24th Annual Carder Steuben Symposium
Program and Schedule of Events
September 18-20, 2025
Corning, New York
All events will take place at the Corning Museum of Glass auditorium unless otherwise noted.
Thursday, September 18
Carder Birthday Dinner, Corning Country Club
6:00 pm – Cocktails
7:00 pm – Dinner
8:00 pm – Speaker – Rob Cassetti – Steuben, the World of Tomorrow and the Birth of the Corning Glass Center
*This event requires a separate registration from the Symposium. Click here to register
Friday, September 19
8:15 am Registration and Fellowship-Breakfast
8:45 am Welcome and Opening Remarks
9:00 am– 10:00 am James Measell
The Carder Brothers and the Wordsley School of Art
The Carder brothers—Frederick Carder (1863-1963) and George J. Carder (1868-1953)—are closely linked with the life and progress of the Wordsley School of Art, most notably as the school achieved and maintained its reputation for excellence in courses of instruction pertaining to glass and trained students who had careers in the glass industry. As art master at Wordsley, the elder Carder established a foundation that was carried forward by George J. Carder after his brother immigrated to the United States in 1903 to become associated with the Steuben Glass Works.
James Measell is historian at the Fenton Art Glass Co. in Williamstown, West Virginia. During 1986-2005, he authored numerous books on American glass for The Glass Press in Marietta, Ohio. His PhD thesis on the Stourbridge School of Art 1850-1905 was awarded the Ashley Prize at the University of Birmingham in 2016. His research on various aspects of glass history has appeared in many journals, including Glass Collectors Digest, History West Midlands, and The Blackcountryman magazine. A retired university professor (Wayne State U., Detroit, MI 1970-1997), James Measell is currently an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, and he serves as a trustee of the British Glass Foundation/Stourbridge Glass Museum.
10:15 am – 11:15 am Cal Hackeman
Stretch Glass for your Home and Table in the 1920s and 2020s
Cal will explore the origins of iridescent stretch glass, how it is created, who made it and what its intended uses were when it was introduced in 1916 and the 1920s. We will also look at the re-introduction of stretch glass in 1980 by the Fenton Art Glass Company. With nine American glass companies producing over 50 unique colors and hundreds of shapes, stretch glass has something for everyone and every occasion. It is truly glassware which is as relevant to today as it was to the lifestyles of the 1920’s.
Cal Hackeman was born in rural New Hampshire and grew up in a home with an abundance of glassware and other collectibles. Cal received a gift of glass from his grandmother when he was 12, and for the next 50 years, Cal would acquire additional examples of EAPG and expand his interests to include Depression glass, furniture, Early American Flint glass, Iridescent stretch glass and other collectibles and antiques. His interest in iridescent glass began in the mid-1980s with a modest purchase of stretch and Fenton glass. Stretch glass became one of his leading passions and today his collection is one of the most extensive with over 5,000 examples. He is a past President and current Director of The Stretch Glass Society.
11:15 am – 12:30 pm Amy Hughes, Assistant Curator – CMOG
Tour of Brilliant Color – CMOG exhibit
Between 1880 and 1935, glass designers and manufacturers created brilliant colors inspired by nature, historic designs, and the hues of synthetic dyes. These practitioners revolutionized the possibilities of colored glass through experimentation and endless creativity. Brilliant Color explores the popularization of colored glass, the new techniques and colors produced from experiments, and how consumers incorporated these wares into their homes.
Amy J. Hughes, PhD, is Assistant Curator at the Corning Glass Museum, with a specialization in 19th and 20th -century and contemporary Central European glass, sculpture, photography and visual culture. She was curator of the 2023 CMOG exhibition, Local Color: Secrets of Steuben Glass Works. Prior to her move to Corning in Fall 2022, Hughes was based in Prague, Czech Republic for seven years while conducting archival research, in situ analysis and artist interviews for her dissertation. Amy has held positions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection and has also taught and lectured extensively on art and glass history classes in the United States, France and the Czech Republic.
12:30 pm Lunch in the Auditorium
1:45 pm – 2:45 pm Norman Skolnick
English Cameo Glass
Norm will share numerous images of English cameo pieces in his own collection and others to discuss the manufacturing process of English cameo glass, with primary focus on Stevens & Williams and Thomas Webb & Sons. The different techniques used for manufacture and glass marks of some specific makers will also be discussed.
Norm grew up in a household full of antiques and art. His interest in glass started very early. He purchased his first piece of English cameo glass when he was about 26 years old and has been collecting since. Norm serves as the administrator of a Facebook group of English cameo glass collectors. He has consulted with collectors about building collections, selling collections and identifying things in collections. He has also consulted with auction houses on writing proper descriptions of cameo glass and helping them to estimate value. In recent time, he has assisted the curators of Texas A&M’s Forsythe Gallery to correcting mistakes in glass identification and descriptions.
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm Rakow Library Staff
Behind the Scenes at the Rakow Library
Join several members of the Rakow Library staff in the Library for a special opportunity to see rare materials from the archives, learn about the library’s digital collections and discovery systems, and get a behind-the-scenes tour of the library’s rare book and special collections vault.
4:30 pm – 6:00 pm Reception – Rakow Library Atrium
Dinner on your own
Saturday, September 20
8:15 am Breakfast
9:00 am – 10:00 am Sue Maynard, CSGA member
A Tour of the 1925 Paris Art Deco Exposition
One hundred years ago, Paris hosted a world exposition that introduced the term Art Deco to common nomenclature. The Expo attracted fifteen thousand exhibitors and sixteen million visitors to view the products and entertainments offered. This presentation will explore some of the outstanding exhibits and attractions thanks to the photographs and artifacts from the Expo.
After careers in teaching and IT, Sue has been focusing on collecting and researching 20th century glass and pottery. In the 1980s, Sue and husband Steve met Mr. Rockwell and began to collect Carder Steuben glass. They then became interested in Cowan Pottery made in Cleveland in the 1920s, and in Clarice Cliff pottery produced in the UK in the 1920s and 30s. Her interest in these arts endeavors has led to writing and giving presentations to collector groups.
10:15 am – 11:15 am Dick Weerts, CSGA member
Members Spotlight – The Dick and Janet Weerts Collection
Dick and Janet started collecting Steuben in the late 90s after purchasing a set of Pomona green salad plates in Maine. For a time, growing their collection was “hit and miss” through browsing antique shops as well as eBay. Eventually they made a pilgrimage to Corning to see the Steuben collection at the Rockwell Museum before it was relocated to the Corning Museum of Glass. They were absolutely stunned by the store front window display on Market Street and the Rockwell Glass Store loaded with more Steuben than they could imagine. Meeting Beth Shaut and then through her, Tom Dimitroff turned their interest into an obsession.
The Weerts’ attended their first symposium in 2002. Dick has previously served as an association board officer.
11:30 am – 12:30 pm Annual business meeting (members only)
12:30 pm Lunch in the Auditorium
2:15 pm Hot Glass Demo – Innovation Hot Shop
FREE TIME See the Museum exhibits, shop in the Glass Shop or explore Market Street.
6:00 pm CSGA Banquet – A Night in Italy
Wine, Beer, Soda bar (cash/credit card bar) and Buffet Dinner and Auction
Lobby – Corning Museum of Glass
Festive attire
Note: Only checks or cash will be accepted for auction purchases. NO credit cards
Please Note:
The recording of presentations and flash photography is prohibited. Photographs from a speaker’s presentation may not be used without the speaker’s permission.
Attendance at Symposium sessions including the Saturday banquet is limited to Symposium and dinner registrants and invited guests of the Association.
Attendance at the Annual Business Meeting is limited to CSGA members in good standing.
Carder Steuben Glass Association
18-20 September 2025
