Hi,
I hope you and yours have come safely through these past weeks; and I do so hope the efforts to achieve a united and safe world in the future may succeed.

Here is my latest Glass Newsletter. I think this is one of the most significant newsletters I have ever sent, - see what you think about the news on Davidson's glass below.

Welcome to all the new readers receiving my Glass Newsletter for the first time, I hope you find it interesting and useful.

1: Davidson's Cloud Glass:
This week has seen some amazing revelations for Cloud Glass collectors. The English Pressed Glass scene is being taken by storm and many major collections of Cloud Glass, including my own, are being carefully re-examined for "lodgers".

An article published by Pressglas-Korrespondenz (a German on-line magazine about glass) and written by Siegmar Geiselberger in their April 2001 issue, compared the Agate glass made by a German glassworks called August Walther and Son with Cloud Glass made by George Davidson's of Gateshead in England. The article included pictures of pages from the Walther catalogs from 1932, and guess what? - some of the most highly valued and rare pieces of Cloud Glass turn out to have been made by August Walther!

Frankly, I refused to believe it until I had examined the pictures and translated the text for myself. But there seems to be no doubt. Sepia Cloud Glass and Violet Cloud Glass were made by Walther. Briar/topaz was a color which seems to have been made by both firms. And cloud glass pieces with external moulded decorations (flowers, lines, etc) were most likely made by Walther. Just what this will mean for the value of rare colors in Cloud Glass is anybody's guess at this stage.

Credit goes to Glen and Steve Thistlewood, Chris and Val Stewart, Theo Faasen, and of course to Siegmar Geiselberger, for their parts in searching out the origins of Oralit glass, which is the name used by Walther's for their version of cloud glass. If anyone has any Walther's catalogs from the 1930s or 1940s I'm interested in buying!

Whilst on the subject of confusing types of Cloud Glass, there is another paragraph near the end of this newsletter about Akro Agate "Ox blood" and Houze Glass agate, both of which are often confused on ebay, with each other and with Davidon's Cloud glass. I've put it later so as to avoid the impression this whole newsletter is only about Cloud Glass!.

2: Caithness Glass
Scotland's most famous paperweight makers picked up the ball, you might say, when Paul Ysart and the Ysart family dropped it in the 1970s. We have a new article on the Glass Museum which tells the story of Caithness Glass together with useful information on identifying and dating their glass. You can find it at http://www.glass.co.nz/Caithness.htm. There are some stunning pictures of their paperweights.

We see a lot of Caithness glass on ebay, and unless you are an expert it is very hard to tell which pieces are rare and valuable, and which are just seconds of common items. Our article will help you and if you want more in-depth information, Colin Terris (their leading paperweight designer) has written a book which catalogs each year's designs with their original prices and current values. Click here to read more about "Caithness Paperweights" 1999, by Colin Terris. It is already becoming hard to find, and second-hand copies are offered by some book shops at higher prices than new ones!

3: On ebay this week we have some superb art glass pieces from New Zealand. I hope you can find something you like amongst them.

Peter Raos a Star o' the sea marine paperweight on ebay #1279345986
and a millefiori Monet spring flower paperweight on ebay #1279344362
Garry Nash a Harlequin magnum paperweight in blue on ebay #1279681753
Peter Viesnik an amazing Starscape paperweight on ebay #1278990377
- a stunning Cala Lily paperweight on ebay #1278989435 .
- a Sea-scape paperweight on ebay #1278989092.
Also a beautiful frosted lilac stoppered bottle on ebay # 1279694428.
And a delightful frosted white vase with millefiori on ebay # 1279694201.
Keith Mahy a pink feather stripe paperweight at ebay #1278990063 .

They are all put up without reserve and so far most of them do not have any bids. If you would like to see a quick summary, click here.

4: Exhibitions and Glass Shows:
a: Depression Glass Shows (click here) - a listing of depression glass shows across the USA - really useful.
b: Carnival Glass Events (click here) - details of Carnival Glass meetings and shows across the USA and the UK - up to date and covers a very broad area.
c: And something completely different, the Greenwich Antiquarian Book Fair - 2nd Annual Show. Saturday Oct 6th 2001 1pm-7pm & Sunday 7th, 11am-4pm. The Greenwich Civic Center, 90 Harding Road, Old Greenwich Connecticut.

5: Recent Books about Glass - for your information in case you missed them:

a: Tiffin Glass 1940-1980: Figurals, paperweights, pressed ware - click here to read more. Published August 2001; authors Ruth Hemminger, Ed Goshe and Leslie Pina.

b: Objects of Fantasy: Glass Inclusions of the 19th Century - click here. Published 2001 by Paperweight Press, author Dena K. Tarshis.

c: Seguso Vetri D'Arte : Complete Catalogue Since 1933 -click here . August 2001, author Marc Heiremans - extensive information about this great Venetian glasshouse.

6: Cloud Glass Look-alikes
There was a color produced by Akro Agate in children's glass tea-sets which I believe was called "Ox blood", which is often confused with cloud glass. Take a look at this ebay auction (click here) to see what I mean, and compare it to this (click here). Another look-alike, Houze Agate Glass, - is easily confused with Akro Agate. But because it is usually opaque it is not so easily confused with Davidson's Cloud glass. Take a look at this piece on ebay for a good example: http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1276763024.

I do hope there was something interesting for you this week.
Very best wishes
Angela

Useful links:
The Glass Museum at http://www.glass.co.nz/
The Glass Encyclopedia is at http://www.encyclopedia.netnz.com/
The Glass Links Page is at http://www.glass.co.nz/links.htm
The Glass Message Board is at http://www.glassmessages.com/
My glass at auction http://www.myglassauction.com/
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