MORE COLUMBIANA SMALL GLASS CUP & SAUCER FROM LIBBEY'S ONSITE FAIR STORE #1244

Description

I'm quite buried in the midst of preparing for our very large forthcoming sale focused heavily on world's fairs especially 1893 Columbian, which has been almost a full-time job for me since my first book on the fair was published 28 years ago!
I continue to to offer more wonderful items from the John Kennel collection, which is going to be a major part of my next (and third) book on the exposition. I began selling his collection in April 2019 and the rarities in the 5,000+ piece collection have been overwhelming. Even the nonrarities--just the hundreds upon hundreds of "scarce" items any collector would love to own--have been just plain fun.
Libbey was one of the most successful exhibitors at the Columbian Expo and the story about the company that began as the New England Glass Company in the early part of the 19th century is very interesting. Libbey, which was under the direction of the son of the founder, moved the company from the east coast to Toledo, OH only a few years before the opening of the Columbian Expo.
There was no question that Libbey wanted to be a part of the fair, but how? Libbey could have an exhibition/store within the Manufactures & Liberal Arts Building alongside of many of the largest industrial/commercial companies in the world--or take wha was perceived as a risk choosing to be part of the Midway. The company could build its own free-standing glass factory and retail store on the Midway but right up until the fair was nearing opening there were still questions about the makeup of the Midway Plaisance which indeed was to be predominated by cultural villages. Libbey took the risk that having its own stand-alone facility would bring about the best exposure and they were indeed correct. Libbey was one of the most successful exhibitors on the Midway and Columbian collector are well aware of the hundreds of different souvenirs that can be found today from the fair.
This piece is in many ways one of the signature types of glassware Libbey offered fairgoers. Of course their true souvenirs such as dozens of paperweight featuring fair buildings were hugely popular as were the many different manufactured and blown glass. The company was launched into a major period of profitability and expansion because of the exposure they gained by having its own stand-alone facility on the Midway.
Libbey offered all types of glassware and many pieces would fall into this decorative ware category. The saucer is 4 inches in diameter and the cup about 2 3/4 inches at the top, excluding the handle. At one time there was gilt lettering around one side of the cup up near the rim. While it's difficult to see in the photos you still can see a portion of "World's Fair 1893" on the cup. The bottom of the cup, impressed into the glass, is "Libbey Glass Co. Toledo Ohio" around the circular bottom of the cup and "World's Fair" in the center. I've tried to capture that clear glass on clear glass text in the photos.
This is a great little display piece that could find a good home on a shelf surrounded by other 1893 souvenirs. And best of all no one could dispute that it is a very inexpensive collectible from 1893. Few items can be had today for as little as the cup and saucer set.
If you would like more information about our September 1 sale and my book that is scheduled to be published the end of the year, please just ask. I've never been shy about sharing a few thousand words on the subject. The sale will include some quite rare material, including several medals from the first-ever worlds fair, London's 1851 Crystal Palace. And one of the 1853 New York Crystal Palace items is a very rare original book-size guide to the exhibits. Naturally as a historian and author I gravitate to such things; it would be likely the only one of the books/guides/catalogs you will ever see from the first world's fair in the U.S., held just two years after the world's first....and 'only' 168 years ago!
We will have an estimated 350+ items in the sale, many in lots with multiple items, such as 3 or 4 medals from the same fair in a single lot. Columbian material will include the most world's fair items from any fair in the sale. Besides world's fair and exposition material we also will have items from the U.S. Civil War (from tokens to a cannon ball!) and a very scarce archive of material from the 1880s Eastman (as in Eastman Kodak) Business College in New York, among the items one lot consisting of a complete run of fractional currency--1 cent, 3 cents, 5 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents and 50 cents, plus lots of individual pieces as well.