Not Only Derby Glasses: Libbey Cut Glass

Libbey Bowl in the Ellsmere pattern recently sold on eBay for $615.

Because I and others have written about the value of Libbey Glass Company’s Kentucky Derby Glasses, a lot people may have their radar raised at the present time on these valuable treasures. However, this fine company produced a wide range of products, and some pieces can be quite valuable as well.

I seriously doubt that many people are looking for Libbey vases or bowls. These cut glass items can command prices in the thousands. For example a 20” vase made in the Harvard pattern, Amethyst cut to clear can bring $3400. A signed Amberina Perfume Bottle might fetch $2450. With these prices, it might be wise to become familiar with this company’s higher end items.

Libbey Glass Company started in 1888 in Toledo Ohio and was later purchased by Owens-Illinois in 1935. It is still in production today and makes a very wide range of products.

You may have already figured this out, but the older pieces will usually bring the most money. I am one of the people guilty of passing by cut glass pieces because I think there will be damage on them, which there usually is. Another reason for me passing these by is due to the number of new or fake pieces I run across. But, I’ve discovered that it would be well worth my while to set my assumptions aside, slow down, and spend more time looking very closely when I come face to face with cut glass items at sales. I encourage you to do the same.

Most people will not be able to distinguish the rare from the common items produced by Libbey, but with some study, you will. Marked pieces always sell at a premium in most items in the antique business, and this holds true of Libbey as well. Libbey’s marks are often very difficult to find, however. Should you come across some cut glass you’ve identified as having the quality of finer cut glass, be sure to take the time required to search for a signature, if there is one.

Damage to cut glass will reduced its value considerably, more than any other category of antique items. A flake, chip, or hairline crack will reduce its value by up to 90%. Even if a very valuable vase is ground to disguise a flake, the vase will drop in value significantly.

While finding any of Libbey’s higher end and more valuable items might not bring you as much as finding a 1940 Kentucky Derby Glass would, it could very easily add a few thousand dollars to your coffer. But don’t give up on discovering a Derby Glass. We found one a few days ago. Watch for it to be listed soon in the 31 Gallery & Marketplace.

I haven't found that very special piece of Libbey cut glass yet, however I did find a small bowl once, marked for $25. Its sale for $500 was a big deal for me at that time in my life.

When you’re first starting out in the Antique & Fine Art Business, making $500 early seems like a very big deal, but later it might take making a profit of $5,000 to feel that same thrill. As you progress, it might be $50,000. This is why I have never tired of the Antique and Fine Art Business and I love it so much. My goal now is to find that special piece worth $500,000. Oh, it doesn’t matter if I find it just yet. Knowing that it’s out there waiting for me keeps me alert and ready to take on the day.

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Historic Events and the Antique & Fine Art Business

To be in the Antique and Fine Arts Business, I believe history must hold some interest for you; enough interest to search out things from the past. Perhaps this business takes you back to those times or the events when the items you've discovered were produced, and this is an important connection in your life at some level. When I discover a great painting, I feel as if I knew the artist, because I am holding his work in my hands. Have you ever had that feeling?

The news coverage of this presidential election and the current news coverage of Hurricane Gustav has made me think about other events in our history. People’s memories are often short, but to the Collector of Historical Items, these events are forward in their mind and close to their heart. Those of us in this business have a deep appreciation for history, and this appreciation can help fatten our wallets and help to provide for our families by connecting those items we've found with a collector who is seeking them.

So what might be the historical events collectors seek items from?

On my local front, The Chicago Fire caused many stories to be created about its source. Did Mrs. O’Leary’s cow really kick over the lantern that set the whole city ablaze? If you come across items associated with this fire, there are many collectors who’d have great interest in this. How about events in your region of the country?

The Great San Francisco Earthquake is a great part of U.S. Western history. Even today, all the stories about future quakes are compared to that one. I am sure there are great pieces from this era that can only be found by looking in every old trunk you run across.

What could be more vividly etched in our minds than 9/11 or the assassination of President Kennedy? I can’t count the times I’ve heard people reciting exactly where they were when these events happened.

Remember the Martin Luther King letters I told you about? They were found by a friend of mine in a box lot at a local auction house who holds auctions twice a month. He bought them for next to nothing. It wouldn’t surprise me, if today, these letters could bring over $10,000.

How about the original copy of the Declaration of Independence that was found behind a two dollar print? At one time, an auction house estimated this to be worth over $3.5 million. Since that time, this document has been sold at auction, however, I don't remember the exact hammer price. You can be certain is was quite substantial.

In our hunt for items from history, we should always remember that most of these items aren't discovered out in the open. Rather, they're hidden in trunks, basements, attics, behind cheap framed prints, or in scrapbooks or shoeboxes just waiting for us to uncover them. Even if they are out in the open, most eyes can't recognize them, because many people who see them don't have the knowledge of history necessary to know their value.

The story of a box of several dozen love letters written by a sailor during the Second World War brought great interest to me recently. The article seemed to infer that these letters would have significant historical value, and therefore, dollar value. Why did this interest me? Because the day I saw that story, we had just purchased 147 letters from a Confederate Soldier written to his wife. If the first letters, written sixty years ago, were considered valuable, how about letters written 160 years ago during the Civil War – one of the most significant events in this country’s history?

Only so many Tiffany Glass pieces or Rookwood Pottery items were produced, but the number of items that have historical content are unlimited. This gives us a great opportunity each day to find one of these treasures, if we’ll only look.

I am sure that you can think of many more events from the past as well as the people associated with them, either nationally or local to your area. If these events mean something to you, they might also have importance to others. And they might hold some surprise value when a Collector wants to buy it from you. Who knows? A Historical Society or Museum might even be interested.

If you have found anything of historical significance, please send me an email describing it and I will share it with the rest of our members.

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