Jars or Vases ?

1

2

3

 GO FIGURE !

   These 3 pieces were featured for sale on the "Historic Glasshouse" website under the "Fruit Jars and Pickle Bottles" category and the asking price, without paint, is right up there with "Goofus" with its original paint.

   The "jars or vases" controversy rages on!  One article from an August 1972 issue of the "Bottle Trader Magazine"  goes into seemingly knowing detail to even describe how the jars were "sealed with sealing wax, then covered with a lead foil and the label was put on top". This certainly would explain why we cannot find any markings on the containers themselves.   The story goes that as turn of the century housewives mostly canned their own pickles, some special means had to be used to attract them into buying pickles, mustard, and relish  from the grocery stores.  Housewives are said to have secondarily used them for vases.  I don't find any reference to paint decoration on these.

   We now know factually and have ample proof that at least one manufacturer,  Indiana Glass Company, at Dunkirk, Indiana, made quite a lot of actual decorated vases, never intended for use to contain condiments of any kind.  I know also that there have been unpainted jars used to pack condiments in that some manufacturer made -  Westmoreland for one - but that it is entirely incorrect to conclude that every vase shaped Goofus vessel we find today was used to pack pickles or any other condiment.  It is just a curious overlap and a close resemblance that is to blame.  Unpainted pressed glass was in production considerably before decorated pressed glass was apparently. 

(A "special thanks" by the way to  Shirlee MacDonald of Findlay, Ohio 
who sent me copies of the only articles pertaining to Goofus she has
seen since 1970.  Shirlee is the editor of the Findlay Antique Bottle
Club Newsletter. It is so helpful to get these articles)

                                                                                         

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Indiana Glass Company at Dunkirk, Indiana
 

     From an Indiana Catalog (1921?) depicting decorated ware, and other notes I have been fortunate enough to obtain copies of, there is evidence that not only does it appear Indiana have made the brunt of decorated vases we prize today but also that distribution lasted longer than previously imagined.  Indiana re-issued a lot of its patterns, to the consternation of collectors, without any distinction  As you can see below, a mention of " added vases" in  1919.  Were they the first vases made by the company ?

     Indiana was still advertising decorated vases well up into at least 1932.  Also, what are these "decorates" that Indiana allegedly added in 1933 ? Was it Goofus or something totally different.  Is it conceivable that Goofus products were still a profit item in 1933 ?  We are still looking for these important links.  Keep in mind also that Indiana were known to re-use a number of molds purchased from older companies that went out of business, as did a lot of other glass works.  This is just one of the many factors that make attribution of patterns such a devil of a task.  You might be able to say a particular factory made such and such a pattern, but you could never be certain which company and when that pattern originated at.

The Beatty - Brady Glass Company
  
1896 -  The Beatty and  Brady Glass Company was started in 1896 in the building built the previous year by the Pennsylvania Railroad Co. for the purpose of building and repairing railroad cars. This idea was abandoned and the property was sold to George Brady and James Beatty.  The Beatty and Brady Co. made glass lamps, glass chimney tops, vases and some domestic types of glass.

1899 -  In October 1899, the giant combine known as the National Glass Company of Pittsburgh, PA purchased the assets of the Beatty and Brady Co.   They sent Frank Merry to Dunkirk as Operational Mgr. The National Glass Co. was patterned after the United States Glass Co.  Nineteen companies pooled their interests and frequently their molds to form the National Glass Co.  Consequently, it is impossible to prove the exact factory in which they were made.

(Letterhead of the "Indiana Glass Works", Dunkirk, IN, manufacturers of Prescription Bottles, Joseph T. Day President.)

"The Indiana "Glass Works

1904 - Under the Indiana Glass Works name, it was closed.  It probably had been leased from the National Glass Combine since it had been elsewhere reported that National had leased ALL its active plants.

1906 -  (Obviously restarted) They added pressed glass lamp fonts, although old records noted: "add lamps";  but, blown lamps were first mentioned in 1916 records. 

The Indiana Glass "Company" begins

1907 -  During the depression of 1907, and subsequent bank failures,  the National Glass Co. failed and was placed in receivership.  Mr. Merry still continued to operate the plant.

(Curiously a letterhead appears as early as 11 October 1907 of the Indiana Glass Co. Dunkirk IN, manufacturers of Pressed and Blown Glassware, Frank W. Merry, Pres;  H. H. Phillips, Sec- Treas.)

1908 - It was sold to a group consisting of Frank Merry, President, Henry Batsch, Harold Phillips, Charles Smelley, Rathburn Fuller and James Merry Overleaf.  Mr. Merry was President until 1931.

1916 - First mention of blown as well as pressed glass - including blown lamps.

1917 - They added tableware, jellies, tumblers, goblets, lamps, stemware, bar goods, decorated tableware and novelties.

1919 -  They added vases.    

1921 -  They added soda fountain supplies.

1925 -  They added auto headlights and signal glass.

1931 -  In 1931 Mr. Charles Gaunt was elected President and remained so until 1956.

1933 -  They added more tableware, plain and solid colors; more tumblers; more lamps; more stemware; more soda fountain supplies; decorates (?); more vases; more novelties.   [Novelties might include a bon-bon, berry, tray, salad, handled olive , fruit dish, comport, card receiver, jelly, table dish, nappy, nut bowl, cake plate, hair receiver, scalloped dish, etc.]

In the 1920's and 30's they produced much industrial glass, primarily automobile headlight lenses.  Headlamp lenses were ultimately replaced by sealed beams at which time Indiana glass bought the assets of the Sneath Glass Co. of Hartford City,  Indiana, in order that they might make sealed beam lamps.  This operation failed and the plant closed.  

An operating company was hired to operate Indiana Glass Company when Mr. Gaunts's health failed. 

  George and Ada Morton, large stockholders, heard of financial reverses and took over the responsibility of active management of the company.

1954 - They added heat resisting glass

1955 -  They added "Hy-Temp" heat resist ware. A merger with Lancaster Lens CO. produced the Lancaster Glass Corp.  

1956 - Dr. R.K. Fox was elected president.

1958 -  Notes of uneasiness financially.  Furnace reduction, lay-offs of officers, some top offices unfilled.

1960 -  New money, president now R.K. Fox.  Lists include tableware, milk glass, crystal, plain and decorated tumblers, lamps, stemware, hotel, soda fountain and bar supplies, novelties and lens, private mould work of all kinds, promotional and industrial glassware of all kinds.

1961 - A merger was made to form the Lancaster Colony Corporation.

1963 -  First mention of Indiana Glass CO. being a subsidiary of the Lancaster Colonies Corporation.

1970 -  Production of Tiara started.

1971 -  Carnival glass was introduced (Contemporary).  The items were many and not made in limited editions.  Since the moulds were used to produce many types of glassware, it was not practical to affix a permanent trademark (They used paper tags. Claim was made these were never reproduced -- however -- Indiana, when it went out of existence,  had an unpopular reputation for frequent re-issues of its patterns without differentiation -- at least of other glass types.

1974 -  In their 4th year of production of (Contemporary) carnival glass, starting in 1971 with the iridescent blue, adding gold, followed by a glass referred to as "Sunset" which was a pretty amberina color, and iridescent green followed by their iridescent amethyst.  The present officers were James E. Hooffstetter, President and General Mgr. - and - Arthur L. Harshman, Asst. Mgr. 

[ I thank the Dunkirk (Indiana)  Public Library and particularly Mary Newsome, who has been so helpful.  This information was taken from a notebook belonging to Arthur Harshman.  To date we simply have not been able to find a proper historical accounting of this huge plant but will keep asking and hoping for something more complete]

THE BITTER END.  Here is a description of the final, ugly, ruin of the Indiana Glass
Factory by Lancaster Glass.  Read HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

What is a "whimsy" or "stunt" ?

 

   A whimsy, earlier on called a "stunt" by glass workers, was a common molded shape given an unusual tweak or twist turning it into a unique shape while the glass was still hot.  In this case, we see a Paneled Oak bowl that has been smooshed down into a flattened bowl, with a gentle large ruffled edge, done likewise while hot.  I guess life at times in the hot factories must have gotten a bit boring and the lads became a bit frisky to make time pass.  Such pieces are unusual and deserve to fetch a higher price than normal shapes.
  

 

Values What's This Stuff Worth?       

     Quoting from Harry Rinker, a collectibles expert,  speaking of collectibles:

 "A lot of the price guides on the market are outright lies, especially the specialized ones.  Today, prices are 40 percent, 50 percent, even 60 percent less than what the guides are saying.  If you want to see what something is really worth, go on eBay, check some (completed) sales.  That's what your stuff is worth.".  

   From another unknown source: "Something is worth what ever someone is willing to pay at the time".  

(1.) (COX NEWS SERVICE - Sandra Eckstein,  as printed in the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper,  AUG 19,2002. "Collectible market goes into nose dive")

 

Foreword - How it started out:
     
     Back in December 1997, while on my that year's annual Christmas vacation from Sprint,  my youngest daughter, Becky, was taking a college course associated with her Masters degree in Library Science / Public Information.  This course involved web page creation.  She had done one page for her class project on endangered Florida animals, and was showing me her page online.  We had previously been discussing how there were absolutely no Internet web sites on Goofus; how there had been only one little book in the entire public library,  now out of print, and very hard to find, and so forth - and then Becky said: "Dad, why don't YOU do a web page on Goofus? ( You are half smart ! ) - I'll help.  It sparked my interest, to learn how web pages are created if nothing else, and I have been at it since, for better or worse.  It is really fun to see something you created appear on the Worldwide Web for all to enjoy.  Becky proceeded to take an overseas internship in England for six months and I was forced to "go it alone" without her help.  That was probably the best thing for me as I had to throw away the crutches and learn to do things for myself.  I hope that you will enjoy the results.

 

HISTORY

Why isn't the history of Goofus better known ?

      To date, I have been able to turn up only one skimpy reprint of  a catalog for Northwood, one for Dugan, and one for Indiana Glass.   Stop and think though that photographic processes and printing processes we so much take for granted today were non-existent and any paper catalog illustrations depended upon the graphic artists of that day to make rather crude hand-sketches.  This time consuming task must have been expensive even in those days of relatively low labor costs. If these hand sketches had to be then engraved in  reverse lead or wooden  plates by another artist, imagine the costs and time to make a catalog !!  No wonder glass was often just displayed about the country to potential wholesale buyers and or carried about by salesmen.  Keep in mind there were no "while you wait " corner print shops with scanners and copy machines that could have mashed out catalogs in a Saturday afternoon by the thousands in color, collated, stapled, bound, and boxed while old Harry took in a baseball game, and sipped his suds.  There just isn't any paper trail to follow.

     The National Glass Company combined 19 smaller factories (1900 - 1904).  During this interval, moulds were shared, patterns copied, etc. and it is really hard to say just what was made where or by whom.  Moulds were frequently bought and sold, factories were sold and merged.  This is bad enough, but,  another equally plausible  answer might be that more than one old glass factory which manufactured Goofus glass burned to the ground with heavy losses of moulds and took with it all of the paper records which might have documented its production. I do know  Glass production that flourished for 40 years in Indiana, Pennsylvania may have had a significant part of its history perish that way.

FIRE

      The Diamond Glass-Ware factory, which  burned to the ground on June 27,  1931 was the successor to The Dugan Glass Company, (effective in January 1913). The Dugan Glass Company had itself already suffered heavy fire losses in February of 1912.   Dugan was the successor to H. Northwood's first venture on his own in America, which later became known as  National Glass Company's Northwood Works(1).  H. Northwood was successor to the Indiana Glass Company of Indiana, PA (2).  Thus, I am only  conjecturing that if Diamond Glass Ware was possibly storing what was left of any significant historical archives in the factory parts that burned of the production logs, manifests, diaries, photos, etc. of any of its predecessors, (Indiana, National's Northwood Works, Dugan)   then, conceivably, a good deal of their old paper  records were very possibly rendered into ashes. 

      Fire was also responsible for the demise of other earlier glass factories.  Consider they were mostly wooden structures and housed large gas fired furnaces.  The Riverside Glass Co. in Wellsburg, W. Virginia burned in 1886, but rebuilt.  Novelty Glass Co. in LaGrange, Ohio burned in 1893. The La Belle factory met that fate in  September1887.  Excelsior Glass Works (Buckeye Glass Co.) in Martins, Ferry, OH burned in 1894.  Model Flint Glass Co. in Albany, IN burned in 1902, The Indiana Tumbler and Goblet Factory burned to the ground on June 13, 1903. The Tarentum Glass Co. (formerly Richards & Hartley) in Tarentum, PA burned in 1918. I simply offer these disasters as an at least plausible theory explaining the almost total  vacuum we find while attempting to uncover any more than just a tiny sliver of our fine old collectible's obscure history. 

(1)  Not to be confused with H. Northwood's mostly successful  venture at Wheeling, West Virginia 1901-1925
(2)  Not to be confused with the Indiana Glass Co. at Dunkirk, Indiana.

 

 

"The Old Book"


                                                                 

     As you no doubt are aware, the one book published on the subject simply  called "Goofus Glass" by Carolyn McKinley was last published by Collector Books way back in 1984.  This book is virtually impossible to find today.  We are lucky to have "scrounged" two copies. 

   We have learned that shortly after her "little red book" was published,  Mrs. McKinley, herself a cancer survivor,  lost her Mother, her oldest son, and her husband Mac within a few months of each other.  Few have had to endure tragic losses of this magnitude.  Fortunately,  she had another  son and a daughter and some grandchildren to fall back on.  I was delighted, in fact,  to receive an email from one of the grandchildren,  Tim McKinley, who now resides in Jacksonville, Florida.  His grandmother had no access to a computer and wanted him to check out our site.  Mrs. McKinley still resides in Deming, New Mexico.   

   The original booklet, 128 pages, 8-1/2" x 5-1/2 ", paper backed, originally sold for  a measly $9.95.  Some magazines cost nearly that today.  Lately, on Ebay, some have gone lately for as much as $60.  I believe Mrs. McKinley received only 50 cents per book for her efforts from the publisher.  This was a crime if true.  Naturally, when looking through the original book, many are going to take some of the names she assigned to pieces to task.  It is a natural tendency to want to name glass objects by our perception of what the pattern represents.  Glass mold artists weren't botanists.  Obviously, with more rigorous research, many of the pictured pieces have been identified from old literature, ads, catalogs otherwise.  Leon Travis (Charles Buddy Dodson in her book) himself is responsible for considerable research and later correctly giving the names of several of the pictured objects in his "Goofus Glass Gazette" quarterly newsletter.  This isn't a "smear" of Mrs. McKinley at all.  No reference work on any subject could survive "perfect" that long.  
  
   I GREATLY respect and admire Mrs. McKinley and always say with a smile when asked:

     "She has produced one more book than me or anyone else on the subject" I wish she would do another.  She was, after all, the impetus that launched Goofus as a collectible glass.  David Ballentine

"The New Book"    

     The "heir apparent" John Martin ( Marty Davis )  who resides in Dallas, Texas,  was rumored to be laboring, along with  Steve Gillespie,  over a NEW  book to replace Mrs. McKinley's for over five years now.  I first read about it in the GGG October 1994 issue.   As a matter of interest, Marty purchased Carolyn McKinley's collection and it was with Carolyn's  fondest hopes and her sincerest blessings that  he would write a new book which  she could not bring herself to do at the time,  faced with her own personal tragedies.   We sincerely wish Marty and his "gang"  the best of luck and cannot wait to see the labor of his efforts.  I will probably be in line to buy the book as soon as it is advertised.

      A good many of us would, however, appreciate,  and not feel guilty in  expecting an honest update as to when they might hope to finish and "let it go".  It has been literally years since we were originally informed about the book with not even a "rumored" release announced.  I think all the Goofus collectors  should be told what is the status after all this time. They are, after all is said and done, who will be buying the book.  I also would hope that these fine people involved in its creation would not continue to exclude us from their confidence or to view us as competitors.  There will continue to be a marketplace for a printed book regardless of what we place on this website.   

 

 

Surface Texture Study 

   Accumulating  a respectable library of texture samples will be a lengthy and  tedious task .  It is my fond hope that this effort is worthwhile as it  someday might  allow  backgrounds to become an important, recognized research tool.  Bear with us as this section grows and some relational observations become able to be more scientifically based. If anyone wishes to participate, do your pencil rubbings, scan the results and send samples to me by a small .jpg email attachment.

    I have seen Goofus pattern names including  the word "crackle", "craquelle", "ice" but I assure you this was an unfortunate error which has created totally unnecessary confusion and  controversy.  Crackle is a process where  a molten blob of  glass is quenched in cold water which fills the glass internally with multiple cracks like an ice cube.   Then the piece is  quickly re-heated at high enough temperatures  to fuse the cracks, and molded or blown into the desired shape, thus leaving a pleasing internal pattern , highly prized.  More frequently as not also, the glass formula includes metallic formula ingredients that give it internal  color without having to be painted.  It wouldn't make sense to then cover this creation all over with cheap enamel paint.  Obviously, sellers attempting to increase the apparent value of their glass won't hesitate to aggrandize their descriptions now - would they ?  Of course, and I see it almost daily.  A surface molded texture is NOT crackle finish.
             

Basket weave Type 1	Basket weave Type 2	Stippled Type 1
Fishnet Type 1	Fishnet Type 2

   

                              


 

 

 

How Can You Help ?

 It can be done by EVERYONE sharing information unselfishly over the internet, sharing any and all resources -- primarily at this time when we are ALL desperate for any old paperwork, old manifests, logs, diaries, ads,  glass trade journals, etc.  that can help us identify who made the bulk of the precious old glassware we so admire.

I believe that the purpose of the Internet is to share unselfishly what we know with others hungry for that knowledge - and - not always for just a monetary reward.  I see future "books" in the form of a compact disc or perhaps the newer DVD.  The advantages are legion.  Imagine being able to combine a crack database into the storage medium so that for whatever you were attempting to find was only a few key clicks away.

Modern translations of the entire Bible have long since been placed onto computers so that any phrase or part of the old or new testament can instantly be brought up on the screen.  An entire encyclopedia can be placed on one compact disc and this is just the beginning.  

We know someone out there has to have at least parts of old Indiana or Dugan Glass catalogs, the 1906 Northwood Catalog. Maybe a stashed away  collection of Baltimore Bargain House ads, Lyon Brothers Wholesale ads, G. Sommers,  or Butler Brothers (Our Drummer) Ads or some early Dept Store catalogs? (Old Montgomery Ward Catalogs? ) How about early editions of "Glass and Pottery World", "China Glass and Lamps" ?

This could potentially  be an immense help to pin down information on when items were made? Who made them? What were they called at the time they were made ? If people really and truly  have an unselfish interest in American Glass making history,  what finer way is there to express it than to share all they know with others ?? 

I am constantly seeking digital images of pieces I don't have.  Shapes, colors that are different from those shown.  Any that you send, please take the picture from directly overhead against a black background and take time to make a well focused, well exposed image.  You can attach the image as a .jpg attachment to your email to me.  I can crop and size the image on this end, but it is a lot of work to eliminate hands, holders,  and busy backgrounds. 

 

Origin of the Name  

Goofus "America's first carnival glass"

1.   Goofus was developed as an inexpensive  way of making colored glass,  to cold paint it and not fire the enamel in.  But when it was discovered that the paint chipped off easily , it was conceded that someone had "goofed" and purchasers commenced calling it "Goofus Glass"  (Thanks to: Angela Bowey of the Virtual Glass Museum in New Zealand.)

2.   Many of the patterns used in Goofus glass were originally made in either clear crystal or in just plain opalescent colors. Cold painting them came a little later. It was the collectors themselves, who, when they were first introduced to these new painted themes at that time, felt that the manufacturers were simply trying to "goof" them, or as they put it "Oh!, They are just trying to goof-us." This was a term they used instead of "fool us". 
( Thanks to: Bill Banks of "Classical Glass")

3.  Over a 20-year period it was displayed at carnivals along with Carnival Glass.  At first it was generally known as "Mexican Ware", possibly because of the gaudy colors or because of the predominance of red and green, the colors of the flag of Mexico.  The prize-winning customer had his choice of this or iridescent Carnival Glass.  Carnival Glass authority Rose Presznick's research indicates that when given the choice, the prize winner so often said, " I'll take a piece of that "goofy - looking glass, " that it acquired the name of Goofus. 

(Incidentally, Rose Presznick was allegedly working on what was to be the first book on Goofus but apparently never completed it before her death.  No one seems to know what might have happened to her reference material)

4.  A lady is said to have exclaimed at her sewing circle, "Anybody who would make glass with a paint that washes off must be goofus"

The above are  all equally plausible theories of how the name originated. If you have heard a different version,  please share it with all of us.  
 

                                                                     

          



 

What Is NOT Goofus ?

A few examples: [All that glitters is NOT gold ]

 

                                                    
   There are so many auction pieces  today being misrepresented as Goofus, I have decided to include some images of some of the most prevalent and obvious I see almost daily on Ebay and Yahoo.   The various covered candy jars really irk me.  My daughter somehow began collecting a series of these, most likely a Jeanette Glass product of quite recent manufacture.  None  of these are remotely to be considered being Goofus. 

   Goofus wasn't fired on but was a cold painted  decoration.  The one exception to this though is in the Northwood Intaglio where he had fired gold (gilded) rims on some of the pieces.  Just the rims were a bright fired on gold process.   Another grouping of items misrepresented as being Goofus are the various "stained" glass objects.  These most commonly are bright red, but I have seen blues, greens, ambers, yellows etc.   The thin staining can be scratched off as it is just a very thin coating.  You can see through these objects. These were clear glass objects made to look like the much more expensive ruby glass or to mimic Amberina with the red and yellow.  Real Amberina doesn't scratch off.  The color is within the glass formula.   You don't normally see through a Goofus enamel.  It is quite opaque.

    Other objects have bright silver, sometimes referred to as "Mercury" -- but are most certainly NOT at all Mercury glass.  These are most often with red stained color.  They can be attractive, and they look like they weren't cheap pieces at all,  but they are not Goofus.  I think you could get 100 collectors in a room and take a poll and to a person they would say even silver paint  makes their "watch-out" light come on. I have seen silver painted Goofus but it is quite uncommon - on a par with the rare reds.   

    There was some real artistry and hand decorating done in the old days.  You can frequently discern if  a piece is real Goofus by the simple fact that old gold paint oxidizes and turns quite dark - almost like the patina of copper in some pieces.  Older pieces frequently also had green oxides and / or sulphates that would form between the paint and the glass.  I have seen some oldies that were almost green from age -- looking like algae growing under the glass. The paint tends also to become quite dull, and soiled on the painted surfaces which have been exposed to oxygen in the air.
 

 

Different objects:

     Vases, pickle jars, plates, bowls, wall-pockets, oil lamps, paper weights, powder boxes,  decanters, dresser trays, pin trays, compotes,  saucers, flower pots, card holders, relish dishes, tumblers, jelly bowls, nut dishes, coasters, picture frames, pin trays, jewel boxes, syrup pitchers, salt & pepper shakers, sugar shakers, water bottles, fairy lamps to name just a few.  Most pieces are only painted on one side.  The "base" glass could be clear or opalescent-clear or green, blue, amber, or even white milk glass.  It has also been seen in satin [acid-etched], and with a myriad of surface designs imparted by the molds they were cast in.  A future feature will be dedicated to background surface designs which could become an important clue in tracing attribution to a particular maker. 

     The obvious shortcoming, which no doubt signaled its end was the fact that un-fired paint did not "wear" well and readily chipped off with handling and daily use. Thus it is that the pieces most sought after are those which still manage to turn up in surprising numbers still  bearing most all of their original paint.   
                                                               

 

 

Solarization

    A piece that has lost all of its paint still has some allure. Impure silica sand, a common ingredient of glass contains considerable  trace amounts of iron, an impurity, and a strong greenish blue colorant, which if not removed will impart a pronounced greenish color to glass. Using manganese dioxide MnO2 [often referred to as the glass makers "soap" ] as a "decolorizer" (an oxidizer)  in the formula counteracts the iron by chemically changing it from its "reduced" state to an "oxidized" state. This produces a clearer glass.   The manganese itself, then goes into a "reduced" state.  This reduced manganese,  exposed over  years or decades to strong ultraviolet light will cause the glass to take on a pronounced amethyst blue coloration.  Many, in fact,  prize pairs of items  -- one with and one without paint, and particularly if it has "solarized".  Some call this "desert glass".  Anyone who has happened upon old bottles on remote  islands can attest to this as well.   Early glass perhaps had a higher dose of manganese dioxide to offset the impure sands used at the time so that is why they turned more readily.  Also newer oxidizers are probably more commonly used today.
 

 

 

 

 

 

On Line Auctions:
 
   Electronic auctioning and buying is here to stay.  I view with my deepest  sadness what I see has already happened to the shops in America that we used to find nice things at.   My wife and I used to look forward every year to traveling out of state to North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, etc.  in search of our various collectibles.  Now,  the items that we used to find in the galleries of the big malls are packed away in back rooms waiting on auctions to end on eBay and other electronic auctions.  It has been several years since we used to come back from a trip and spend an hour unwrapping our "finds" on the dining room table.  Most sellers tell you they are doing very, very well selling electronically.  Far better than they were doing out of their shops or at shows.  

   The "UP" side of it is that buyers can see more items on their PC monitor each day of their favorite collectible than ever in one mall or shop.  How often have you been able to look at over a hundred pieces of Goofus for sale in one place?  You can  sit at home and see merchandise from all over the USA and Canada.    True, you cannot hold the piece in your hand and check it under proper light,  but if the seller is honest, most have return policies that allow you to return the merchandise if you feel it wasn't represented fairly. like it or not, this is the future.  We will all just have to adapt because nothing is going to hold back the tide coming in, anymore than you standing on the beach and saying "STOP!" to the waves.   I miss the hunt though, and the thrill of finding something nice in an unexpected stop at a little store along the road.  It will never be the same. I can always hope that the yard sales continue.  They are the final frontier.
 

RESTORATION

 

     
                                                                     
REPAINTING ...IS NOT RESTORING -- OR REPAIRING !!! DON'T

    With  respect to  Carolyn McKinley, who  re-painted pieces pictured  in her book, it has only recently  been revealed that she reluctantly decided  to paint certain pieces for the photos which appeared in her book, as many had little or no paint of their own and that she really did not  like the idea of doing it.  For the rest of  you, who aren't trying to produce a book, and particularly if you plan on selling your glass someday,  I implore  you to please NOT re-paint. As Leon Travis put it so aptly, "don't expect a potential buyer to appreciate your artistry".  It may look better than it was, but it is FOREVER finished as an original antique. 

   Our philosophy on  "repairing" or "re-painting" or "re-touching" paint on Goofus simply is that it is one thing to "play" with a piece you are going to keep forever;  but if you do so to increase the apparent value of the piece for sale,  and conceal the fact you did it ,   you are in fact committing a  F R A U D  pure and simple.  It is basically a F O R G E R Y.   (And we don't want to get into defining what "Is" is.  := )  ).  People whose parents instilled core values into them don't do it.

   An honest person will state that the piece has been "repainted" up - front and price it accordingly less than a piece with all original paint - about one half its full value.  Also, if it is damaged, it should always be stated that it is "AS-IS" and have the damage indicated plainly to the buyer . We don't want to be lecturing anyone on the lack of  "core values" but obviously temptation is strong to "enhance" profit.  Ask yourself how much is a re-painted  or copied Rembrandt oil painting, done by "Big Al"  worth ?  Look at these "creations" below for a real laugh.  (Warning -- Viewer discretion is advised )