Glass International

Glass International Glass International specializes in the auctioning and sale of antique, American glass and bottles. Our commitment to quality has yielded a remarkable record.

With over 48 successful auctions since 2000, Glass International is a trusted source for collectors seeking valuable pieces of American glassmaking history. Glass International LLC, established in 2000 by John DeCaro, is a leading auction house dedicated to uncovering exceptional pieces of early American glass. John's decades-long experience cataloging for prestigious auction companies fueled his

passion for preserving this rich heritage. We've facilitated the sale of museum-worthy pieces like the unique New York lily pad decanter (attributed to Harrisburg NY glass works) that now graces the Houston Museum of Art, and the Wistar family's 18th-century yellow-green bottle glass vase, achieving a record-breaking $78,000. Glass International has had the privilege of presenting esteemed collections like the Phil & Shirley Gordon collection (featuring Redford NY glass), the Richard & Mrs. Bourcier collection (with its record-setting lily pad sugar bowl at $55,000), the Malcolm Polis collection, Dr. John Schott's collection, the superlative Saxe Collection of historic blue bottles and glass, and in Auctions 35 and 37, premier selections from the renowned Barry Hogan collection. These diverse offerings showcase the breadth and beauty of American glassmaking. We are deeply grateful to our dedicated consignors who entrust us with these historical treasures. From the exquisite Pittsburgh marbrie vase to the rare Massachusetts bi-colored whale oil lamp, each piece tells a story. We take pride in connecting collectors and institutions with these exceptional pieces, ensuring their legacy lives on. Visit our past auction archive to discover a captivating selection of 18th and 19th-century American glass, and immerse yourself in this fascinating chapter of history.

IMPORTANT COLONIAL AMERICAN BLOWN GLASS CANDLESTICKS -PAIR OF DECORATIVE BLOWN CANDLESTICKS Attribution: Wistarburgh Gla...
11/28/2025

IMPORTANT COLONIAL AMERICAN BLOWN GLASS CANDLESTICKS -

PAIR OF DECORATIVE BLOWN CANDLESTICKS

Attribution: Wistarburgh Glassworks, South Jersey; possibly Philadelphia or Manheim, Pennsylvania
Date: c. 1770–1780
Free-blown colorless lead glass with decide blue -gray tint with applied elements.
Dimensions: 7 1/2 “ h

Description

A rare matched pair of 18th-century American glass candlesticks exhibiting the refined proportions and functional elegance associated with South Jersey and Stiegel-period production. Each stick features a baluster type hollow knop stem, applied foot ornamented with horizontal applied threading , and standard drip pan form typical of colonial ornamental lighting. One example includes a 19th-century staple repair at the foot, evidencing long-term domestic preservation and historical value to its original owners. It should be noted that for the first time in history a section of a blown glass candlestick has been unearthed at the site of the Wistar Glass Manufactory . The fragment is near identical to the hollow knops exhibited on this pair. This is the only archaeological evidence of candlestick production at Wistarburg .

Historical Context

The pair aligns with the emergence of American “ornamented” glass advertised by Henry William Stiegel in the 1770s and echoed in John Elliott’s 1775 Philadelphia advertisements for candlesticks and blown glass lamps. Very few such lighting forms survive.

Object Title:

Ornamental Candlestick (Single from a Pair)
Attribution: John Frederick Amelung, New Bremen Glass Manufactory, Frederick, Maryland
Date: c. 1785–1795
Medium: Free-blown and applied glass with four applied handles and decorative ornamentation
Dimensions: [insert]
Current Location: Minneapolis Institute of Art (formerly in the collection of The Stradlings, Park Avenue, NYC)

Description

A highly elaborate candlestick distinguished by four applied handles and additional ornamental applications. This example is the surviving member of an original pair, the second being known only through a partial stem mounted on a carved wooden base.

Provenance

Private collection The Stradlings, New York: sold to the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Significance

This candlestick represents the height of Amelung’s ornamental vocabulary and is among the finest documented examples of American colonial lighting glass. Works of this complexity and preservation are exceedingly rare

EXQUISITE ZANESVILLE OHIO CREAMER , c 18244” h., Outstanding striated example with classic form, one of the finest kno...
07/01/2025

EXQUISITE ZANESVILLE OHIO CREAMER , c 1824
4” h., Outstanding striated example with classic form, one of the finest known specimens, indented handle with three large crimps and terminal pourspout , pontiled base ; ex David Eliis collection , in flawless mint condition . There are only a handful of surviving examples left today this being one of the finest known .

7250.00

If interested please message John De Caro

Evidence not opinion. We have the good fortune to be representing the only intact Wistar threaded mugs in private hands...
04/12/2025

Evidence not opinion. We have the good fortune to be representing the only intact Wistar threaded mugs in private hands. Other examples can be seen at Corning and the Wadsworth Atheneum. Pictured here is 1- recently dug in downtown Boston, the only undecorated green mug having no applied threads with applied trade mark “ arc” handle.
2-( below) the Tindal Island mug , excavated next to the house on Tindall Island , a small island at the mouth of Alloway creek in Delaware Bay, the creek leads to the back of Wistarburgh where there were docks . The island was used to offload and to pick up shipments from and to the glassworks , where the ships would go back up the Delaware river to the port of Philadelphia .
3-The “ Franklin Court mug” , excavated by Barbara Ligett in 1977 at Benjamin Franklins Court Yard where Franklin had his mansion and printing press , 6 small homes on Market street bordered the court yard, the printing press in one, Dr Franklin owned three of the houses on Market plus the mansion.
Other photos include the gall and bog iron pontil scar , a decisive marker for Wistarburgh , the side of a threaded mug and corrugated handle dug at Wistarburgh!

To swirl or not to swirl that is the question. Then again there’s extremities in pattern molding that may boil down t...
04/12/2025

To swirl or not to swirl that is the question. Then again there’s extremities in pattern molding that may boil down to plain showing off. How difficult was it to execute the tight swirl ? The Zanesville Ohio “glob” pictured here in a stunning caramel topaz was patterned molded in a 24 rib dip mold. Once the gather had been inserted in the mold it was blown and expanded , when removed from the mold the bubble now has a vertical rib impression. The bubble is then held firmly at the base with the tweezer and simultaneously twisted on the blowpipe creating the swirl. The gaffers then expands the bubble blowing into the blowpipe to get the desired form. What technical skill is applied to get a perfect tight swirl i don’t know , but it seems like common sense to keep twisting the night away, i did it with bubble gum as a kid, ok i still do it. Seemingly simple , it ain’t , there was a degree of absolute control via years of experience to pull it off as we see here: loving it , also pictured a related Zanesville jug we sold years ago that was probably made by the same gaffer who blew the glob, simply “ peas and carrots”!🫛🥕

WASHINGTON-BRIDGETON (STAR) NEW JERSEYGI-24, pint, light blue green , sheared lip, pontil scar: attributed to the Bridg...
01/22/2025

WASHINGTON-BRIDGETON (STAR) NEW JERSEY

GI-24, pint, light blue green , sheared lip, pontil scar: attributed to the Bridgeton Glass Works , Bridgeton, NJ, c . 1838, pristine condition , strong impression, with no surface wear except for a dot or two only seen under magnification : don’t miss this beauty !

Price $875.00

If there is interest , DM me.

Early Midatlantic pitchers can easily be confused with Midwestern examples, after all they look amazingly similar . Prod...
01/20/2025

Early Midatlantic pitchers can easily be confused with Midwestern examples, after all they look amazingly similar . Produced in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland , between 1774-1820, there is a distinct feature, or “ tell” , that helps one identify Midatlantic examples from their Midwestern relatives , and thats the handle application , affixed to the shoulder not the neck nor the rim. While this is a quick “ tell” , there are several other factors that separate the two stylistically, mostly based on “ urn “ and “melon” shapes, the pontil scars , rib counts and colors. All and all these Midatlantic pitchers were heavily influenced by classics , a little Romanesque in appearance also later examples influenced by the early Greek revival.
Unfortunately, most of the photos provided here are in black and white, however the colors used in the creation of these pitchers are emerald, blue green, yellow, citron, aqua, and amber.

More info on America’s earliest known blown glass drinking vessel : Benjamin Franklin addressed The Wistar Glass Works ...
09/01/2024

More info on America’s earliest known blown glass drinking vessel :

Benjamin Franklin addressed The Wistar Glass Works as “ Our Glass Works ! 1n 1977 a smaller size identical mug was discovered in the bottom of a privy inside of Benjamin Franklin Court on Market Street , Philadelphia. The dig was led by senior archaeologist Barbara Ligett who dated the mug c. 1750 . The shards of another identical mug were unearthed at the Wistar site and another nearly intact threaded mug was dug on Tindal Island at the mouth of Alloway creek , this tidal water from the Delaware bay was at the mouth of the Alloway ‘s creek which one could navigate up stream to the back of the Wistar Glass Works.
This blown glass mug is undoubtedly the earliest known drinking vessel made in America. There is also overwhelming proof, both archaeological and scientific, that this iconic Colonial mug was made at Americas first successful Glass works , Wistarburgh .
The dark olive threaded bowl has no equal , it is the only colonial green glass bowl with applied full body decoration using applied horizontal threading . The foot also exhibits applied trailing or threading. The threads on the bowl are somewhat fused in the glass from excessive heat returning to the glory hole, the shard of the threaded mug pictured here , found at the Wistar site , also exhibits fused threading identical to the bowl but is in-fact part of an excavated mug. This proves that when this broken mug was intact the threading looked more like the bowl than large intact Wistar mug pictured here.

One dot leads to another and all of this information at the end will clarify the mystery of Wistarburg glass . Not one piece of blown glass was seriously attributable to The Wistar operation for near 80 years or more, however in thr late teens and 1920’s everything was called Wistarburgh.

Unique Andrew Jackson sulphide tumbler signed on back Col Jackson , with vertical cut flutes , polished pontil: attribu...
06/05/2024

Unique Andrew Jackson sulphide tumbler signed on back Col Jackson , with vertical cut flutes , polished pontil: attributed to Benjamin Bakewell , Pittsburgh, c 1820’s . Said to be the only known example, this example is pictured in Artistry and Innovation by Arlene Palmer Schwind

If this piece had been found during Mckearins lifetime or even twelve to fifteen years ago, it would have been received ...
01/01/2021

If this piece had been found during Mckearins lifetime or even twelve to fifteen years ago, it would have been received as a very important American Discovery and even revered by collectors of different genres! We had the numbers in days past, hundreds of collectors of blown glass, constant articles, some informative appearing in credible magazines, and although collectors were condition conscious they were not consumed by it , yesterdays collectors were more accepting of flaws while focused on rarity first and the aesthetic beauty of a piece! Our museum collections in general, or the nucleus of those collections are not predicated on condition but rather rarity, if one manages to have both be assured it is the exception to the rule.
https://www.absenteeauctions.com/historicalglass_44/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi

Inks for sale
10/07/2019

Inks for sale

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