It was perfect weather for an outdoor glass event in Coventry this weekend. The Museum of Connecticut Glass held its annual Antique Glass and Bottle Show & Sale on its property in the National Historic Glass Factory District, and there was a strong turnout from dealers and bottle enthusiasts from around the Northeast. There was a solid range of glass available for sale, from the $3 donation table for the Museum, to some big money flasks. I picked up a nice light-colored Coventry GII-18 geometric three-mold inkwell, with a bit of damage but at a fair price. Several tours were held, of Glass Museum exhibits in the 1935 barn on the sales field, as well as the 1814 Captain John Turner house across the street.
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| Tom Duff, Pitkin Glass Works expert, at his sales table. |
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| Some nice figured flasks in the dealers' field, mostly New Hampshire stuff in the foreground here, but also a few Connecticut bottles. |
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| Susan Barlow of the Manchester Historical Society and junior Museum board member Nick Wrobleski talk to a tour group outside of the Turner house. |
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| One of the displays inside the house: Nick's Coventry shards, and my exhibit of artifacts from the site of the poorly-known ca. 1805 Mather Glass Works. The shards, slag and furnace pieces are Mather, but the intact bottles are of general New England origin, intended to illustrate the type of items that were probably blown by Mather. |
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| After the show I discovered this funny Rhode Island brew at the package store down the street. I am Providence? |
