With the invention of the mechanical glass press in the 1800s, the glassmaking industry moved away from free-blown, hand-decorated pieces and embraced new ways to mass-produce inexpensive decorative glass. But not everyone wanted to leave the old ways behind.
Brothers Henry Thomas, Lorenzo, and William Elbert Clevenger were apprentices at the Moore Brothers Clayton Glass Works, where their father, William Henry, also worked. The Clayton Glass Works closed in 1912. In 1930, the Clevenger brothers constructed their own glass furnace in their backyard in Clayton, New Jersey. They used their training to make glass in the old-fashioned South Jersey style developed in the colonial years: free-blown vessels decorated with blobs or threads of glass applied by hand. They soon started making mold-blown glass, including reproductions of famous antique bottles like the Fislerville Jenny Lind calabash flask and the figural E.G. Booz whiskey bottle.
A Clevenger Brothers vase sold for $192 at an auction by Jeffrey S. Evans. It was free-blown, with a rough pontil mark as evidence. Its two handles, decorative glass blobs called lily pads, and the threading around its neck were applied by hand. The vase’s medium blue color is also faithful to the earlier glass traditions. It is still recognizable as a 20th-century piece; for one thing, Clevenger Brothers glass is usually heavier than pieces made in the 1700s and 1800s. The brothers’ intent was not to create forgeries of valuable antique glassware but to continue the traditions of their glassmaking forebears.
Q: I have a set with a perfume bottle, compact and lipstick tube made of pearl. They are in a case that reads “Le Kid Paris” inside. What is its value?
A: “Le Kid” was created by the Marcel Franck perfume company in Paris in 1926. It was the first purse-sized perfume atomizer. Individual Le Kid perfume bottles are worth about $50 to $120. Many dealers who sell jewelry also deal in items like perfume bottles and compacts. There are also collectors who specialize in perfume bottles, like the International Perfume Bottle Association (IPBA).
TIP: Never put silverware and stainless-steel flatware in the dishwasher basket together. The stainless can damage the silver.
CURRENT PRICES
Spongeware, pitcher, Bennington Rockingham style, brown sponge and drip, mask carved under spout, ribbed, eight-sided base, 9 x 7 inches, $130.
Textile, flag, American, 45 stars, loose weave, wool and cotton, machine sewn, Spanish-American War, c. 1896, 58 x 93 inches, $290.
World War II, calendar, Keep ‘Em Flying, airplane graphic, Do Your Part Daily, rotating month, date cards, metal, 14 x 9 inches, $1,070.
Toy, figurine set, astronaut, four astronauts, clear helmets, three robots, arms raised, box, Cherilea, 3 inches, $1,800.
For more collecting news, tips and resources, visit www.Kovels.com.
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This blue vase was made in the early 20th century with techniques from the early days of American glassmaking.
