The Heisey Museum

After the flea market, Alan and I went to the Heisey museum where I had a much greater appreciation for what I was looking at because of what Karen had taught me. I also think that it helped all of the new information sink in. Seeing everything with the labels in the museum let me check my new knowledge and I have to say I did pretty well naming the pieces before reading the labels – I felt like quite the Heisey expert, lol! My new favorite pattern is Saturn in Zircon, especially the handled pieces. I loved the U shaped candleholders and the three piece all glass cocktail shakers were pretty fantastic also, even the strainer is glass.

If you are ever near Newark you should certainly make an effort to visit the Heisey Museum for an impressive collection of glass in all of the different colors and patterns. So beautiful!

Learning about the colors was wonderful – I just don’t think you can really learn the colors from a book, seeing them in person is so much better and Karen of course gave me tons of information about them and also the new colors issued by Imperial. Then all of that information was reinforced at the museum and the show. Hawthorne is a lovely purple and Alexandrite is a very unusual color which is described as lavender but will look blue under a florescent light and pink in daylight, it seemed to me that the color changed depending on the angle. I noticed a broken Marigold creamer in one case which I thought was very odd ( and somewhat careless of the museum) but it was an example of how the Heisey Marigold may degrade. Due to an unstable formula it can crack, turn opaque or even shatter! To see a description of all the colors click here http://www.heiseymuseum.com/colors.html

The museum also has a history of the company including samples of molds and photos of the glass making process. The creation of Heisey pieces was quite complex with each item passing through a number of skilled hands before it was finished. An outstanding example of the skills of the cutters is a case of glass with cuttings by Emil and Willibald Krall, expert glass cutters and former engravers to the household of the Emperor of Austria before joining Heisey in 1933. The intricate details of their wheel cut pieces are absolutely amazing.

For more information including company history, Heisey colors and Heisey etchings, please visit the museum website at http://www.heiseymuseum.org/index.html

Next – The Glass Show

My Adventure in Heiseyland - Annual HCA Convention

On June 17 - 20 2009, The 38th Annual HCA Convention was held in Newark, Ohio. HCA stands for Heisey Collectors of America and Heisey lovers from across the country make the annual pilgrimage to Newark, which they fondly referred to as Heiseyville, for the four-day event.

My adventure started when my DH Alan told me about a large auction of Heisey glass he had seen in the paper and agreed to go with me to Newark despite the fact that he has only the most casual interest in glass. Whoo-hoo, road trip! Now I must digress for a minute to tell you how I met my friend James. I had listed a creamer with Quilted Diamond and Wampum in the title and stated in the listing that it was a quilted diamond pattern similar to Wampum. James being a vigilant Heisey lover took issue with my description and went on to carefully and kindly explain the difference between Heisey’s Quilted Diamond and Wampum patterns and to point out that mine was neither. Although I only meant to point out the similarity between my piece and the Heisey designs, I conceded that the listing could be misleading and changed it. Out of this first encounter grew an online friendship with this very nice gentleman and long time Heisey collector.

Being excited about the auction I wrote to James to tell him about my upcoming trip only to discover that he and his wife Bobbie were going to be in Newark for the Convention! I decided that my time would be better spent on Saturday when there was a flea market and glass show. The Flea Market on the Square opened at 8:00 but since I can’t drag my lazy patootie out of bed early enough to get to Newark by eight James and I arranged to meet at 9:30. My sweet husband drove and I slept for the 45-minute drive to Newark. Of course, as soon as I arrived at the flea market I was wide-awake and ready to look at some Heisey! It’s always exciting for me to see some glass that I’ve only seen photographs of before and there it was… tables and tables of glass sparkling in the sunshine.

Almost before I had a chance to start looking my phone rang and it was James, I looked around and saw a tall distinguished looking gentleman talking into his cell phone and since his lips were moving in synch with what I was hearing I determined it was James. After a short meet and greet chat his lovely daughter Karen arrived. Here is the tall and slender HCA V.P.

Karen is the newly elected Vice-President of Heisey Collectors of America and an extremely knowledgeable Heisey collector. She graciously spent over 2 hours giving me the “educational tour” at the flea market teaching me things that I would never have known without her. This is me with the white legs - I need to get outside once in awhile!

I learned where to look for markings, to look for the bumps on Plantation, Heisey colors, common fakes, rare pieces, common pieces, and much more that I’m sure is stored away in my head somewhere. A dealer shows us his wares.

This was just the beginning of my Heisey adventure – coming up next – the Heisey Museum.

My Life as a Washer Woman

I have to apologize to my dear readers for the long delay in finishing this story. I finally figured out that I was delaying writing this blog because I didn’t want to revisit the tedious process of getting the clothes clean. How silly is that? It’s not like I have to spend another 3 days with my hands in the sink. And yes, it did take the better part of 3 days! After some initial experimenting with different products and procedures, I finally came up with a method that worked for me. First I used Woolite gently squishing the suds through the fabric, then rinse, then a soak in Woolite and Oxyclean, squish, rinse, repeat, soak, squish, rinse, repeat … until the water was almost clear. An additional overnight soak in Oxyclean removed an amazing amount of brown stains and a few more cycles of soak, squish, rinse, repeat removed the rest on most of the garments. A very quick rinse in a weak bleach solution made the whites bright and removed any stubborn stains. I certainly don’t recommend this method because it was all trial and error and I was probably lucky not to ruin anything. This may not seem like it should take that long but multiply it by 15 garments all having to be washed individually and you can see how I ended up spending 3 days on this project even with all available sinks and buckets in use. I have to admit that I became somewhat obsessive about getting these clothes clean. (Note to self: next time check on the market value of items before spending 3 days working on something)

It became my mission to restore these clothes as close as possible to the condition they were in when they were packed away and an odd thing happened as I washed and rewashed each garment. As the dirt and stains faded a picture of the woman who wore these clothes began to appear in my mind. I wondered about the life she had led and why these particular garments had been saved. I thought about the little things I knew about this person. She was a tiny thing with a waist measuring only 21”. She was a skilled seamstress, most of her clothes were hand sewn with tiny stitches and embellished with tucks and lace. She had a fur shawl and muff that she may have made with furs given to her by her husband or sons as there were many hunting and trapping items at the auction. Judging from her kitchen items, she liked the color pink. She had at least two sons and one daughter. There is a store bought black blouse that appears to be a maternity shirt. Like most women, she had gained some weight over the years although she still had a tiny waist by today’s standards. I wondered had she lost someone when she was pregnant? And why had she saved a child’s pinafore? I felt that there was some tragedy involved. I have saved some of my girls’ baby clothes but back in those times, I think that everything was passed down or put to use in some way. In my mind, I saw her growing from a young bride into a hardworking wife and mother. I wondered about the chores that she did while wearing the two checkered skirts. I pictured her in the kitchen using some of the items I had seen at the auction or working in the gardens that once surrounded the house. I visualize her hands washing the same clothes that are in my sink and hanging them outside to line dry in the sun.

In some strange way, washing those clothes made me feel a connection to this woman from the past and an appreciation of how hard she must have had to work every day.

Unpacking, cleaning and sneezing and sneezing and sneezing

Before I start on the unpacking let me add another reason I need a truck and maybe a trailer also. Remember those fabulous metal tulip chairs a couple of posts ago? They sold for forty dollars. Each you ask? No, for all four!
When I get home, I can’t wait to unpack and show my DH all my new goodies and I have to say that initially he was less than enthusiastic. In fact, on some items he shared the sentiments of the townspeople at the auction! He doesn’t see the value in an old home projector or a pull up home movie screen, and he didn’t share my excitement about the grimy TV trays either, lol! He helps me unpack and I ask him to put everything in the garage because of the mold and mildew. I get an odd look when he sees the ancient suitcases that are falling apart until I show him the clothes inside. He thinks those are interesting.

There are about 15 pieces of clothing dating back to the early 1900’s including a pair of bloomers, an apron with handmade lace and a little girl’s pinafore. Everything is so cool but badly stained and what’s that smell! At first I *sniffle* think that the black blouse has black and white marbled buttons, *atchoo* but when I put my glasses on I realize that its mold covering the jet-black glass buttons. Ick! At this point I figure I have three *atchoo* options with these garments - I can throw them away now because they are so *sneezesneezesneeze* moldy, throw them away later because I’ve ruined them or maybe I can salvage them. Deciding that the black pieces and furs are too delicate to wash but too moldy to leave as is I spray them with an antibacterial cleaner. A bold and likely foolish move but it didn’t seem to hurt the clothes and it did kill the mold. I certainly don’t recommend it and I’m sure that the textile people are cringing. Promising myself to be gentle with the rest of the clothes and not to obsess over them I head inside. After washing my face and hands and finishing a sneezing fit, I go online to find some helpful websites and I find out I can wash the cottons so I start bringing them inside one by one and pretty soon, every available sink, tub and large bowl is full of whites or more accurately used-to-be-whites soaking in Woolite. I won’t even tell you what the water from the first soak was like – no that’s a lie I will tell you - it was disgusting, a dark blackish brown. And that was just one garment that had soaked for about five minutes! I think to myself “This piece is sure not going to get any cleaner in that water”. I change the water and go to check on the others and so it begins…

Next – My Life as a Washer Woman

Why I Need a Truck

The tools are done and the auctioneer moves on to a table with some postcards and other ephemera including some Shirley Temple items that I would like to have. I wait and wait and they start on some Indian artifacts so I leave the area for just a second and when I get back, another bidder has snagged the whole pile of Shirley Temple programs and promotional material for TWENTY DOLLARS! Ack!

While I am beating my head against the wall for being so stupid, I notice a 1950’s tole style T.V. tray in a pile of junk. I pick it up and aside from some minor rust spots and scratches it’s fabulous, and there are two more, yea! Just then, the auctioneer comes around the corner and asks for bids on the scrap metal pile. I quickly ask to bid separately on the trays; he says, “You want to bid on these?” I nod hopefully. “These trays?" he says pulling one out. I nod again. "Ok, sure” he says looking at me as if I’m slightly deranged. No one bids against me on the trays but the rest of the scrap pile goes for a decent amount.

The auction moves inside the house and I have the winning bid on a great pink frosted glass ceiling light fixture and shade which I had asked them to include in the auction. That makes me feel somewhat better after missing out on the Shirley Temple items. I ask the auctioneer if I can bring down the rest of the tray tables with the holder from upstairs and now everyone seemed to think I’m nuts for wanting these. He asks me if they’re the same as the other ones and tells me, “Just take them honey” while looking at me with something akin to pity as in “Poor thing, it’s nice that they let her go out by herself occasionally.” Meanwhile, another bidder gets an antique upholstered rocker for $2 (obviously I need a truck!) and no one wants a 1920’s pink velvet couch with the upholstery in excellent condition except for being extremely dusty. If I had a way (like a truck) to get it to NYC it would pay for thetrip to visit my daughter.

No one wants the beautiful woodwork, doors or windows either. If only I knew someone with a salvage company! (And a truck)

My car is jam packed (truck!truck!truck!) and it’s time to bite the bullet and pay up. But when they total up my purchases I’m very pleasantly surprised and have a happy drive back home thinking about all the treasures I just acquired!

Coming up next: Unpacking, cleaning and sneezing and sneezing and sneezing

Surprise in a Suitcase

Once the auction started things moved very quickly. I had never been to such a fast auction! If there were something you wanted, you had better not take a breath before bidding or SOLD! and on to the next box. I missed out on a couple of things but then I got the rhythm and snagged some near mint pink Boonton, pink Manhattan, and a pink casserole dish among some other things, some of which were also pink. Are you sensing a theme here? I think that the boys might have been living with their mother or at least in her prior home.

One of the things I bought was a group of suitcases. I like old suitcases for decoupage projects

and there were three or four in the group that were just my style. The auctioneer actually skipped right by them and I had to ask to bid. Apparently, no one else was interested because I got all of them for $2.

When the auctioneer moves on to the tools I start to load some things into my car. I pick out the suitcases I want and offer the rest to anyone who wants them, but even free no one is the least bit interested. I take another look myself and decided to check the interior of 2 ancient cases that are falling apart on the outside but would be ok for decoupage if the insides are intact. When I cautiously crack open the first one I see an obviously Victorian bodice on top of a bunch of other clothes. OMG, I had almost given it away, or worse, left it there to be thrown out! When I open the second case… Furs! Not good furs, definitely not stored well, but still furs. I check the rest of the suitcases hoping for … Money! But, no such luck.

The lesson I need to learn is to always, always, look inside of everything before tossing it or giving it away.

There’s still more auction left with who-knows-what treasures waiting to be found so off I go to look at what's coming up.

Next -
Why I Need a Truck

The Brothers Grim

I went to an auction yesterday way the heck out in rural Ohio. A very pretty drive from Columbus, once you exit the expressway it’s nothing but farms, fields, and churches at first, then a little while later there’s woods and smaller farms and the occasional pasture with horses or cows. I saw an Amish family with a horse drawn plow and a little further down a man on a tractor. The Amish way sure seems a lot more earth friendly, there’s not all that dirt being kicked up and blown away like there is with a tractor. Of course, it’s a lot harder and more time consuming. Every once in a while I would drive through a little town where it didn’t look like much had changed in the last 30 or 40 years, including the speed limit, and you better pay attention because I think tickets may be a major revenue source. And no, I wasn’t stopped for speeding; I was good - at least going through the little towns. ;)

After an hour and a half, I finally arrived at the auction where they were selling the estate of two elderly brothers who had lived together for a long time according to the townspeople at the auction and died within a week of each other. There were box lots laid out in the front yard with lots of goodies, old dishes and linens and suitcases and other miscellaneous items that one accumulates over a lifetime. On one side of the house were tools and lawn furniture including those cool metal chairs and on the other side antique furniture, including a huge old oak headboard and footboard attached with a wood frame, so gorgeous!

Inside the house was just sad. The house had a lot of potential and although small, I’m sure it was quite lovely in its day. Big windows with large oak frames, beautiful 6 panel oak doors, a front parlor, a front porch, a side porch, and a back porch, all enclosed and a big country kitchen with a washroom or mudroom off to the side. Upstairs there was a big open room on one side and two bedrooms on the other. At least, that’s the way I imagine that it was. The house had fallen into a sad state of disrepair and was dirty, full of mold and mildew, with a leaking roof, rotting structure and generally just falling down around the brothers’ ears. The relatives were tearing it down and all of the fixtures, windows, doors, moldings and whatever else could be sold were up for auction. Another woman and I were wondering why the relatives would have let the brothers live in such circumstances, it’s not as if they lived out of town. I heard two of them joking around with each other at the auction and I had to bite my tongue not to say, “How could you be so uncaring!”

That’s the 'good for me' but sad thing about many estate auctions. On the one hand as a buyer, I want there to be beautiful things being sold but on the other hand, I don’t understand why no one who knew the person wants to keep those things. It seems that many people don’t value the things, or in some cases the people, of the past.

Coming up next – Surprise in a Suitcase