Lot
Number | Description | Number
of Bids | Current Bid |
|---|
| | | “GENERAL WASHINGTON” / BUST OF WASHINGTON – EAGLE / “J.R. / LAIRD. SC. PITT.” Historical Flask, John Robinson’s Sturbridge Flint Glass Works, Pittsburgh, 1825 – 1830. Bright aquamarine, sheared mouth – blowpipe pontil scar, Pt; (just a trace of light high point wear, and a small potstone, well-hidden on the edge of the oval frame on the reverse, with a 3/16” cooling line, otherwise perfect). GI-6a. Very rare! Provenance: Mike Newman collection, Ex. James Chebalo collection.
Note; an outstanding, clean, bright, sparkling example with a ‘knock-your-socks off’, ‘as good-as-it-gets’, exceptionally strong mold impression and embossing. As mentioned above, the small annealing line is well hidden. A great looking example.
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| 15 | $ 1,900 |
| | | “G. GEO. WASHINGTON” / BUST OF WASHINGTON – EAGLE / “F.L” Historical Flask, Frederick R. Lorenz & Company, Pittsburgh, 1825 – 1830. Greenish aquamarine, sheared mouth – blowpipe pontil scar, Pt; (some light high point wear, and a slightly weakened impression in the shoulder area, otherwise very near mint). GI-7. A rare and desirable mold that does not come around often. Listed in McKearin, Group B, ‘Most Desirable Flasks’, #16. Provenance: Mike Newman collection.
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| 8 | $ 1,000 |
| | | “WASHINGTON” / BUST OF WASHINGTON – “JACKSON” / BUST OF JACKSON Historical Flask, Keene Marlboro Street Glassworks, Keene, NH, 1825 – 1842. Medium amber with some bright golden tones below the shoulders, sheared mouth – blowpipe pontil scar, Pt, virtually attic mint; (just the slightest trace of faint wear, otherwise perfect). GI-31. A bright, clean example with nice character to the glass, in a pure amber coloration.
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| 11 | $ 325 |
| | | “THE FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY” / BUST OF WASHINGTON – “DYOTTVILLE GLASS WORKS PHILAD.A / GEN. TAYLOR NEVER SURRENDERS” / BUST OF TAYLOR Historical Flask, Dyottville Glass Works, 1848 – 1855. Beautiful, medium-to-deep strawberry puce, applied square collar – smooth base, Qt, virtually perfect; (a couple of minor, onionskin-thin open surface bubbles, otherwise pristine). GI-37. A gorgeous example, strong impression, outstanding condition.
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| 7 | $ 1,300 |
| | | “THE FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY” / BUST OF WASHINGTON – BUST OF TAYLOR Historical Flask, probably Dyottville Glass Works, Philadelphia, 1848 – 1855. Medium-to-deep amber, applied ring collar – smooth base, Qt; (some minor wear and a couple of light scratches; some faint dullness or exterior ‘bloom’, primarily on the reverse, and some patchy content residue that would likely wash out). GI-45. A rare mold in an extremely rare, unlisted color! Provenance: Ex. Fred Swiechowicz collection.
McKearin lists this mold as “Extremely rare”. More importantly, as noted, it is believed to be a unique example in amber. It is not listed in amber by McKearin. The only recorded examples are in aqua, or light yellow green.
It is also a unique example in terms of the front panel to the left of Washington’s bust being a little ‘dished’, or concave (which occurred during the annealing process), and almost gives Washington’s bust a ‘3-D’ appearance. The flask displays quite nicely ‘as-is’, but if someone preferred, the light dullness, or exterior bloom, could easily be removed with a light professional cleaning.
The combination of rare mold, and unique color, combine to make this one of the great rarities in Washington flasks.
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| 1 | $ 1,000 |
| | | WASHINGTON – TAYLOR Portrait Flask, Dyottville Glass Works, Philadelphia, PA, 1848 – 1855. Rich, deep cornflower blue, almost a sapphire coloration, applied sloping collar – blowpipe pontil scar, Qt, near perfect; (just a trace of minor high point wear, otherwise mint). GI-51. An absolutely beautiful example, scarce and attractive color, stronger in tone than most, excellent character, fantastic condition. Examples this nice don’t come around often. Provenance: Mike Newman collection.
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| 12 | $ 1,700 |
| | | WASHINGTON – TAYLOR Portrait Flask, Dyottville Glass Works, Philadelphia, PA, 1848 – 1855. Bright medium emerald with an ever-so-slight yellowish tone, shading to a clear, light emerald along the sides, applied sloping collar – blowpipe pontil scar, Qt, near mint; (just a trace of minor light wear on the reverse, otherwise virtually pristine condition). GI-51. An absolutely fantastic example, beautiful color, outstanding ‘see-through’ clarity, excellent character, condition, and eye-appeal. Provenance: Mike Newman collection.
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| 15 | $ 2,200 |
| | | WASHINGTON – TAYLOR Portrait Flask, probably Dyottville Glass Works, Philadelphia, 1848 – 1855. Bright, yellowish grass green, applied double ring collar – blowpipe pontil scar, Pt; (a little high point wear on Washington’s cheek, a bit more so on Taylor’s cheek, and a ¼” by 1” open bubble on the reverse, below the shoulder near the rounded side, otherwise excellent). GI-52. A very pretty example, nice texture to the glass, good color, excellent clarity.
Although the ‘52s’ are not listed as rare, they much more difficult to find than the GI-38, 51 or 54 molds. This is a pretty one. The noted condition issues are relatively minor and the flask displays beautifully.
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| 5 | $ 375 |
| | | WASHINGTON – TAYLOR Portrait Flask, probably Dyottville Glass Works, Philadelphia, 1848 – 1855. Clear, medium emerald near the base, shading to a rich, deep emerald coloration towards the shoulders, applied sloping collar with ring – smooth base, Qt; (some moderate high point wear on Washington’s head and toga, and also on the Taylor side, but otherwise excellent with no other form of damage). GI-54. A rich, strong color, and nice shading of color. Provenance: Mike Newman collection.
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| 6 | $ 425 |
| | | “GENERAL JACKSON” / BUST OF JACKSON – EAGLE / “J.T & Co” Historical Flask, probably John Taylor & Co, Brownsville, PA, 1829 – 1831. Greenish aquamarine, sheared mouth – blowpipe pontil scar, Pt; (a little minor light wear including a tiny pinhead flake on the sheared mouth; a somewhat weakened impression in the shoulders as is common for this mold, and the flask may have been lightly cleaned, but certainly presents as near mint). GI-65. A scarce, early Washington flask.
George Hogg built the glass works in 1828. John Taylor & Co. operated them from 1829 to 1831. Taylor sold his interest in 1831. This is but one of numerous short-lived glasshouses that stoked their fires in the 1820s. Note; the above information on the glasshouse and proprietor is courtesy of Jay W. Hawkins, and detailed in his excellent book, Glasshouses & Glass Manufacturers of the Pittsburgh Region, 1795 - 1910.
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| 7 | $ 450 |
| | | “ZACHARY TAYLOR” / BUST OF TAYLOR / “ROUGH & READY” – “CORN FOR THE WORLD” / CORNSTALK Historical Flask, Baltimore Glass Works, Baltimore, MD, 1848 – 1855. Light greenish aquamarine, sheared mouth – blowpipe pontil scar, Pt, perfect. GI-74. A bright, clean, sparkling example with a strong, crisp mold impression. Noted by McKearin as “Very rare”, and aptly so. An absolutely fantastic example!
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| 9 | $ 550 |
| | | “LAFAYETTE” / BUST OF LAFAYETTE / “S & C” – “DEWITT CLINTON” / BUST OF CLINTON / “C-T” Historical Flask, Coventry Glass Works, Coventry, CT, 1824 – 1830. Beautiful, bright yellowish olive, sheared mouth – blowpipe pontil scar, ½ Pt, near mint; (a few spots of fine high point wear on the bust of Clinton, otherwise virtually attic mint). GI-81. A gorgeous example of this scarce and desirable mold, in a nice lighter tone. And, beyond the few spots of fine wear on the reverse, an absolutely top example that excels in brightness of color, clarity, and with exceptionally strong embossing. Provenance: Mike Newman collection.
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| 9 | $ 1,600 |
| | | “GENERAL LAFAYETTE” / BUST OF LAFAYETTE – “REPUBLICAN GRATITUDE – KENSINGTON GLASS WORKS PHILADELPHIA – E. PLURIBUS UNUM” / EAGLE / “T.W.D” Historical Flask, Kensington Glass Works, 1824 – 1830. Brilliant aquamarine with an ice blue tone, sheared mouth – blowpipe pontil scar, Pt, attic mint! GI-90. A top example of this comparatively scarce, historical mold, in a brighter, deeper color than most, very strong embossing, outstanding condition. Mike Newman collection.
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| 9 | $ 450 |
| | | “BENJAMIN FRANKLIN” / BUST OF FRANKLIN – “T.W. DYOTT, M.D.” / BUST OF DYOTT – “ERIPUIT COELO FULMEN SCEPTRUMQUE TYRANNIS – KENSINGTON GLASS WORKS, PHILADELPHIA” Historical Flask, 1825 – 1835. Colorless with an ever-so-slight, faint amethyst tone in the base, sheared mouth – blowpipe pontil scar, Qt; (some fine light wear mentioned for completeness, but not terribly noticeable, otherwise very near mint). GI-96. A comparatively scarce, very attractive mold with strong embossing. And, certainly very scarce-to-rare in this virtually colorless glass. Provenance: Mike Newman collection; Ex. Sam Laidacker, Merritt Vanderbilt collections.
Note; per McKearin, the Latin embossing along the medial ribs translated freely is: ”He snatches from the sky the thunderbolt, and the sceptre from tyrants.”
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| 10 | $ 500 |
| | | EAGLE / “ZANES / VILLE” – CORNUCOPIA Historical Flask, probably J. Shepard & Co, Zanesville Glass Works, Zanesville, OH, 1822 – 1835. Rich orange amber below the shoulders, shading to a deep reddish orange towards the base, sheared mouth – blowpipe pontil scar, ½ Pt; (a little highpoint wear, a bit more-so on the reverse, and a 3/16” chip from the side of the sheared mouth on the reverse, otherwise excellent). GII-18. Rare. See Zanesville Glass, J. William Barrett, II, p.62.
Note; there is also some very faint dullness, or ‘bloom’, mentioned for completeness, but fairly minor and non-distracting.
As mentioned above, a rare little flask. We sold a yellowish amber example in our Auction #38 (Lot 14). The vast majority of known examples have very weak, sometimes indiscernible embossing in the oval (“ZANES / VILLE”). That being said, this embossing on this example is quite weak, but most of the lettering can be made out. The eagle is strongly embossed, as is the cornucopia.
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| 7 | $ 550 |
