WUTC's Michael Edward Miller speaks with antique glass expert Dean Six, who will appear at the 40th annual Houston Museum Antiques Show & Sale.
From a media release:
Houston Museum’s 40th Annual Antiques Show & Sale Feb. 21-23
The inspiration, driving force and executive director of the Museum of American Glass in Weston, West Virginia, Dean has written extensively on glass and pottery, including recent books on Viking glass, West Virginia glass, Noritake, and Franciscan china. His own interest in glass began, he says, “when I was 9 years old, living in rural West Virginia. My siblings and I gathered pop (soda) bottles from along the road we lived on. When our mother went to the grocery each week, we took them and received 3 cents for each bottle. Once, a bottle we had gathered was rejected as "too old", so we took it back home. A co-worker of my father offered us $15 for the bottle. I immediately realized that all bottles were not created equal. My father, brother and grandfather joined me in seeking other old bottles and soon the glass bug was launched. Bottles spread to pressed glass to art glass, and that ever-broadening circle of interest has never slowed or retracted for nearly a half century.”
On Friday, Feb. 21, Dean will offer show-goers written glass identification from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Limited to glass only, maximum five objects each person). On Saturday, Feb. 22, at 1 p.m., he’ll present a lecture titled “ A Survey of American Collectible Glass, 1840-1970: Lacy, Victorian and Mid-Century and a wee bit more.” Post-lecture, he will offer written glass identification from 2-4 p.m. On Sunday, Feb. 23, at 1 p.m., he will lecture on “Tips for New Collectors & What’s Hot in Glass Now and Tomorrow.”
“The annual show remains the major fundraiser for the Houston, and enables us to showcase the collection and do selected exhibits during each year,” said Board Member Marilyn Hoke. “The community has always been so supportive of this show—and we believe having Dean with us this year gives us something extra-special to offer visitors.”
Media sponsors are WUTC, WTCI and WSMC. Business sponsors include the First Tennessee Foundation, The Trust Company, Weldon F. Osborne Foundation, Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Legg Memorial Fund, Jewell Memorial Foundation, and The Byrum Consulting Group.
The Houston Museum in Chattanooga’s Bluff View Arts District is a small but stunning gem in the city’s arts crown. Created with the astounding collection of Anna Safley Houston, who during her lifetime amassed more than 15,000 antique pitchers and thousands of other glassware pieces and antiques, the Victorian house on High Street housing the museum has become a national mecca for antique lovers and glass collectors.
Visitors take a docent-led tour through the Houston Museum to marvel at the beautiful amberina, overlay, cameo, Burmese, satin and cranberry glass collected by “Antique Annie,” shown in and alongside priceless antique furniture.
What: 2014 Antiques Show & Sale Benefiting Chattanooga’s Houston Museum
When: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. February 21-22, 2014; noon to 4 p.m. February 23, 2014
Where: Stratton Hall, 3146 Broad St., Chattanooga TN 37408
How much: $15; allows admission all three days.
For more information: (423) 267-7176, www.thehoustonmuseum.org
