The Sandwich Glass Museum, Sandwich, MA
The Sandwich Glass Museum in Sandwich, Massachusetts, will present a glimpse into the past with its 22nd Annual Antique and Collectible Glass Show and Sale on September 12th and 13th in the Skylight Room of the nearby Corpus Christi Parish.
On hand for the two-day show will be 45 prominent dealers of antique American and European glassware displaying pieces of virtually every age and description. Highlights include the glass of Tiffany, Steuben, Durand, and Quezel; French glass from Galle and Daum; and Depression-era pressed glass by Heisey, Imperial, and Cambridge. Naturally, the show will also feature a colorful array of Sandwich glass, plus reference books on glass of every era as well as free historic glass identification. Accompanying the antique dealers will be several contemporary artists, most notably Charles Lotton, a Chicago glassblower known for his masterful manipulation of color.
Show director Doug Reed points to the presence of author and renowned appraiser Joan Kaiser as the highlight for collectors. She will be promoting her new book, The Glass Industry in South Boston, a painstakingly researched history of and collectors’ guide to nineteenth-century glass manufacturing in the region.
New Jersey glass dealer Carlese Westock sets up shop at last year's show.
The Sandwich Glass Museum itself is a true historical gem. Based in Sandwich, the oldest town on Cape Cod, the museum tirelessly collects, preserves, and interprets a local history steeped in glass; Massachusetts craftsmen began producing glassware as early as 1820, efforts that eventually yielded the region’s booming glass manufacturing industry. Today, the museum focuses almost exclusively on Sandwich glass, with thousands of antique pieces produced in the town.
“It’s an amazing medium,” says museum spokeswoman Elaine Thomas. “We have glass here that we’ve been making since the 1800s. It’s the same medium today, but it’s just remarkable to see how it’s evolved over the years.”
—Brett Nuckles