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Reviewed by Jeffrey S. Evans The Sanfords are well known veteran collectors of novelty pressed glass. They began seeking out these often whimsical wares in the 1960s and their interest and passion has grown progressively stronger. Their passion shines through in this, the first book ever dedicated entirely to glass novelties. The first 47 pages contain a listing of over 50 different manufacturers that are documented as having produced novelties. Included along with a description of their output are reprints from trade catalogs, advertisements, patents and other period printed materials. I found this section of extreme interest as it contains some material that had not been previously published, including the original name of "Stanley" for the so-called Jumbo caster set. One of the more esoteric and interesting tid-bits that I gleaned from this section was that the Tibby Glass Works manufactured glass cannonballs, although undoubtedly in very limited amounts. They were described as being 4 1/2" in diameter and about one-half the price of cast iron. They were further described as "not perishable as the old kind are." The main body of the volume is the photo gallery. This consists of over 590 color images including many pieces not previously illustrated. Each image includes a caption containing the name of the article, attribution if known, and a price range. Forms are varied and include candy containers, salt cellars, toothpick and match holders, covered animal dishes, salt and pepper shakers, paperweights, various tableware articles, plus others. A wide variety of colors is also represented including opal/milk glass and ruby stained. The most notable item that is included in this volume is the decorated opal Monkey water pitcher which is shown full round in three separate photographs. This extremely rare pitcher has only been rumored to exist for years and this is the first time that an example has been illustrated. The Sanfords are to be praised for bringing so much material together in one volume. As always happens with an effort of this magnitude, the book does have a few short comings. While the illustrations are arranged by topic, i.e. fish, Indians, etc., it takes some effort to locate an item because of the lack of an index. A few out-of-period pieces are included and there is a mis-attribution or two. As with all price guides, some values are off the mark. Generally the more common items are valued at retail while the extremely rare pieces are well below what they would probably sell for if they came up at auction. A prime example is the aforementioned Monkey water pitcher which is priced at $950-$1250. In all actuality it would sell in the mid to upper four figure range if one could be found. The Sanfords are in no way alone in this type of valuation discrepancy as it is very common among price guides in general. The Sanfords have produced a very impressive photo guide to Victorian Novelties which should be on the shelf of every pattern glass collector and dealer. It will definitely be added to the reference list used by us here at Green Valley and I'm sure it will be cited often. | ||
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