Akro Agate Glass and Collecting

September 14th, 2011

Why Akro Agate?

The Akro Agate Company takes the first part of its name from its place of origin. Although a new plant was later built in Clarksburg, West Virginia, the company was established in Akron, Ohio, hence “Akro.” The second part of the name is from the company’s aim to make glass marbles. The opaque glass marbles with mottled colors were made to resemble marbles made from agate, and are called “aggies.” Thus, the Akron agate marble company, or the Akro Agate glass company.

Children’s Play Sets

For two decades in the early Twentieth Century, marbles proved to be a profitable business for Akro Agate. With an increase in foreign competition, however, it became necessary for the company to diversify. In keeping with the toy focus, Akro Agate began making play sets of dinnerware for little girls. These dinner sets are highly collectible today, and those still in the original box are especially desired. The opaque glass dinnerware pre-dated china and metal play sets, and, obviously, the plastic sets of today.

Planters and Pots

Akro Agate also ventured into the florist pot and planter business to broaden their business base. The Westite Company had closed and Akro Agate was able to buy some of their molds, which they began to produce in the swirled opaque glass they used for their other products. All the Akro Agate wares are marked with a capital A with a crow flying through the upper half. The crow has marbles in each foot and in its beak, but these details are so small that they are hard to see.

Collecting Akro Agate

If you have a “end of day” or marbled glass items in your collection, you may well have Akro Agate glass. You may also have some of their marbles if you have an old collection of marbles, but it will probably take an expert’s eye to sort them from the marbles made by other companies in the US and abroad. Look for the “slag” products of this company at glass shows and antique stores, as well as flea markets and garage sales.

Learn about other glass collectibles in the Glass Collectibles Guide.

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Collecting Haviland Porcelain

September 2nd, 2011

Haviland China is an American based company with production facilities in the Limoges area of France. David Haviland, a dealer in fine china from New York, went to this famous porcelain producing area of France to build his china factory in order to capitalize on the deposits of kaolin in that area. Kaolin is one of the required ingredients to produce hard paste porcelain and is the reason for so many porcelain factories are located there. Mr. Haviland was also able to use trained factory workers from the area to get his own products in production as quickly as possible. With the fine raw materials available, and continual process and china decorating improvements during the 19th and 20th Centuries, the Haviland Company has remained one of the premier china dinnerware companies of the Western World.

The Haviland Company remains in the hands of the Haviland family to this day, and the fourth generation now runs the business. Over the century and a half the company has been in business, thousands of different dinnerware patterns have been produced by the Haviland Limoges facility, and identifying them properly has become something of a problem. In the 1930s, Arlene Schleiger began the process of identifying those patterns produced by the company up to that time, and six volumes of pattern documentation resulted from her efforts. Schleiger numbers are still used to identify Haviland dinnerware patterns to this day, where possible, but there are still hundreds of patterns that have not been included in the documentation. These may well be dinnerware patterns that were produced in small numbers during the years when the company did not see any reason to keep detailed records.

Haviland not only produces hundreds of their own designs, they will also produce a dinnerware set based on a purchaser’s design. These are usually coats of arms or other family symbols, but the company will work with the purchaser to produce any design required.

The secondary market has many Haviland porcelain pieces available. Often these are the little-used pieces of the dinnerware set, like oyster or bone plates. Place settings of various patterns also show up on the secondary market, and there are companies devoted to helping purchasers complete their dinnerware sets. Look for the Haviland Limoges maker’s mark when viewing fine porcelain at primary or secondary china stores.

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Zsolnay Porcelain

August 7th, 2011

The Zsolnay factory was established in 1853 in Hungary by Miklos Zsolnay. His early efforts were to develop utility products, but the high-heat firing he used with the local clay lead to architectural ornaments that would weather the harsh conditions of the Northern European winter. The Zsolnay porcelain products were recognized at the 1873 World Exhibition in Vienna with a grand prize. These ornaments for the outside of buildings are still made today, from the same clay and using the same firing technique.

While experimenting with glazes in 1896, Zsolnay developed one named eosin, which became his other claim to fame. Although the company makes pottery in the usual multi-glaze, decorative styles for decorating the interiors of buildings, especially homes, the vases and animals with the eosin glaze are very different. The shapes are smoothly and gently modeled, just suggesting the subject, if there is one, of the piece. The iridescent, rich color of the glaze brings out the best in the simple shapes to which it is added. Rich red, deep blues and greens, the Zsolnay eosin glaze is so beautiful that it can be put on a completely plain vase and make that vase an object of luxury.

Zsolnay ceramics are available in the US and the prices on the eosin animals are reasonable. Getting one of the architectural items might be more difficult, but as the eosin is the Zsolnay porcelain claim to fame, something covered with this glaze is a better choice by the porcelain collector anyway.

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Collecting Lampwork Glass Beads

July 28th, 2011

Lampwork glass beads are an up and coming collectible. With only two or three decades of history, it is still possible to get handmade glass lampwork beads by the pioneers of the art, and by current practitioners. After collecting a few glass lampwork beads, you will undoubtedly have learned how to make lampwork glass beads and perhaps even take a class to try it yourself. The method is fairly simple and the equipment finite, but the bead making possibilities are endless.

Handmade lampwork glass beads are made by winding melted glass from glass rods around a mandrel, a steel rod the size of the intended hole of the bead. As the artist winds the glass in an open flame, he or she has opportunities to select colors and make specific shapes. First tries are limited to the regular bead shapes until they can be produced on demand, then the lampworker can expand to experimenting with shapes and colors, and make beads as seen in their imagination.

As lampwork artists progress in skill, they generally find one or a few shapes and techniques that fire their imagination, and which they pursue to perfection. The artist will become known for these beads, and will continue to make them even when they move onto new bead visions. Having the signature beads of each artist is a good way to begin a lampwork glass bead collection, but don’t forget to get some of the beads that have not become their forte yet.

Handmade lampwork glass beads are small, and not really expensive in the world of art. You can carry an entire collection in a suitcase, if needed, although there are more and more lampwork artists every year. You can find the beads at bead shows and online. Often these beads are featured as the focal point of a beading project in beading magazines, so subscribing to these magazines can be a way to find new artists and help you find the beads of established artists as well.

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A Quick Look at Zsolnay Porcelain

July 28th, 2011

The Zsolnay factory was established in 1853 by Miklós Zsolnay. The products from this company were recognized for their quality at the 1873 World Exhibition in Vienna, when the jury praised the Zsolnay products as unique and awarded the Grand Prix to the company. In 1896, Zsolnay created one of its most famous glazes, called eosin, which provides an overall color to the glazed piece with the addition of an iridized finish. Zsolnay also adopted the Art Nouveau style at the end of the Nineteenth Century in order to keep up with the times. The company technique of high temperature firing remains unique even today, and this process makes the architectural ceramics the company makes impervious to the weather.

In spite of two world wars, the Zsolnay Porcelain Factory holds on to its great traditions, while at the same time stressing the importance of a continuous renewal. The company continues to produce eosin figurines and decorative ceramic accent pieces. Since the 1950s, the Zsolnay factory has invited modern designers to try new styles, and to revive the use of older forms and glazes. In addition, visiting artists revitalized the production of the architectural ceramics for which the company is known.

The Zsolnay eosin glaze comes in several strong, deep colors, including red, green and blue. There are even ceramics using two or more colors of eosin on one piece, which makes them quite colorful when you add in the iridescent finish. The firing process is complicated, but also provides each piece with a unique glaze result and finish. Many of the forms glazed with the eosin glaze are simply modeled and show the glaze off beautifully.

The technical practices used at Zsolnay created frost-proof architectural ornaments that were, and still are, in demand in Hungary and Northern Europe. The architectural embellishments are still produced from the local clay and with the original techniques that made the resulting ceramics stand out when first produced. Ornaments from the earliest production are still in place today.

The Zsolnay ceramics products include regular china dinnerware in the style of Europe and North America, as well as porcelain decorative items, like vases and decorative plates produced in normal glazes. But the highlight of the Zsolnay production is the eosin figurines.

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A Quick Look at the State Gemstones

July 28th, 2011

Each state in the United States of America has chosen a gem or semi-precious stone, found within its borders, to be its official gemstone, stone, rock, or mineral. The materials so designated range from diamonds to jade to turquoise, and can usually be found in charms and other jewelry or represented on state souvenirs. Let’s see which states have which stone material as their state gems and minerals.

Quartz, being the second most common mineral on the surface of the earth, is well represented in the state gemstones. In gem form, it is found as amethyst in Georgia as state gemstone, and in South Carolina, where it is actually the state choice for both gemstone and mineral. Rose quartz is the state mineral of South Dakota, and smoky quartz is the state gemstone of New Hampshire. Star blue quartz is the gemstone of Alabama.

Garnets, topaz and forms of beryl are relatively common in the US as well. Garnet is the state gemstone of New York and the state mineral of Connecticut. Grossular garnet is the state gemstone of Vermont. Topaz is the state gemstone of Utah, while Texas blue topaz is the state gemstone of Texas. The beryl family includes aquamarine, state gemstone of Colorado, emerald, state gemstone of North Carolina, and undefined beryl itself, which is the state mineral of New Hampshire.

Diamond, rare in the US, is the state gemstone of Arkansas. Black coral is the state gemstone of Hawaii, and black fire opal is the state precious gemstone of Nevada. Tourmaline is the state gemstone of Maine, and Montana has the Yogo sapphire as its state gemstone. Turquoise is favored by three states, as Arizona’s state gemstone, Nevada’s state semi-precious gemstone, and as New Mexico’s state rock.

Minerals which can appear in massive deposits and that are state gemstones include jade, fluorite, and other stones. Jade is the state rock of Alaska and state stone of California. Nephrite jade is the state gemstone of Wyoming. Fluorite is the state mineral of Illinois, and rhodochrosite is the state mineral of Colorado. Both of these make beautiful beads and beaded jewelry. Oregon has Oregon sunstone as its state gemstone, and the state gemstone of Florida is moonstone. These last two also make beautiful beads and beaded jewelry. California’s state gemstone is the rare but beautiful benitoite crystal.

As you can tell from the various choices above, there is no standard definition of stone, rock, gemstone or mineral in use to decide these state favorites. Sometimes the choice of category depends on how much of a mineral is found in the state, and sometimes the quality of that mineral as found in the state. The choice of category may also depend on whether you can find the mineral when walking around, or if it has to be mined. Whatever the case, these minerals do appear in the states that selected them, and can be found in rock shops and mine-your-own gift shops within the state in question.

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Hagen-Renaker Horses

July 26th, 2011

Most people have a few, or sometimes, many, favorite animals and they often include horses among those favorites. Horse lovers usually collect or are given artwork, figurines or stuffed toys of horses, and most have Hagen-Renaker figurines in their collections as well, as this company is best known for the animal figurines they make.

The Hagen-Renaker Company was formed to produce small figurines of familiar farm and house animals, including adult horses and foals. The original line of horse figurines were miniatures, from one half to two inches tall, and were so small that they had to be glued onto a square of stiff paper in order to identify the maker and the price for the customer. Thousands of miniature horses and other animals have followed since.

In all, the company has three lines of animal figurines, the miniature line, the Specialty line, from two to five inches tall, and the Designer line, five to twelve inches tall. The animals in each line are shown in natural colors and poses. In addition, the Specialty line includes horse and human pairs in mutual activities like racing and jumping.

The Designer line includes horses among its animals. The Hagen-Renaker horses are reminiscent of the Breyer molded plastic horse models, both being portrayed naturally. In this line even the breeds are identifiable, and the horses are shown in typical color combinations and conformation. The Hagen-Renaker horses in this size generally do not include a human component in the figurine.

The Hagen-Renaker figurines in all the sizes are easy to collect and can usually be found for reasonable prices. The little figurines should remain on the paper tag, even though this makes them more difficult to display. Having the original tags for all the Hagen-Renaker figurines will help them retain their value if and when you need to sell them. Look for Hagen-Renaker animals and other figurines at your local gift stores and toy shops.

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Starting a Collection of Native American Jewelry of the Southwest

July 14th, 2011

When someone brings up the subject of Native American jewelry, most people think of the handcrafted Native American jewelry from the Southwest. The silver turquoise necklace and bracelet or a turquoise and coral necklace with matching earrings come to mind immediately. Other areas of North America have their own traditional forms of jewelry, like porcupine quill beads of the Great Plains and the wampum of the Northeast, but the turquoise necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings made in the Southwest are more familiar to the average non-First Peoples North American.

The art of silver-smithing became part of Native American jewelry history as lately as the 1850s. Since then, the First People have been using silver to add value and beauty to their turquoise bead necklaces. The First People used US and Mexican coins as their source of silver Originally, but eventually those governments made defacing their coins illegal. Many pieces of antique Native American jewelry can be identified by the remnant of the original coin design in the silver parts, or by the very presence of coin metal in the piece. The Native Americans now use jeweler’s sterling silver sheet and wire for their silver materials.

The creation of the native American turquoise necklace, bracelet, earrings, rings and other jewelry forms got a real boost with the discovery and mining of native American turquoise deposits in five Southwestern states, including Colorado, California, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. There are over thirty major turquoise mines in those areas that currently produce or have produced in the recent past jewelry quality turquoise. currently or in the recent past. only the addition of imported red coral, the most loved turquoise and coral necklace and other jewelry have become a tourist and First People’s favorite.

Caring for turquoise and silver jewelry, once purchased, is relatively simple. One need only keep the turquoise away from detergents, waxes and other chemicals that might change its color or damage it, because turquoise can be soft and brittle. The silver can be touched up with a jeweler’s rouge cloth, if absolutely necessary, but Native American silver jewelry should never be dipped in a cleaning solution. Most Native American silver jewelry is intended to be dark in places, so time and wearing it can give it a nice patina, which should be preserved. For storage, wrap each piece separately in non-acid tissue paper or a soft cloth.

Handcrafted Native American Jewelry of the Southwest is a great form of souvenir of a trip, and some impressive sets are true art, to be treasured long after purchase. For everyday wear, a turquoise bead necklace can be a nice choice.

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Collecting Westmoreland Glass

July 7th, 2011

The Westmoreland Glass Company was founded in 1889 to make lidded jars containing condiments for household use. These included mustard, pickles and baking power, technically not a condiment. The company also made glass novelties filled with candy. After World War I, the company changed their output to an improved production of the Depression and Carnival glass other glass houses were having such success making.

Among the Westmoreland carnival glass lines are those named Checkerboard, Concave Flute, Corinth, Daisy Wreath, Pearly Dots, Scales and Smooth Rays. These lines were produced in the normal carnival glass colors, including blue and marigold. The impressed patterns are somewhat understated, which allows the iridescent treatment of the glass to show up well.

In the arena of Depression glass, Westmoreland English Hobnail is very prominent. Its pyramid shaped bumps are pointy and placed close together, giving the piece a scratchy feeling when not held using the handles. It is quite different from the rounded bumps of the American Hobnail glass also made by Westmoreland.

In milk glass Westmoreland is best known for a pattern called Beaded edge, in which round beads are added to the edges of each piece. Unlike Candlewick, these beads are placed without any space between them, shoulder to shoulder. Some pieces of Beaded Edge milk glass have a red band, and some are painted with pictures of fruits, flowers, birds or Christmas motifs.

Starting a collection of Westmoreland glass means spending some time with books learning to recognize the patterns produced by this company. Then you get to carefully rummage through stacks of glass household items at garage and estate sales, and check out the glass section of the local charity resale shops. Enjoy the hunt and the sense of triumph when you correctly identify and capture the next piece of Westmoreland glass for your collection.

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A Collection of Turquoise Necklaces

June 24th, 2011

If you are into either Native American art or jewelry, chances are you have several turquoise necklaces among your possessions. These can be simple strings of turquoise nuggets, or an intricately-patterned turquoise and coral necklace of several strands. If the necklace was purchased in the Southwest, it may be native North American art as well as jewelry.

This is especially true for a silver turquoise necklace. These ornate necklaces, called squash blossom necklaces, take a lot of time and effort to create. Though made from jewelry sterling silver now, the originals were made from coin silver, that is, silver coins. These were US and then Mexican coins until the respective governments made defacing their coins illegal. The original turquoise was imported from the Middle East, then mines of turquoise were developed in the Southwest and domestic stones were used for these beautiful pieces of wearable art.

As you travel the Southwest, there are innumerable chances to purchase contemporary Native American art, both in the traditional painted forms and in jewelry. Native American turquoise is turned into any one of the traditional turquoise beads necklaces, either a single string or multi-stranded, tablet, nugget, rolled beads, carved fetishes or intricate inlaid designs. Many turquoise coral necklaces can be purchased for very little, although the work of known jewelry artists can be quite expensive. It all depends on what you can budget for your next turquoise bead necklace.

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