Vogue Magazine from 1925

This advertisement is from a Vogue magazine in 1926. The month is currently unknown. It features some Spanish Green shape 6359 stemware and a pair of 6458 candlesticks. It also shows an acid etched 6370 vase etched in Duck pattern.

The Many Dimensions of Jane Spillman

My Friend and Mentor, Jane

by Mary Cheek Mills

Jane and I had a very special relationship-we could look each other directly in the eye-and she really liked that. You see, it’s a big deal when you’re under five feet tall!
In 1994, Jane lectured at the ACGA seminar in Hunt Valley, Maryland. It was my first glass conference, so I was a little overwhelmed. I sat with her children, who were in middle school, and she never forgot that little act of kindness. She brought it up several times through the years. She never realized how much I appreciated their company and enjoyed watching them grow up.

Through the years Jane proved to be a dear friend and supportive mentor. She often invited me to stay at her home during the Corning annual seminars. Of course, staying with Jane meant being surrounded by great books, having lively dinner discussions with guests from around the world, drinking wine, and playing with the dog. Not necessarily in that order.
During one of my first trips to Corning she helped me go through invoices for Union Glass Works. Looking back, I realize that I knew so little, but Jane patiently answered all my questions, “What’s a peg lamp?” (I should have known.) I hung on every word she said, “Ten-inch plates are very rare.” It’s 25 years later and I’m still looking for a 10-inch plate attributable to Union Glass Works.

I joined the education department at The Corning Museum of Glass in 2005. Jane went out of her way to include me when American glass scholars and collectors brought glass in for her opinion or to offer to the Museum. She knew I wanted to see and handle as much glass as possible. We respected each other immensely. She welcomed my opinions, but I always deferred to her as Corning’s curator.

Jane often asked me to accompany her on seminars and trips. I became the unofficial driver for personal and professional excursions to see some of the great American glass collectors. We had long discussions as we explored cases of glass with Dorothy-Lee Jones and Kenneth and Sylvia Lyon, among others. We even ventured to Gary Stradling’s 80th birthday party in the Adirondacks. We all shared a passion for early American glass and treasured our time together.