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Zoar
In 1817 a group of German Religious dissenters purchased 5,500 acres in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, and founded a communal society, known as The Society of Separatists. In the town they named Zoar they successfully maintained a nearly self-sustaining community for three generations until 1898 when the remaining Society goods were sold at auction. In addition to agriculture, the Zoarites operated many industries, including textiles, iron foundries, furniture and pottery makers. Today Zoar furniture [...] Click here to continue reading.
Samuel Yellin, Artist in Metalwork
Yellin as born in 1885 in Mogilera, Galacia, Poland. He was enrolled in a specialized school for arts and crafts as a child. There he was recognized for his drawing ability and interest in iron work. Family and teachers got him an apprenticeship to a local Russian blacksmith. Yellin became a mastersmith at the age of seventeen. In 1902 he left home and is believed to have traveled to [...] Click here to continue reading.
Wallace Nutting (1861-1941)
Wallace Nutting was born in Rockbottom, Massachusetts, in 1861. He was ordained a Congregational Minister in 1887 and while he appeared to excel in this profession, he continually declined calls from one church or another all over the country. He finally settled in 1894 in Providence, Rhode Island, as minister of the Union Church. He resigned from Union Church after a nervous breakdown in 1904 and began to take photographs in [...] Click here to continue reading.
Waffle and Thumbprint Glass Pattern
This variation on the traditional Waffle pattern was produced from the 1850′s through the 1870′s by various glassworks, including the Boston & Sandwich Glass Co., the New England Glass Co. and Curling, Robertson & Co. It alternates panels with thumbprints with waffled panels. It is known mostly in clear flint glass pieces, but some were also produced using the less desirable and cheaper lime formula process.
Vesica
Vesica is a term used to describe a particular design motif in cut glass, particularly early Bakewell, Page cut glass from Pittsburgh, comprising an oval, typically but not alwsys horizontally oriented with pointed ends. The vesica’s interior is usually filled by strawberry cross hatching. Vesica comes from a Latin root meaning bladder or sack.
Roseville Pottery
Roseville Pottery Company thrived for 65 years (1890 to 1954) moving from Victorian to Arts and Crafts, from Art Deco to 50s Modern. Its unique “Roseville look” can be spotted across a room. In its day, Roseville produced over 100 innovative lines of art pottery some with as many as 65 shapes in three different colors. But the Zanesville, Ohio, manufactory was hardly innovative or unique in 1900 when it first branched [...] Click here to continue reading.
Daniel C. Ripley, glassmaker
The first Ripley & Co. glassworks was organized by Daniel C. Ripley and several partners, including George Duncan Sr., in 1866 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company specialized in flint, cut, and engraved glass. Later, Duncan bought out the partners and renamed the company George Duncan & Sons. In 1874 Daniel Ripley established his own company, where he made pressed glassware, bar glass, and lamps, including the famous Ripley double-font “marriage” [...] Click here to continue reading.
The Ralph Raby Collection
Ralph Raby is a direct descendant of the Chicago retail shoe magnates George and Joseph Bullock. The Bullocks were typical upper-class Victorians, with a sophisticated eye for fine furniture, art and decorations who traveled extensively throughout Europe. The majority of the Raby collection was assembled by the brothers and their wives in the 1870′s and 1880′s.
Their travels and philosophy were described by Mr. Raby for a 1984 Chicago Tribune [...] Click here to continue reading.
Cassolette
“Cassolette,” the diminutive form of the French word “cassole,” means small container. While the word has other meanings, in the world of decorative arts, it refers to a small covered vase meant to hold perfumed substances or incense. A cassolette normally has holes pierced in the shoulders and in the cover to allow the scent to drift out. Frequently, mounted vases that were not originally designed as cassolettes have had a pierced metal [...] Click here to continue reading.
Benjamin Perley Poore
Benjamin Perley Poore (1820 to 1887) was a significant early collector of American antiques. A writer by trade, Poore was born near Newbury, Massachusetts to parents Benjamin and Mary Perley Poore. The family estate called Indian Hill became the showcase for his eclectic assemblage of antiques.
As a youth Poore was influenced by trips to Europe and was especially fascinated by the old Scottish castles and manor houses. He later sought [...] Click here to continue reading.
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