Hi,
If this is the first time you have received my Glass Newsletter, welcome and I do hope you enjoy it. Also, if you are one of the friends who have written to me during the past two or so months and haven't received a reply, I sincerely apologise. So many things have happened this year, some very good and some very sad, that my usual fight with the email backlog is going backwards. You will hear from me, and I shall be really grateful for your patience meantime.

This newsletter contents include: Schneider glass from France (art deco to 1981); H.C.Fry glass from Pennsylvania (1901 - 1933); some beautiful art glass from New Zealand for sale on ebay; some books on glass that you may have missed; plus information and reminders about some current and forthcoming glass exhibitions and shows; and a few observations on ebay auctions recently.

Links: several people have written to me with new or revised links to add to the Glass Links page. I'm sorry these are taking so long - hopefully the new links page will be ready soon.

1: Schneider Glass: did you know that glass signed "Charder" or "Le Verre Francais" was made by the great Schneider glassworks in France; and that this company's glass was virtually always signed. We have a new page on the Glass Encyclopedia this week about Schneider Glass which you can find at http://www.encyclopedia.netnz.com/Schneiderglass.html.

2: Glass by H. C. Fry: - between 1901 and 1933 in Rochester, Pennsylvania, Fry glass made every kind of glass from mass-produced pressed tumblers to beautiful cut crystal and hand-made colored art glass. They made opalescent kitchen and ovenware, which often appears to have a date on it. But beware - these are not dates, they are pattern numbers. My reamer, for example, says FRY HEAT RESISTING GLASS 1967 very clearly on the base. The company closed down in 1933, so your Fry glass may be a lot older than you think. For some reason they used pattern numbers that ran from 1916 to 1976! There is another new page on the Glass Encyclopedia about Fry glass, which you can find at http://www.encyclopedia.netnz.com/Fryglass.html.

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

From Peter Raos there is one "Star o' the sea" marine paperweight with a golden-amber background, on ebay #1266377485 and one of his millefiori water lilies series of paperweights on ebay #1266530593

From Garry Nash we have a new design of paperweight where the base cushion is formed from looped candystripe glass canes with a 22kt gold leaf fountain rising in the center, on ebay #1263716510

From Peter Viesnik we have a superb paperweight with a fountain of blue colors rising up from a blue rock, on ebay #1266524372 Also a paperweight in his "Sea-scape" series on ebay #1266525300 And just one of his beautiful stoppered bottles this week, - a stunning red one on ebay # 1266380548.

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: A new exhibition opened at the Seattle Art Museum on August 9th and continues until February 17th next year. It is a display of "enormous yet delicate suspended glass objects" by the Polish artist Anna Skibska, whose "lampworking method involves heating and stretching clear or colored glass into tiny strands, then using a jeweler’s torch to weld the strands into webbed sculptural forms such as stone towers, doors and windows." It sounds really exciting - something truly different in art glass, so if you are that area why not go and see it?

b: At the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in Minneapolis, from July 21st to October 28th, there is an exhibition of glass sculpture by Howard Ben Tre. "Sculpting Space in the Public Realm" focuses on his major works for plazas and streetscapes, including a new project for the public plaza in downtown Minneapolis.

c: Dale Chihuly has an exhibition at the Dayton Art Institute in Dayton, Ohio called "Form from Fire: Glass Sculpture by Dale Chihuly". It runs from 21st July to the 21st October this year and features over a hundred glass sculptures, some designed especially for this exhibition. There's also an exhibition of Chihuly's drawings.

And the Chihuly exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London is also on until October 21st. For information about the V&A exhibition, ring: (UK) 020 7942 2000. email: infodome@vam.ac.uk

d: Don't forget that the Glass Fair at the Motorcycle Museum near Birmingham (England) is on NOVEMBER 4th this year.

5: Here are some Books about Glass - for your information in case you missed them:
a: Gene Florence has just produced a new (15th) edition of his Collectors Encyclopedia of Depression Glass (August 2001) click here to read more about it.

b: Carl Burns has a new book which is now available on Northwood Carnival Glass 1908-1925 (Sept 2001) click here to know more. If it is as good as his last book on carnival glass, then we all need a copy!

c: Gene Florence has also produced a new (6th) edition of his book Collectible Glassware from the Forties, Fifties and Sixties (August 2001) click here to read more about it.

d: There's also another (and much more recent) book by Shirley Mace that I didn't know about when I wrote my last newsletter - Vintage Silhouettes on Glass & Reverse Paintings (Feb 2000). Click here.

e: And Al Trinidad wrote a book about Glass Bells (Jan 2000) which I have been told is very good. Click here to read more about it.

6: Did you see this? - it puzzles me that there are so many high-starting-price auctions on ebay which don't attract a single bid, and others which attract dozens of bids and rise to thousands of dollars but the sellers' high reserve prices are not met. It must be costing these sellers a fortune in unsuccessful auctions. I wonder if I am missing something here.

Amongst the highest priced successful auctions was a Schneider vase which sold for $2,200 - if its still there its on ebay 1259348785. There were several lamps which sold for prices in the thousands, but not nearly so many vases or bowls or glassware generally. There was a very beautiful Brilliant Cut glass bowl, 10" wide and over a hundred years old, which sold for $2,600 on ebay #1260935901. And a set of three very nice contemporary art glass pieces by Harry Stuart which sold for $2025 - ebay #1257094266

7: And last but not least, did you know the Smithsonian Institute now has an on-line store? They have some nice gift ideas - click here to see their catalog: SmithsonianStore.com

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
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