EARLY AMERICAN PATTERN GLASS SOCIETY ….. to foster and encourage the collection, appreciation, study, preservation and documentation of early American pattern glassware; its makers, and its place in American life, past and present.

THE NEWSJOURNAL

Volume 25, Number 4 Winter 2018

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The NewsJournal is a publication of the Early American Pattern

Glass Society®. No part of this publication may be reproduced

or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or me-

chanical or any informational storage and retrieval system with-

out the written permission of the author and the Early American

Pattern Glass Society. Opinions expressed in the NewsJournal

do not necessarily constitute the views of the Society.

The purpose of the Society is to foster and encourage the collec-

tion, appreciation, study, preservation and documentation of early

American pattern glassware, its makers and its place in American

life, past and present.

The Early American Pattern Glass Society is a non-profit, tax-

exempt organization, with the designation of 501 (c)(3) status

from the Internal Revenue Service. Dues and gifts to the Society

are tax-deductible.

MAILING ADDRESS

Early American Pattern Glass Society 3294 540th, SW,

Riverside Iowa 52327

WEBSITE: www.eapgs.org

FUTURE ANNUAL MEETINGS

February 7-10, 2019, Phoenix, Arizona

2020, Carlisle, Pennsylvania

NEWSJOURNAL PUBLICATION SCHEDULE

Spring: Content Deadline January 15, Mail February 15

Summer: Content Deadline April 15, Mail May 15

Fall: Content Deadline July 15, Mail August 15

Winter: Content Deadline October 15, Mail November 15

Send all material for publication, preferably in a “Word” docu-

ment to: Carl Hearn at larchmoor3335@start.ca

The NewsJournal is printed and mailed by:

La Crosse Mail & Print Solutions Inc., La Crosse, Wisconsin.

The NewsJournal is mailed under a Second Class, “Not For

Profit”, permit number issued by the U.S. Post Office.

ISSN: 2157-3433

Cover Photos:

Northwood Glass Co. (1888-1898) , Martins Ferry, Ohio; the new

“Royal Oak Line, No. 315”, circa 1891. Produced in crystal with

satin finish, rubina and rubina with satin finish; an extensive ar-

ray of items in the line. Photos courtesy of Jeffrey S. Evans &

Associates; William McGuffin, photographer.

OFFICERS President: Linda Eppelheimer, Vice President: Peter Thomas

Treasurer: Cathy Gunderson, Secretary: Nancy Miller

TRUSTEES (Tenure)

Eastern:

Brad Gougeon Midland, Michigan (2017-2020)

Robin Hainlen Greentown, Indiana (2018-2021)

Nancy Miller Morristown, New Jersey (2017-2020)

Kathy Roth Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (2016-2019)

Central:

Linda Eppelheimer La Crescent, Minnesota (2017-2020)

Linda Miller Eagan, Minnesota (2016-2019)

Rick Miller Riverside, Iowa (2018-2021)

Peter Thomas Minneapolis, Minnesota (2017-2020)

Mountain:

Cathy Gunderson Littleton, Colorado (2016-2019)

Liz Roach Salt Lake City, Utah (2018-2021)

Danny Trbovich Erie, Colorado (2016-2019)

Pacific:

Roger Haworth Bakersfield, California (2018-2021)

TRUSTEE APPOINTMENTS Annual Meeting Coordinator: Gloria Dobbs

Archivist: Marion Hearn

EAPGS Facebook Administrators: Brad Gougeon,

George Nesmith, Sid Lethbridge

Membership Database: Linda Eppelheimer

Membership Renewal Program: Alice Ahlfeld

New Member Coordinator: Renee Miller

NewsJournal Editor: Carl Hearn

NewsJournal Support Committee: Kathy Roth, Linda

Eppelheimer, Nancy Smith, Ray Myers

Pattern Profile Committee: Phyllis Petcoff, Brad Gougeon,

Steven Skeim

Public Relations Coordinator: Linda Yoder

Website Coordinator: Linda Eppelheimer

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by Nanette Boak

⠃⠽⠀⠠⠝⠁⠝⠑⠞⠞⠑⠀⠠⠃⠕⠁⠅

My fascination with glass began as a small child. Most little girls

love to play with dishes. I was no exception, but I was more in-

terested in the "Shape" of things or the "texture". Why? Because

I am blind. I do not see the pretty painted flowers or the geomet-

ric patterns, but I can appreciate glass for its texture and shape.

Each piece has a story to tell.

When I was about five, I played with my Mother's glass lion,

peacock, and eagle bookends. My Grandmother had goose book-

ends that I also played with. When I was about ten, my Mom

bought Moon and Star glassware. I loved the shapes on the out-

side of the pieces. My cousin bought me a porcelain child's Blue

Willow tea set. I still have it to this day. Although I can't see the

A Touch of Glass

⠠⠁⠀⠠⠞⠳⠡⠀⠷⠀⠠⠛⠇⠁⠎⠎

Nanette discussing the purchase of several pieces of “Royal

Oak” with Jerry Easterla from Jerry & Jerry Antiques. To the

right of the picture is her husband Craig and in the foreground

her seeing eye dog “Ingrid”. Photo: credit Jerry Latinen

Northwood Glass Co. Royal Oak, frosted rubina, pickle castor

complete with metal lid and frame. Photo credit: Jeffrey S.

Evans & Associates; William McGuffin, photographer.

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pattern, I love the smoothness of the pieces and how tiny they

were.

When I graduated from high school and got my job at Canons-

burg Hospital, I would go to the Hallmark store in the Washing-

ton Mall and study all the pretty glass that was on display. I

started buying Fenton. I called it Braille glass because of all the

bumps. I now know that the bumps are Hobnail. I made up

names for patterns in my mind so I could recognize them.

My Grandmother gave me a tiny basket that I loved the feel of. It

was very smooth with sections or panels, and the handle felt a bit

like wicker. That basket turned out to be Duncan Miller.

As I became more interested in glass, I learned more about pat-

terns by the feel of them. A piece of glass tells its own marvel-

ous story. Some are smooth, some have dents, circles, lines, dia-

monds, wheels, flowers, berries, grapes, ruffles, points, feet, iden-

tification marks, and of course, chips! I learned quickly to thor-

oughly examine each piece that I wanted to buy. Sighted people

often miss chips that I can find with my fingers.

I got bored with Fenton and started searching for other things. I

love Paneled Grape and have started a collection of it. I was told

that Duncan Miller only made swans. Then I met Tom Bloom

and Doug Greg of “Charles Street Antiques” and found a tactual

glass bonanza. Going to that first Duncan-Miller Convention was

quite an experience. The world of glass became much more in-

teresting. I have learned so much from the wonderful people in

this club. I have pared down my collection and now have just

"good stuff".

Duncan glass feels like satin or polished marble. The patterns are

fascinating. There is so much to touch and appreciate. There are

the beautiful seashells, ship's wheels, anchors, roses, sunbursts,

snails, zippers, fans, stars, waves, pillars, loops, straight lines,

wavy lines, curves, diamonds, blocks, points, scroll work, dents,

beautiful etchings, and gorgeous dogwood. It's a tactile banquet.

I now collect Imperial, Westmoreland, and Duncan-Miller. I

have a few pieces of Fostoria and some Fenton. I have lots of

glass birds and a few other animals. To me, bisque and frosted

glass feels dirty, but Duncan's satin glass is the exception.

I am making an afghan that has the same waves as Caribbean (see

photo top of next page). I love the Homestead pattern, Carib-

bean, Nautical, Teepee, Starred Loop, Mardi Gras, Block and

Rosette (see photo below), and the three-headed swan vase. My

favorite Duncan Miller glass pattern is Dogwood. No one had to

tell me what it was supposed to be. I marvel at how a piece of

glass can present such a clear picture of a leaf, flower, berry,

grape, grass, bird, bee, butterfly, geometric pattern, etc. I found

out that my Great Grandmother's cream pitcher is Tavern. My

Mother just gave it to me two years ago.

For me, glass is a series of tactile pictures. I can hardly fathom

that this beautiful stuff was used as every day glass. I use my

glass every day, but as displays. At Easter, I put out all my

Northwood Glass Co., Royal Oak, frosted rubina syrup pitcher.

Photo credit: Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates; William McGuffin,

photographer.

Nanette and NewsJournal Editor, Carl Hearn, making early

plans to publish this article in an issue of the Journal. Photo

credit: Robert (Bob) Jones

Duncan & Miller Glass Co., Block and Rosette, No. 50, ruby

stained, circa 1902. Photo credit: Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates;

William McGuffin, photographer.

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Dogwood pieces and Butterfly pieces. In the summer, I have

everything out that has birds on it. Phoenix, Consolidated, Impe-

rial, Duncan, etc. In autumn, I put out all my Westmoreland Ma-

ple Leaf and my absolute favorite pattern – Northwood’s Royal

Oak. At Thanksgiving, I put out glass with grapes. At Christ-

mas, I put out my Fostoria holly pieces which are the ruby ones,

and my Fenton Ruby Pineapple pieces. Then in January, I just

pick some pattern at random and display that.

I also have lots of glass animals, fish, and birds.

Now we treasure it and collect old pattern glass. I may not be

able to appreciate the myriad of colors that are available, but I

sure can appreciate the "touch of glass."

Editor’s Note:

⠠⠫⠊⠞⠕⠗⠄⠎⠀⠠⠝⠕⠞⠑⠒

I agree this is not your usual article that makes the cover of the

NewsJournal. This is an article about an individual not a glass

pattern.

I met Nanette Boak for the first time at the “Glass Show and

Sale” in Washington, Pennsylvania. Actually, I stood and

watched her examine and study glass for about ten minutes be-

fore I introduced myself . I had already made the conscious deci-

sion that my experience had the potential for an article in the

NewsJournal. Since that date we have communicated by email.

Nanette has screen reading software on her computer that con-

verts messages into an audio version and she can respond by us-

ing a regular keyboard and again the keystrokes are converted

into an audio message.

Nanette had previously written this article and it only required

some edits. I then added the pictures of glass to complete the

story.

The “Braille” conversion of the title of this article has been added

to illustrate what the Braille language looks like. Braille is actu-

ally a relief image that a handicapped individual can feel with

their figures to understand the message. Nanette was making use

of the Braille system at age six. Probably one of the most com-

mon uses of Braille that we see is the floor numbers on the

“selection panel” of an elevator.

Braille has a stoic history; I have copied the following article

from the website of the American Foundation for the Blind.

Six dots. Six bumps. Six bumps in different patterns, like constel-

lations, spreading out over the page. What are they? Numbers,

letters, words. Who made this code? None other than Louis

Braille (1809-1852), a French 12-year-old, who was also blind.

And his work changed the world of reading and writing, forever.

Louis was from a small town called Coupvray, near Paris, he

was born on January 4, 1809. Louis became blind by accident,

when he was 3 years old. Deep in his Dad's harness workshop,

Louis tried to be like his Dad, but it went very wrong; he grabbed

an awl, a sharp tool for making holes, and the tool slid and hurt

his eye. The wound got infected, and the infection spread, and

soon, Louis was blind in both eyes.

All of a sudden, Louis needed a new way to learn. He stayed at

his old school for two more years, but he couldn't learn every-

thing just by listening. Things were looking up when Louis got a

scholarship to the Royal Institution for Blind Youth in Paris,

when he was 10. But even there, most of the teachers just talked

at the students. The library had 14 huge books with raised letters

that were very hard to read. Louis was impatient.

Then in 1821, a former soldier named Charles Barbier visited the

school. Barbier shared his invention called "night writing," a

code of 12 raised dots that let soldiers share top-secret informa-

tion on the battlefield without even having to speak. Unfortu-

nately, the code was too hard for the soldiers, but not for 12-year

old Louis!

Louis trimmed Barbier's 12 dots into 6, ironed out the system by

the time he was 15, then published the first-ever braille book in

1829. But did he stop there? No way! In 1837, he added symbols

for math and music. But since the public was skeptical, blind stu-

dents had to study braille on their own. Even at the Royal Institu-

tion, where Louis taught after he graduated, braille wasn't taught

until after his death. Braille began to spread worldwide in 1868,

when a group of British men, now known as the Royal National

Institute for the Blind, took up the cause.

Now practically every country in the world uses braille. Braille

books have double-sided pages, which saves a lot of space.

Braille signs help blind people get around in public spaces. And,

most important, blind people can communicate independently,

without needing print.

Louis proved that if you have the motivation, you can do incredi-

ble things.

Duncan & Miller Glass Co., Caribbean pattern, nineteen piece punch

set, bowl, ladle, cups and under plate. 1936-52. Photo credit: Jef-

frey S. Evans & Associates; William McGuffin, photographer.