Friday, February 3, 2012

You might enjoy this link to the Redlands Glass Museum in Redlands, California. Redlands sits on Interstate 10 between Los Angeles and Palm Springs.

http://RedlandsGlassMuseum.com

This museum is one of the few glass museums west of the Mississippi and in particularly on the West Coast. Their collection is dependent solely on contributions. May be an opportunity for collectors looking for a permanent repository and for the museum. You’ll see a collection of Carder glass in one of the cabinets shown.

Opinions keep on expanding the Club’s mission keep coming in. Its obvious that our members have varying feelings about adding Modern Steuben Collectors to the Club. We continue to share your responses and welcome more. So, the Gazette will continue publishing the many comments we’ve received as long as they keep coming in.

Alan, We collect primarily Carder but would like to see Modern introduced. HOWEVER – A HUGE problem arises: The Carder Steuben Club is the great success it is today as a result of very, very many long hours, great expertise, and organizational talent of a relatively few people. In recent Gazettes we know that some wish to “pass the torch” and the club is looking for new volunteers to step forward. It could be a stretch unless a few “Modern Enthusiasts” make themselves known NOW with resources available to handle the modern influx.

The club will have to somehow separate the collectors piece folks from the hand cooler folks. The number of modern objects must swamp the number of Carder objects.

Best, Willson Craigie, Richmond, Virginia

Alan,

I have been a member of the Carder Steuben Club for less than a year, and joined so I could learn about “another” American glass manufacturer. I do not collect Carder Steuben, rather the glassware made by several of the American “Elegant Glass” companies. I really enjoy receiving the “Gazette,” and access to the wonderful website. There is no “pre-requisite” to join the club. Welcoming the collectors of Post-Carder Steuben is not much different
than US collectors of other glass companies, now.

Should the “mission statement” be amended is a whole different, and YES very important, ball-of-wax. My humble opinion is that someone with a much better talent for use of the English language compose an addition-to said statement, that does not offend the (“purist”?) Carder Steuben collectors – yet allow/encourage the obvious comparisons of the Post-Carder production by Steuben.

I am reminded of a statement (“rule”) that I found to be my personal GUIDE when approaching the collection of ANY company’s glassware. (Paraphrasing, only) “The collector of any company’s glass, or that of any specific pattern, is enhanced when one knows What-IS . . . by learning what Is-NOT the desired company/pattern.”

The website already gives us examples of look-a-likes, counterfeits and outright frauds. An expansion of the website FOR the Post-Carder glassware might cause an increase in the COST of maintaining it, which would be offset by the increase in the membership.

Terry Smith, Signal Hill, CA

www.cardersteubenclub.org

Any opinions expressed by participants to the Gazette e-mail newsletters are the opinions of the authors and are not endorsed by or the opinions of the Carder Steuben Club.

2012 Carder Steuben Club annual Symposium will be held at The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY from September 20-22, 2012.