Gold embossed Ebony with Ivory above
“Ebony & Ivory” served as the theme for the National Cambridge Collectors Club Convention in 2015. Each year, collectors of Cambridge Glass meet to display and sometimes sell, parts of their collections. People come great distances to participate in this event. California, Florida, South Carolina, and Minnesota were a few of the places mentioned as vendors were visited throughout the displays.
Les Hanson presented the opening night program of “Ebony & Ivory”.
From St. Paul, Minnesota, Les Hanson discussed his favorite Cambridge Glass item – swans. Les has a collection of over 125 swans of all sizes, styles and color combinations. They seemed to be his pride and joy. But he also collected, in order of preference, hand painted enamel on crystal, ebony, and decorated nude stems.
When asked how he got interested in Cambridge Glass, Les smiled as he thought back. For some reason, he always liked the beauty of swans. When at a glass show with a friend many years ago, they saw a beautiful green Cambridge Glass swan, which wasn’t very high priced. His friend bought him the swan for a birthday present. Turns out the reason it wasn’t high priced was because it was chipped. Les learned two lessons that day: 1) he was hooked on Cambridge Glass, and 2) chipped glass takes values down rapidly.
Sneaking in one of my favorites from the show – Cranberry Opalescent Coin Dot. This show provides a great variety of collections from various glass manufacturers. This collection happens to be Fenton.
One gentleman. whose name eludes me, had an extensive collection of cream and sugar sets. Someone from Cambridge contacted him about attending the glass show years ago and he has been there ever since. At his peak, he had 480 cream and sugar sets. He was formerly a helicopter pilot for the Air Force and the helicopter he flew is now being restored in the Fort Worth Vintage Flying Museum. He said that this show has, “the best Cambridge glass for sale anyplace in the United States.” If anyone knows his name, please let me know.
Autley and Kathy Newton were the new kids on the block at this year’s show.
From Hammond, California, Autley and Kathy Newton displayed for the first year ever. They were the newbies at the show and had not only Cambridge Glass but treasured pieces of other glass lines as well as some beautiful pottery pieces. They said that Rick Jones had seen their display at another show and invited them to Cambridge.
Lynn Welker, Mr Cambridge, displayed part of his cordial collection.
Of course, no show of Cambridge Glass would be complete without the presence of Mr. Cambridge, Lynn Welker, from nearby New Concord. Lynn has an extensive collection of over 11,000 pieces of Cambridge Glass. Cordials are his favorite because they are small and easy to move around, yet delicate and beautiful.
Lynn has been interested in glass all his life as his mother had an antique shop in New Concord and Lynn spent many hours at the store. He bought a glass bottle at an auction at the age of nine and has been hooked ever since. For sixty-one years, his vacations and adventures involve trade shows and museums. No wonder he is called Mr. Cambridge.
Doug shares his top quality glassware, but friendships are what keep him coming back.
From Minnesota, Doug Ingraham, who has been collecting for forty-two years, is said to have “the best of the best”. This all began when his grandmother left him a collection of Cambridge Glass. Someplace he met Elizabeth Moe and she told him, “If you want to know about Cambridge Glass, join the collectors.”
Doug said that while the glass is beautiful, “What keeps me coming back are the friendships.”
Gypsy Road Trip 
Comments on: "Cambridge Glass Collectors Show “Ebony and Ivory" (4)
It is all so beautiful!!
Thanks for stopping by to see the beautiful Cambridge Glass. My dad worked there most of his life and helped create many of these beautiful pieces of artwork. So you see it has a special place in my heart.
I have never understood the comment, “He bought a piece at age nine and was hooked from then on.” Is that really possible? I’ve never had such an experience, except perhaps for ice cream!
Maybe you need to think a little harder! When I was nine I started pretending to play the piano on the kitchen table. My dad bought me a new Spinet Piano and I was hooked. Still enjoy sitting down at the piano. So it is possible.