By Thomas Hamilton Ormsbee — Just as brass handles, keyhole escutcheons and turned buttons replaced wooden knobs and wrought-iron handles on English and American furniture toward the close of the 17th Century, so glass came into use for drawer knobs about a hundred years later. The idea originated in England but spread rapidly to the United States, where glass handles were in great favor during the American Empire and early Victorian years. In the latter period the use of glass spread to such items of hardware as knobs...

American Cut Glass, From Flint to Brilliant

By Maribeth Keane — I started collecting cut glass when I was about 18. My sisters were married, and during the summer, I would go out and stay with them in the Midwest and work. That was back in the late ’70s when you could go to flea markets and you could find wonderful things. Every weekend I would go antiquing with both my sisters, and at the end of the summer, after working, I had some extra money. I decided I was going to buy myself a piece of cut glass. The finest cut glass was made by American...

The Colors and Forms of Early American Pattern Glass

By Maribeth Keane — My mother was our inspiration for collecting pattern glass. She collected it, and she died at a very young age. My sister and I inherited it and my aunt said not to sell anything until we were older. She had some good stuff. My sister called me one day telling me she found a goblet in the pattern that mother had, so I decided to look. The first pieces we found were some wine glasses. Once you find a treasure, it’s what gets you started. You figure out that you can identify something of value...