Well today was fun. We went to another auction, and since my Sister never had the pleasure of going to one before, she decided to go along. They had so many beautiful pieces of crystal including at least 100 pieces of Swarovski, a few pieces of Steuben, one piece of Waterford, a piece or two of Heisey, a few Goeble pieces, plus some other pieces, unmarked. I felt so bad for the auctioneer because he had so much to sell, so I helped him out a bit. Many pieces went too high for my wallet, but I did manage to get a few pieces. As you can see, most are relatively small, but do not underestimate their value. This was my first exposure to crystal. Even though Swarovski is beautiful and kind of expensive, Steuben appears to go way above the rest. I must research that some more. They auctioned off a Steuben fish which was approximately 8 inches long, and one lucky man took it home for $1500. The little Kiwi, the mouse, the snail, and the frog are all Swarovski. The Mickey & Minnie pieces are Goeble, and of course the Cast Iron Penny Bank in the middle, well, just a nice piece that iI picked up yesterday. I posted that one for Clarissa's Daughter who collects banks, and loves cats.
Great collage - love the pieces you found - especially the Mickey and Minnie. We are total Disney freaks - and I'm completely in Disney mode, planning our spring break trip, which is in 34 days - not that I'm counting or anything. :)
Many of my ex-husband's family worked at Corning Glass Works in Corning, NY where Stueben was made. His grandmother knew all the Steuben glassmakers and she was given some of their "rejects"...I have one of them...a small dish...it is not marked "Stueben" There does not look to be anything wrong with it...I think someone who knows Stueben would recognize it...I figure it must have some value but I have never tried to find out.
Of course, auctioneers need that kind of support. Love those pieces. Looks like a great day! And holding the items gives a better idea of scale ... enjoy the results of your bargaining.
Auctions sound like a lot of fun and the collage is a great way to record all your new treasures. If you haven't been to Corning, you should go. I think you'd like the museum. It has a lot of hands-on stuff for children but there is also a great display on the history of glass.
Sounds like so much fun to attend one of these auctions....love these little crystal pieces you picked up. I have a couple of small Swarovski pieces...I think it would be real easy to get addicted to collecting crystal! GREAT presentation Rick!
These are very cool! I can imagine the issue with reflections that you were speaking of on my pic. I might give it a go with a crystal my mom gave me. From yesterday, it looked like you needed the light source to be far away so that you don't see the reflection of it in the objects, but that is as far as I got with that study. If you would like, I'll let you know what else I learned after giving it a go with the crystal.
Being a collector of Swarovski myself, I can appreciate the feeling of snagging a treasure. One bit of advice. I hope you also got the original box. That is very significant for collectors.
Thanks for sharing.