Richardson family and Webb family of the Stourbridge area started several firms in the second quarter of the nineteenth century. Many well known glass artists worked for Ben Richardson including John Northwood, Joseph Locke and George Woodall. Among the most well known pieces made by the Richardson glass house was those of Alphonse Lechevrel of France. Working in England for only two years, he created six very important pieces in 1877 and 1878.
John Northwood received his training and education in glass making at Richardson's glass house starting at the age of 12 years old in 1848. Northwood became a very prolific and skilled craftsman while under the employment of Richardson. In 1860, John and his brother Joseph formed a small glass shop of their own. Once piece that John made was vase called “Elgin” which depicted a scene from the frieze of the Parthenon. This piece came to be known as the first successful carved glass piece in modern times. It took Northwood nine years to complete the extremely detailed vase. The carving of the Elgin vase gave Northwood the confidence to attempt the creation of the Portland vase.
The Portland vase is a glass cameo vase that was discovered in the early seventeenth century. Believed to have been made by Greek craftsmen from Alexandria, it probably dates to the birth of Christ or before. It was discovered in a sarcophagus near Rome. It was purchased by an Englishman and the sold to the Duchess of Portland, where it became known as the Portland Vase. The vase is composed of a very dark blue glass with a white glass layer that was carved to depict two distinct scenes, most likely of mythological origins. The vase still exists today in the British Museum in London.
John Northwood took on the task of recreating the Portland Vase along with glass maker Philip Pargeter. Completed in 1876, the final carved piece was an exact match to the finely detailed Portland Vase. Today, Northwood's example resides at the Corning Museum of Glass in New York. Many other major cameo pieces were completed by Northwood prior to his death in 1902. Northwood's son, John II, also was an accomplished glass artist and cameo glass carver. He worked for Stevens & Williams. As an interesting aside, John Northwood's other son, Harry Northwood was a very accomplished glass artist as well. Harry came to America in 1880 and started the Northwood Company in 1896 after working for many well known glass houses. One of Harry's students in the glass business was Frank Fenton, who went on to start the well known Fenton Art Glass Company which finally ceased traditional glass making in 2011.
Another extremely well known cameo glass business was that of Thomas Webb & Sons. One of the most talented artists that worked for Webb was George Woodall. Woodall made hundreds of cameo glass pieces in exquisite detail and size. George and his brother, Tom, started working for Webb in the mid 1870's. By the mid 1880's, George was making cameo glass with handtools he developed. A delicately applied chisel was his most often used method of carving cameo glass. By the time he retired in 1911, George had designed and made hundreds of meticulously carved cameo pieces, the finest of which bear the signature “GEM CAMEO”.
A slightly bit later to the cameo glass scene was the French glass houses. French cameo glass was first produced around the mid 1880's, peaking in production between 1895 and 1905. There were many French glass artist skilled in the making of cameo glass. However, a couple of names stand out: Emile Gallé and Daum. Gallé was the most well known French cameo glass artist and his works continue to be the most collectible. He was very well educated and especially well versed in the natural sciences including the flora and fauna of the countryside near the French town of Nancy where he was born. He applied this knowledge of the living world to his glass creations. He first exhibited his cameo glass creations in 1889 at the Paris exposition. It immediately was well received. While signing works of glass art at the time was not a widely accepted practice, Gallé signed nearly every piece he made. Today's collector should be careful to note that cameo glass with a Gallé signature is the most widely reproduced type of cameo glass to be made.
The Daum family of Nancy, France is also a very well known glass maker. They produced cameo glass in the 1890's and 1900's. Their works were often acid cut with enamel and gold decoration. As with Gallé pieces, there are a wide variety of reproduced Daum pieces on the market today.
While most of the English and French cameo production ceased to exist in any real quantity after 1930, there has been a small, yet talented resurgence in the creation of cameo glass today. There are some small studio glass artists creating cameo glass works. Aside from those that are making reproductions of Gallé and Daum pieces, there is a glass artist making extremely detailed cameo glass that harkens back to the days of its peak in popularity. Kelsey Murphy is a glass artist from Wayne, WV that rediscovered the cameo glass making process in the late 1980's and 1990's. Rather than using acid, she uses sandblasting to create very detailed scenes on multiple layers of glass. While it has been said that the Romans were able to create a six layer cameo glass piece, Murphy has the record for creating a 12 layer cameo glass creation. The process of making the glass blanks in that many layers and colors is a chemical and artistic achievement that, so far, is not being accomplished anywhere else. The Pilgrim Glass Company, along with Murphy, developed the glass blanks. However, the company shut off their kilns in 2002. Only time will tell if the art of cameo glass will rise from the ashes in the future.

This is such a well written article from Jane Prentiss at Skinnerinc.com.  A great introduction for identifying art and stuidio pottery.  http://www.skinnerinc.com/news/blog/how-to-identify-pottery-art-and-studio-pottery-guide/

Since half of #Rustandrelics is located in #Nashville, I thought this would be a great link to share from the fine folks of @roadshowpbs.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/tips/guitars.html
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This week, like most of America, I dreamed of what I would do if I won a billion dollars (which I decided I would still work....but just work in the antiques field full time).  You may not have won the lottery, but if you have this hidden away in your junk drawer, you won't have to work another day in your life...http://www.auctionnewsnetwork.com/stamps/ultra-rare-stamp-may-realize-20m/9420/

I had heard a podcast about this exact painting recently.  Then I just read the story on Kovels.  Moral of the story....keep your eyes open.  Many professionals saw this and had no idea they were looking at a Rembrandt.  You never know what you may find....

 http://www.kovels.com/news-news-news/opening-bid-250-for-the-painting-final-bid-over-1-million.html



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A few weeks ago at my "honey hole" of an auction house, I purchased a Civil War medal that was issued to all West Virginia soldiers, or their families, who served in WV regiments.  I knew what they were worth and made a great buy.  It wasn't until later that evening, as I was showing the medal to my family, that I recognized the name of the soldier for whom this medal was issued.  The soldier's name, as written on the original box and as inscribed on the side of the medal, is Andrew J. Harper of Company K, 13th Volunteer Regiment.  That regiment fought in a local skirmish known as the Skirmish at Hurricane Bridge, which is re-enacted annually in the spring in our hometown.  That regiment also fought in other battles in WV as well as points in Virginia.  The medal that I purchased is considered a Class III, which signifies that the soldier died of illness or from wounds received in battle. 
As I was showing my family, it struck me that our neighbor's last name is Harper.  I figured the chances were slim, but I wondered if there was any relation.  I contacted my neighbor to see if he knew much of his family history.  He gave me the name of his grandfather and great-grandfather.  After a couple of days of genealogy research, I found definitive proof that my neighbor's great-great-great-great-great grandfather's grandson was the same Andrew J. Harper.  I found a photograph online of his Civil War era head stone in a cemetery in Annapolis, MD.  After a little more research, I determined that there was no reason for the 13th Regiment to be in the area of Annapolis.  However, there was a camp there known as Camp Parole.  It was a camp used to rehabilitate soldiers received after prisoner exchanges.  The camp was a filthy place where many soldiers became diseased.  Those that died from their disease are largely buried in the National Cemetery in Annapolis.  So Andrew J. Harper was captured as a prisoner of war, most likely during one of the heated exchanges in Virginia.  After several months, he was transferred to Camp Parole from a prison camp most likely in Charleston, SC.  He died in the hospital of Camp Parole.
After I made the link to my neighbor, I contacted him with the information.  He was excited to hear about the news and shared the story with his dad.  I met with both of them a short while later and showed them the medal, as well as the additional information I had discovered.  They asked me how much I wanted for the medal, and I told them I would sell it to them for what I had in it.  The opportunity to reunite this medal with the family was all the profit I needed.  Sometimes you just have to do the right thing when it comes to picking.
So today, on Father's Day, I met with my neighbor and his young son in my house.  We presented the medal to him with little fanfare.  I'm sure he will treasure this piece of history and pass it down to his son some day.  Hopefully, the medal and the story will be part of their family again for many years to come.

Waves

One thing I've learned quick is that all things Rust and Relics come in waves.  Sometimes you may go weeks between great finds.  Other times, it seems like everywhere you stop, the rainbow ends in the pot of gold.  One weekend you'll go to 10 yards sales a day on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, an auction Saturday evening, and search the Craigslist ads with just a few small items that will barely pay for your gas.  You get to an estate sale, and someone is already walking around the sale with the one rare item that you'd LOVE to have.  Yet again, you were late by minutes because you chose to go to another sale first that ended up having nothing.  The following weekend, all 10 yard sales have some great items that pay your monthly bills and leave you with profit.  It can be very cyclical.  This business is not unlike a commissioned sales person.  You live and die by the sale.  Here are some tips and suggestions that I have for you when going through the slower periods.

1.  When you are in a good stretch of great finds and great sales, save some money, both for bills and also to have additional picking money.  Store some away, you'll be glad you did.  Inevitably, you'll eventually happen across a mega-pick, and you'll have just used some money to pay bills.  Then you can't afford some of the items of the mega-pick.  Then in turn, you won't be able to sell the items from said mega-pick and this just becomes a downward spiral.  This is a dangerous spiral that will leave you without inventory money, which is one of the quickest ways to go out of business.

2.  During slow times, there is always PLENTY you can do.  Work on selling old inventory.  Everyone that's been in this business for any amount of time will have plenty of old inventory that hasn't been sold yet.  Or you may have items that you haven't researched yet until you had more time...well, now you do.  Get this stuff listed.  Generate sales and the money that you need to keep going.   Also, take time to learn more and educate yourself about many things.  Even if you're a specialist, you don't know it all....that I promise you.

3.  Don't give up.  Don't get discouraged.  When the slow times hit, and they will, you'll get to the point of not wanting to get out of your house at 6am on Saturday morning.  You look at an auction listing and think "I'd go if there were better items coming up for auction".  You can't do that.  You must persist.  Just because you've been to 50 sales in a row without so much as a single buy doesn't mean that the 51st doesn't have a 1 in a million item.  One sale is not directly related to the other at all.  It's like playing poker.  The cards have no memory.  Sure, you may have been sucked out on a pair of Aces in the hole the past 3 times you were dealt them, but you can't not play them the 4th time just because you're "sure" you'll get sucked out on again.  Can you tell I lived in Vegas for nearly 6 years and love to play poker?  But I digress.  To find the rare items, you have to be looking.  And let's face it, finding the relics is so much fun.   That's one of the biggest (and with the majority of people I meet in this business, THE biggest) reasons we do what we do....the thrill of the hunt.  Remember, this is only a spell.  This too shall pass.  Then you'll find something great and the bad streak will be over and the euphoria from finding it will help you forget the drought.

    If you have been reading our blogs, you might have caught on that we generally sell our finds on eBay.  Sure we have a store section on this website to showcase some of our better items, but let's be realistic.  eBay sees a TON more traffic than our website.  I know, this may come as a shock to some, what with the amazing photos, engaging articles, and clever blogs.  But eBay brings the world to your storefront.  And speaking of storefront, I was referring to our virtual storefront.  With selling on the internet, we have no lease, utilities, store hours, employees, etc.  Our eBay listings are available 24 hours a day.  And believe me, people buy at all hours of the day and night.  Yet this access does come at a cost.
    Just to prepare you, if you decide to sell on eBay, there are fees.  There are listing fees associated with just listing an item for sale.  This is currently only 30 cents per item.  And there are final value fees that is a percentage of your sell price (including shipping).  The final value fee is currently calculated at 10% of your sell price plus shipping.  And there are fees for you to receive your money.  By and large, eBay users sign up for PayPal.  This is a separate website that is linked to your eBay account (PayPal is a subsidiary of eBay - how convenient).  The PayPal account is also tied to your checking account.  This lets you move your money from PayPal to your bank account so you can actually get the cash in your hands.  Paypal is also generally used to directly pay your eBay fees on a monthly basis.  You can also use PayPal on other websites to pay for goods.  And there are some brick and mortar stores that are starting to accept payment via PayPal.  Paypal also has fees for each transaction that generally figures to 30 cents plus 2.9% of the transaction amount.  I will give an example of all of these fees in a bit.
    First, we have to decide the best way to sell an item.  Lets say you have a Super Terrific Widget.  It is red and has three stars on the side of it.  The first thing you need to do is determine what you think your Super Terrific Widget is worth.  If you go back to our blog on "Knowledge is Power", you will see some of the ways to determine value.  If you are selling on eBay, you always want to check the price for which other people are selling their Super Terrific Widget.  In your search you find all kinds of Widgets.  Some are reproduction widgets selling for $5 and some are authentic widgets selling for around $25.  There are a few red Super Terrific Widgets that are selling for $40.  However, there is only one that has three stars on the side and it sold for $100.  How lucky for you!
    So now you have an idea of price.  It is easiest to click on the one that sold for $100 and just click on "Sell it yourself" to bring up the selling dialog box to insert all your pertinent information.  It uses the same categories and title.  I always edit the title a bit so I'm not just copying someone's work.  The important thing about the title is that this is how searches are accomplished in eBay.  If you search for "red Super Terrific Widget", you won't get search results for blue ones.  So the title is very important.  eBay allows 80 characters in a title.  Use every character that you can to describe your item.  In our example, I would do something like this:  Rare Red Super Terrific Widget - Three Stars on Side - Excellent Condition - WORKS!  It is amazing how many items are just listed as Widget or Cute Little Widget.  If there are hundreds of widgets listed for sale, good luck getting someone to find yours.  The key is to be as specific as possible. 
    Aside from the title, the next most important thing is pictures.  Actually, this may even trump the title.  I go to great pains in taking clear, crisp, and in-focus pictures.  The smallest details are critical.  And since you don't want to misrepresent an item, photos of flaws are just as critical.  eBay allows up to 12 photos.  Use them all.  In all honesty, your photos sell your item.  You can give a great, detailed description about the item, but if your photos are of poor quality, forget it.  People are generally quite visual so your pictures will largely dictate whether someone buys your item or passes on it.  Also, keep in mind that the first photo that is uploaded will be the photo used when doing a search.  I use a photo box with a graduated white to black background and lighting.  Camera flashes are not very helpful since they tend to mask any shadows and make the photo look more two dimensional than three dimensional.  I also use a digital camera with a macro setting for close-ups.  Some items, especially glass, are very difficult to photograph without having reflections or glare.  It takes some doing, but you can work with light filters and camera angles to minimize these problems.
    After uploading your photos, it is time to describe your item.  You don't need to write a book.  Just describe what you have.  They can generally see what you are selling by the photos.  However, you do want to highlight any special information about the item, like your widget has only had one owner or possibly how you determined it is in full working order.  You also want to accurately describe any defects you noted.  Depending on the item, I may give a very brief history of the item or the company, especially if it adds to the item.  For instance, I recently sold a lighted sign by the first company in the US to offer lighted signs.  That is a pertinent detail.  Telling about who the president of the company was is not a pertinent detail.
    The next item to decide is how you would like to sell your item.  eBay allows two general methods: Auction-style or Buy-It-Now.  You can select both.  For instance, you can start an auction at $25 with a Buy-It-Now price of $75.  However, I never use that.  I mean, who will pay $75 if they think they can get it for $25 or $50?  I generally have been using Buy-It-Now recently, especially since they have added a Best Offer option.  This allows you to set a price, but allows people to make you an offer for less.  For instance, you list your Red Super Terrific Widget for $100 or Best Offer.  If someone has been looking for one for a while, they may pop (buy) immediately for the $100.  If there are some others listed, they may make you an offer for $85.  It is up to you whether you accept the offer or counter the offer.  I feel like this is more like a real antique shop.  People going into antique shops expect the proprietor to come down on the price some.  I am fine with that.  As long as I make an acceptable profit, I am happy to let the other person feel good about getting a good deal.
    One item not to just brush over is shipping options.  When you are setting up an item to sell, you have several options for shipping.  You can ship via US Postal Service, FedEx, UPS, or even request no shipping with local pickup only.  Local pickup may work if you live in a larger metropolitan area.  But it will limit your sales.  If someone in California wants your widget, they aren't going to travel to North Carolina to pick it up.  I generally use US Postal Service for my shipping.  Their rates are competitive and they offer discounts when shipping is purchased through eBay.  If the item is large, FedEx is generally a better option, at least for me.  Shipping is really up to you.  This is just how I roll.  You can also select Free Shipping on any item.  This definitely has its merits for smaller items.  Some people are really drawn to free shipping and may draw more people to look at your item.
    Finally, you need to determine the conditions of your sell.  Will you accept returns?  If so, what are the conditions?  I always select the option of accepting returns as long as the item is received in the same condition as it was shipped.  A lot of people that sell on eBay do not accept returns.  However, my goal is making a happy customer.  I am human.  I may miss a defect or critical detail.  If so, I will gladly refund someone's purchase and will generally even eat the shipping costs.  I feel that is only the right thing to do.
    For our Widget example, lets assume you list it for $100 or best offer.  You take amazing photographs.  You give a clear, concise description.  You proof read everything.  And you read it all again just to be sure.  Then you hit the button to list your item for the world to see.  Depending on your item, the supply and demand laws of retail, and many other factors, your item may sell quick or it may take a while.  If it is an auction style, it can be exciting to watch the bids, assuming you have an item on which people are willing to bid.  For our widget, it sales in a few days for $100.  You are thrilled, excited, ready to take on the world!  However, now you need to carefully package and ship your item.  Packing an item for shipment is really a whole other blog.  The buyer pays the $100 plus the $10 shipping charge.  After eBay fees ($0.30 + 10%($110)) and PayPal Fees ($0.30 + 2.9%($110)) and after you pay for shipping (say $9 for our example), you can withdraw $86.21.  Hopefully you bought the widget for less than, say $45.  Generally speaking, the goal is to double your money on the investment, unless the item is worth several hundred dollars.  If that is the case, you need to decide a good profit margin.  Congratulations!  You sold your first item!!

Well if it isn't the Price is Right game, what is it?  It simply is an art glass company that has been around for over 100 years.  But they are best known for their mid-century modern glass.  And it can be quite collectible.

So what is it about glass that makes it collectible? Is it the challenge to see how long we can keep it without breaking it? If you have kids like me, that is truly a challenge! Well, even though I usually buy and sell glass, among other things, sometimes I just have to hold onto certain pieces. Some of those pieces were made by Blenko. The real desirable pieces were made in the 1960's and 70's. I suppose one of the reasons I tend to like their glass is because they are just a few miles down the road from me. I have been through their factory, watched the glass blowers puff their cheeks, and walked through the kaleidoscope of discarded glass piles.

Even though I'm sure I am biased, Blenko glass has a very distinctive mid-century modern look. It is definitely an artwork. And sadly, a dying art. The factory has recently come out of bankruptcy, but they are likely to go the way of many other glass houses. Yet their vases, pitchers, whimsies, and decanters continue to find life on the shelves of many collectors. The bright colors are very distinctive and the characteristics can easily be learned.

Blenko glass is hand blown and it takes a team of workers to make one piece. Typically, you will see a pontil scar on the bottom where the metal blow pipe was connected to the molten glass. In this case, the scar is a good thing! Not like the scar I got that one time...well...anyway. Blenko glass has a fire polished rim. This means that it is rounded and not perfect. One key to decanters is to look at the stopper. The inside of the decanter mouth is ground. The outside of the stopper is also ground. Some decanters may look like Blenko, but always check the stopper. After you look at several pieces of Blenko glass, you will oftentimes be able to see a piece across the room at an antique store and know it is Blenko. The color is that destinctive. I've shown enough pieces to my seven year old that when I bring home a piece, he immediately knows it is Blenko just by the color and the shape. The shapes are quite flowing and curvaceous.

As with just about anything worth collecting, there are copies out there. I hesitate to call them fakes since they are made by other quality art glass shops. Not all pieces have copies, but it is something to be keep in mind.

I'm sure I will come across other great pieces, especially considering where I live. I just hope the kids don't decide to play home run derby next to the display cabinet.

Jacob

Very early in my picking and selling, I quickly came to the realization that there is a collector for everything.  One fascinating, if not a tad eccentric, group of collectors I have found is one who collects things that are radioactive.  It is somewhat surprising how many antiques and collectibles give off some level of radiation.  I’m not talking amounts that will require the big yellow hooded suits.  But they are radioactive, nonetheless.

I looked into this topic when a friend of mine, Stephanie Riley, posed the question about flying back home to Arizona after buying a piece of Vaseline glass in West Virginia.  Vaseline glass is an antique glass that is generally transparent and has a yellowish or greenish hue.  However, when you place this glass under a black light, it looks…well…radioactive.  It glows a vibrant, bright green.  This glass is also called Uranium Glass because Uranium Dioxide was used in the molten glass to give it the greenish-yellow color in the final piece.  Most pieces of Vaseline, or Uranium, Glass were made in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  However, there are companies that still make the glass today.   Pieces made today are decorative and not intended to be used with food or drink consumption.  Just to give you an idea, a worker transporting the Uranium Glass from the factory to the warehouse would receive, on average, 4 mrem/year (millirem/year).

Another collectible that is radioactive is clocks and watches with glow-in-the-dark faces or hands.  The faces or hands were painted with radioluminescent paint containing radium.  The peak era of production of these pieces was the early 1900’s (what is it about that time frame?).  Radium dials were hand painted, generally by young women.  Who has licked the end of a paintbrush to make very fine lines when painting?  Well, these young women did too and suffered the consequences of the radiation in the form of jaw bone degeneration.  Once the connection was made to the radium, the women sued their company, the U. S. Radium Corporation, who told them the paint was harmless.  The Radium Girls, as they became known, won their suit.  These watch and clock faces can still give off 20 to 100 mrem/year.  So you may think twice about wearing a watch with a radium face.

One widely used collectible with serious amounts of radiation is Fiestaware.  Now, before you go and call in a hazmat team for your Fiestaware collection beside your dinner table, you need to know that only the pieces made before 1972 may contain varying amounts of radioactive goodness.  Generally speaking, the reds and oranges contain the highest amounts.  Again, it is not recommended to eat or drink from Fiestaware that was made prior to 1972.  Higher amounts can be found in pre-WWII pieces.  Red pieces from the first years of production have been measured to give off between 30 and 40 mrem/year.  However, if you have a collection of the old red pieces, you can multiply that amount.  For instance, an 8 place setting containing a dinner plate, salad plate, and bowl would give off about 720 mrem/year.

While it is generally safe to own radioactive items, it is good practice not to lick them or wear them.  Some common sense goes a long way.  When I was going through college, I was in a work program where I went to school a semester and worked a semester.  The place I worked was the North Anna Nuclear Power Station.  That was a different story.  I did have to wear the big yellow hooded suit a few times when I went into highly contaminated areas of the plant.  It was all very safe though.  Extremely safe.  As a part of my attire, I wore a digital dose meter when I went into these high radiation areas.  I think the highest I ever saw on my meter was around 40 mrem/hour.  I was only in that area for about 10 minutes, so my dose was still quite low.  The limit allowed in a year was 5000 mrem.  On average, the public receives about 500 to 600 mrem in a year from background radiation and medical procedures.  I hope you can see from these numbers that having a collection of bright red Fiestaware will increase your radiation levels only slightly.  Even with the background radiation, if you carried around the 8 place setting mentioned above every day of the year, you would still be at only 1320 mrem.  The key is the same thing we learned in our safety videos at the power plant – time, distance and shielding.  It may be difficult to put up a lead wall in front of your China cabinet.  But a little common sense would tell you not to use the Vaseline glass tumbler for your rinse cup when brushing your teeth twice a day.  Oh, and Stephanie made it back to Arizona with her Vaseline glass just fine.  And that was even after being selected for pre-screening at the airport.