Reuzeit Emporium

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

2015 Mega Glass Convention / Conference

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Dead Horse Point State Park

Early May and the campgrounds are all full. Retires rule the state of Utah. It was still a great time to travel, even if was a little tough finding a campsite. Who could pass up these views?

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Overnighting at Hittle Bottom Campground, Utah

As we were heading down Hwy 128 toward Moab in Utah, we were not sure if we would find a place to stay for the night. As we rounded the corner we came upon a quaint camping spot called Hittle Bottom. It is run by the The Bureau of Land Management and sits along the Colorado River. Look at the beautiful view we had! A random find of the magical kind.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Historical Background on the Vars Cemetery

The old Vars burial place also known as Vars and Hall Cemetery and is one of the oldest cemeteries in America. It is located 500 feet east of Bradford Road at telephone post number 3710. Once you find the telephone pole, turn right onto a dirt path called Woody Hill Road Extension. At the end of Wood Hill Extension, turn left, walk straight through a lot with a house on it and proceed through the woods. Enter the Vars Cemetery and about 210 rods northwest is the location of the Vars homestead, on a hill sloping west. Nothing remains of this original homestead today. Many members of the Vars family are buried in the cemetery here, including:

Theodaty Rhodes, died in 1733

Mary Vars Rhodes, wife of Lord John De Vars and Theodaty Rhodes, died in 1740

Isaac Vars, only child of Lord John De Vars, died in 1760

Rebecca Larkin Vars, wife of Isaac Vars, died about 1760

However, their tombstones no longer exist. Today there are over 60 known burial sites with about 50 inscriptions dating from 1846 to 2006.

Our Search For The Vars Cemetery

My great grandmother was Mary Elvira Vars and her ancestry can be traced back to early European settlement in the United States.
Lord John De Vars sailed to this new land in the late sixteen hundreds and visited a small settlement with good land, deep harbors, and pleasant weather. This settlement was Newport, Rhode Island. John returned home, sold his property, collected his wife, Mary and his young son, Isaac, and sailed back to America. On the return trip, Lord John De Vars died at sea. There are many stories about the cause of his death. One story states that he was wounded in a duel and died of his injuries. Another story claims that the ship's captain had him killed so the captain could take procession of Lord John De Vars's fortune. Whatever happened, when the ship arrived in Newport, Rhode Island, Mary and her son, Isaac were left there to find their way in this distant foreign land among strangers.
Several years later, Mary married a man named Theodaty Rhodes. Accounts vary about who purchased the original Vars homestead in Westerly, Rhode Island. One account claims Lord De Vars purchased the land from the Native American Chief before he returned to France. Another account states that Theodaty bought land just south of Newport, near the towns of Westerly and Charlestown, Rhode Island from the chief of the Narragansett tribe and then Theodaty sold tracts of land to early settlers. A land deed from 1707 shows Theodaty Rhodes (died in 1733) and Mary (died in 1740) buying 2 pieces of land in this area and a month later a 50 acre tract of land was deeded to Mary's son Isaac Vars. This land became the Vars homestead.

Isaac Vars Homestead

Today the Vars Cemetery still exists on a portion of this land but it is not easy to find.
Last fall, my daughter, my niece and I traveled to Westerly, Rhode Island in search of the Vars cemetery and our ancestry. We were helped in our quest by a lovely lady who owned Maize 'N' Manna Cafe in Westerly that went above and beyond kindness to strangers to start us out in the right direction.

We traveled on Bradford Road looking for a number on a telephone pole. When we found telephone pole #3710, there was a dirt track leading in opposite directions. Luckily, another lovely lady was outside in her yard and she directed us down the correct dirt track, through a yard and down a very overgrown, rocky, and what looked like an abandoned dirt path. We headed out, crawled through and over fallen trees and brush, and laughed all the way. We couldn't believe it as we entered a clearing and saw a fairly well maintained cemetery.

The grass and brush were cleared away but sadly many of the tombstones had been vandalized.

We spent much of the afternoon taking pictures of the tombstones so that later I could fit them into my genealogy records. We left that remote and deserted cemetery with a real sense of connection of our distant heritage.

Monday, April 27, 2015

Early American Pattern Glass or Pressed Glass

Cut Glass Compote

Cut Glass Plate

Cut Glass Cruet

If you were wealthy in 1880, your dining room table was set with an elaborate array of cut glass pieces but if your household had less money to spend, your table held early American pattern or pressed glass. Pattern glass copied the look of cut glass but it was much cheaper to make because the glass was pressed into molds.

Pressed Glass Pickle Dish

Pressed Glass Creamer

Pressed Glass Cake Plate

In 1829, The Boston and Sandwich Glass Company built molds and patented a machine to press glass. By blowing glass into the mold and using a plunger type device to press the glass into the pattern carved in the mold, pattern glass could be manufactured quickly and inexpensively.

Pressed Glass Amber Bowl

It is sometimes difficult to distinguished cut glass from pressed glass but can be done by looking closely at the glass item. Cut glass is hand cut on a wheel and is labor intensive. The edges of cut glass are sharp, the cuts are deep and the finished product sparkles as it catches the light. Pressed glass has mold seams, blunt edges, and somewhat less sparkle but the mold seams can be eliminated by fire polishing. Notice the mold seam on the base of the amber pressed glass bowl to the right.

The Victorian period between 1850 and 1910 was the hay day of the pressed glass or early American pattern glass manufacturing. There were hundreds of factories producing thousands of different patterns in every imaginable type of object. Some patterns included up to fifty different pieces, including table sets, goblets, pitchers, compotes, vases, centerpieces and novelty items. The homemaker could not only choose a pretty pattern but also a wide variety of colors from clear crystal glass to beautiful blues, greens, yellow, or amber to give her dining room a special elegance.

Pressed Glass Goblet

Pressed Glass Table Set

Pressed Glass Vase

Pressed Glass Tumbler

Pressed Glass Compote

Today pressed glass or early American pattern glass is collected by glass connoisseurs around the world for its beautiful colors, unique designs, historical significance or its nostalgic connection to an ancestor. Glassware worldwide is still being manufactured by the machine pressed process making ordinary utilitarian products and reproductions of early American pattern glass. Check out Reuzeit Emporium for a wide variety of great antique pressed glass and cut glass pieces.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Gillinder Glass and Novelty Easter Eggs

I associate the Gillinder Glass Works with novelty items, especially their beautiful milk glass Easter Eggs. They did make some early American patterns, like daisy and button, barred star, and many leaf patterns but the majority of their pieces fall into the novelty category. Gillinder is well known for their ABC and figural plates, lion head ink stand, millefiori paperweights, and some toothpick holders, and, of course, glass eggs.

Shoe marked Gillinder Souvenir on bottom

The Franklin Flint Glass Works was founded in 1861 in Philadelphia by William Thynne Gillinder. William was born in England and immigrated to the United States as a young man. Not long after opening his glass factory, he formed a partnership with Edwin Bennett. The first World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia in 1876. The Centennial Exhibition was a major part of the World's Fair and William decided to build a working glass factory on the site. William's two sons, James and Frederick created glass items in their newly constructed blast furnace. Over one million people visited their glass factory and many people bought Gillinder glass for souvenirs. One report said that over 100,000 glass slippers were sold at the fair.

Gillinder Glass Works encountered many problems during the next thirty years. In 1912, three Gillinder brothers, the grandsons of William purchased the Orange County Flint Glass Works in Port Jervis. They opened the new plant, Gillinder Brothers, in 1913. The Gillinder Glass Store still occupies space on this site.

Gillinder Glass is still in operation today, owned and operated by Charles Gillinder, the sixth generation of Gillinders. It is located at 39 Erie St, Port Jervis, NY 12771. Tours and glass blowing demonstrations are offered Monday through Friday. Today the company produces industrial and technical lighting , such as airport runway lights and artistic enhanced illuminations. And today, antique Gillinder novelty items are collected and prized for their unique design and lasting appeal. The Gillinder Easter eggs make a lovely addition to your Easter holiday decorations.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

The Valentine Heart

Valentine gifts have always been a special personal way to communication between two people. A Valentine with a heart in it signifies love. The heart was once thought to be the origin of all human emotion. Gifting a heart was considered a selfless act of giving everything to your true love. Show your special person your love with a unique or traditional heart shaped gift from Reuzeit Emporium!