1925 Book: (in)Famous Collection of Antique Irish Glass Start Price USD 275.00 Current Price USD 275.00 Time Left 29 days 23 hours 16 minutes Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Friday, October 10, 2008 End Time Saturday, February 07, 2009 Location Northampton, Massachusetts See more about '1925 Book: (in)Famous Collection of Antique Irish Glass' Description "Old Irish Glass. The Walter Harding Collection. Including old English & other pieces" By Walter Harding. Printed in Liverpool in 1925. An infamous collection within the world of Irish glass collectors –though more through guilt by association than actual defect. Harding had been one of the best customers of Elizabeth Graydon Stannus, collector, glass dealer, glass factory owner, and author of a well-known book on antique Irish glass. Unfortunately, Stannus has also been called “the greatest villain in the manipulation of the history of Irish Glass” (McConnell, Magazine Antiques, Sept.2004). I suppose we all want to be "the greatest" something, but villain probably isn't at the top of most people's lists.In a talk in 1924 Stannus seems to have obliquely admitted that she had produced some fake Irish glass using genuine old molds, and she was also thought to have “improved” some of her genuine old pieces with extra engraving and cutting. As if that was not enough to endear her to the hearts of collectors, she also admitted to melting down pieces of antique Irish colored glass and using the metal to produce new pieces that would have the "correct" antique color. Such stories inevitably have endings, and this one came in 1936 when the Harding Collection was auctioned by Sotheby’s for about 1/12th of what he had paid for it. The irony of that is that the Harding collection is not known to have had a many fakes, although in the auction, and in this earlier, private catalog, some of the date attributions are improbably early. Still, the collection was large and varied, and is presented elegantly, with most of the glass photographed against a black background. And if you are looking for a famous collection of Irish glass (for better or worse), this is certainly it. Hardcover. 6.5”x10”, 108 pages, many black & white plates. Covers rather soiled, a little soil to the endpapers. Inscribed by Harding to HJC Grierson, the noted Scottish literary scholar and critic who wrote books about Tennyson, Donne, Blake, Scott, Byron and Swinburne and edited the Oxford Book of 17th Century Verse. WITH- A 1924 booklet describing pieces from the same collection. 16 pages, black & white illustrations. Some soil. Many of the plates are protected by tissue guards (which show in these photos as the slightly yellowish hazy overlay). Here we switch the tissue guard from one side to the other to show both of these facing plates- - QUESTIONS about this item? If you have any questions regarding this item, please let us know and we will respond promptly. We have more books like this listed in our Ebay store! Joslin Hall Books Selling books since 1983 INSURANCE??? As a seller we take responsibility for properly packing and delivering your purchase safely to you. You do not have to spend extra for insurance to guarantee that. RETURNS: We want you to be completely satisfied- anything is returnable for any reason at all within 14 days of receipt; we do ask that you notify us that you are returning it. OVERSEAS CUSTOMERS: We always welcome orders from customers outside the United States. The United States Post Office has discontinued surface (sea mail) shipments overseas, and so all packages must now go by air, meaning shipping to overseas customers costs more than it used to. You can use the Ebay shipping calculator (below), or use the "Ask Us a Question" button, to find the cost of shipping before you buy a book. If we can answer any other questions, please let us know. - Member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers. Your satisfaction is guaranteed with every book you purchase. Place a Bid!