NOTES FOR COLLECTORS
1. A small pocket lens is invaluable in studying the designs on Sandwich glass.
2. The mounting of specimens on black satine brings out a higher refractive quality of the glass than when mounted on velvet.
3. Specimens that show signs of wear may be touched up and made brilliant by a slight application of the banana oil lacquer.
4. “Rust” a term for the scum that rose to the surface of the pot and had to be thoroughly removed by skimming, often appears on specimens making them less valuable for collection. A weak solution of acid will improve the glass in such cases.
Many interesting facts concerning Sandwich glass have been gained from contact with owners of inherited specimens in the remote districts of New England—in many cases the descendants of glass blowers whose knowledge is real, not based upon hearsay in going from shop to shop.
The popular term “Snake-skin” refers to the resemblance of the stippled back ground in early Sandwich glass to the skin of a snake. I like the term Lace glass better as it more clearly conveys the delicacy of treatment. There was a later glass produced by the Sandwich works in 1875 in order to meet the popular demand at less expense. This might well be called Snake-skin because the stippling is so merged that the term applies to it much more than to the fine early specimen. This glass was made in machine cut molds. There was more background than detail and the pieces were sold in cheap sets.
Throughout this work the author has in every instance purposely omitted the question of values. The value of old things is not intrinsic. It is governed by the demand and not by set prices. Inestimable harm has been done unintentionally by popular magazine writers who have quoted prices forgetting that those who go far afield may pay to-day a large price for a piece that to-morrow they find for a song, thus evening up the collecting average. The mere quotation of a price means nothing to the real collector but it immediately plants in the minds of the uninitiated who do not discriminate between their treasures the idea that they can get the amount quoted and more next time and so the practice of “hoarding” and “pyramiding” is established. It begins with the farmer’s wife and does not stop with the dealer and collector until the modest collector becomes discouraged and his interest dies. To the very few who understand the joy of exchanging duplicate specimens regardless of value and of taking a small profit over what they pay thus enabling them to complete their collections in the spirit of olden days this book is dedicated.
As the reproduction of blown glass is easier than pressed there is a certain joy in owning fine specimens of the latter. The field is too broad and the designs too intricate to tempt the modern mold maker. The machine product is too obviously regular and lacks the silvery brightness produced in old pressed glass by the use of barytes and the artistic technique of the hand made mold.