Eleven More Reasons to Attend the 2011 Convention
By Brian Pitman, June 2011
By the time you read this, all of the arrangements for the ICGA annual convention will have been long completed and a large group of us will be getting ready to make it to St. Louis for a fun time. Now with a lot of choices this summer when it comes to conventions and glass, I want to share eleven more reasons why the ICGA convention is the place to be! We talked a lot in the last issue about the various things going on at the convention and even interviewed Darlene Grogan about the collection that will be sold during the convention auction. This time, I want to look at a cross section of the glass that will be sold at that auction.
In this issue of The Pump is a double-sided page with color photos of the eleven items I am discussing. Don and Barb Chamberlain traveled to the Seeck Auction world headquarters to help unpack and photograph the glass for the auction. They did a fantastic job of shooting photos, and you can check out all of them on our website at www.internationalcarnivalglass.com. These eleven photos shared with you today are to show you the wide variety of shapes, colors, and values available in the auction, as well as the top color throughout!
The first piece to highlight is the white Acorn Burrs punch set. White is one of those colors that many people pass over in carnival because a lot of white is really just clear glass with iridescence. This punch set, however, sets the standard of “Great White” with its frostiness throughout and heavy iridescence with blues, pinks, cyans, and more. This is just a gorgeous piece that looks like a frosty winter wonderland in a piece of carnival glass. White is also one of the tops in values in these sets.
The second piece is this odd little Fostoria Sherbet. Its iridescence is of the “flashed” variety, but unlike other flash pieces, this one is heavier and beautiful. Add in the odd three-pronged design and you have an intriguing conversation piece (in which you can either enjoy a scoop of ice cream or possibly an adult beverage).
The third piece is this purple Homestead plate. This plate is electric! Now lots of people call things electric, but doesn’t this one just look like it would shock you when you touched it? The pattern is truly highlighted with the brilliant iridescence across the entire face of the chop plate. Look for a bar fight during the convention over who gets this piece at the auction!
The fourth piece is also brilliant white! This Memphis fruit set is completely covered with frosty goodness, and see the iridescence glowing on each of those pieces? Who knew that one auction could have such great examples of white???
The fifth piece is also Memphis, but how about ice blue this time? The iridescence is equally beautiful on this set, and ice blue can indeed be frosty. I heard someone say that pastels were dead in the past few years. I don’t think so. I think pastels are alive and kicking, and this set is an example why! Ice blue in this set always brings some of the top money for Memphis fruit sets, and this is one of the best ones.
The sixth piece is our final example of brilliant white. This Peacock at the Fountain punch set is covered with iridescence and not often seen. The pastel versions of these punch sets are always very valuable, and this one should rise right to the top of examples known!
The seventh piece is this nine-inch Persian Medallion plate. Wow!! It is tough to photograph a piece as brilliant as this! Marigold isn’t usually this amazing in these plates and many, many people will want to own this one in July. Will you be the last one standing when the bidding ends?
The eighth piece is the gorgeous teal Ripple vase. Some call these aqua, but this one is teal through and through. Ripple is one of the top collected pieces in carnival glass, and this color is one everyone wants!
The ninth piece is this beautiful Broken Arches punch set. This is a super rare punch set worth a lot of dough. Why? Take a look at it. Yep, it’s ruffled and incredibly beautiful to boot! I can’t wait to see who takes this one home!
The tenth piece is this incredible three-and-one edge Seaweed bowl. Darlene mentioned in her interview that she likes intricate patterns (like Seaweed and Plaid, among others), and this could be one of the finest examples of Seaweed in this shape with lots of beautiful iridescence!
The final piece is this pumpkin Spector’s Department Store plate. This lettered plate is definitely pumpkin all over. It’s a plate you see on occasion, but not always like this!!!
So there you have it, eleven more reasons to attend. The auction will have even more gorgeous pieces with different manufacturers, patterns, values, and more. Check out the auction listing and the photos of the pieces on our website.
To register for the convention, use the form included in The Pump or online. We’ll see you in St. Louis!!
Brian