HOST: Glass manufacturing was once a big industry in West Virginia. The Mountain State is one of six in the Ohio River Valley where, at one time, hundreds of glass houses like this one made everything from utilitarian wares to fine art glass. The Huntington Museum of Art has a large collection of Ohio Valley glass, and ROADSHOW's Kathy Bailey was thrilled to show us some lovely art glass examples.
HOST: Kathy, you've chosen two beautiful pieces to discuss today, and they're very similar if not identical in shape, and so I'm gonna assume they're from the same company?
APPRAISER: Yes, they are, Mark. They were made in Wheeling, West Virginia, by Hobbs-Brockunier and Company. It's a 19th-century fine art glass company. Also, they did a lot of pattern glass.
HOST: How did this shape come to be?
APPRAISER: This shape came from the sale of a Chinese porcelain vase in the Mary Morgan estate. It sold in 1886. When it came up for auction, it went for $18,000, which was shocking at the time. That caused an international stir, and Hobbs at Hobbs-Brockunier Company, they decided that they wanted to put one on the market as fast as possible.
HOST: The shape of this vase replicates the shape of that Chinese porcelain vase, but the color is different.
APPRAISER: Yes, this was called peachblow. Originally, it was called coral. They changed the name to peachblow, and today it's referred to as Wheeling peachblow glass. First of all, it would always be lined in a white lining. It's a two-layer glass. And then the deep mahogany to red, blending gently into the yellow gold base with the griffin pressed glass stand.
HOST: And this is the peachblow version of this.
APPRAISER: Yes.
HOST: But now we have this beautiful pink one here. Tell me about this.
APPRAISER: Well, this one is the Neapolitan line. It is a pink that is over ruby and over white. Now, you notice that it is exactly the same shape and size as the Wheeling peachblow, and that's where the rarity is between the two pieces. The experts believe that this is one-of-a-kind, this piece at Huntington Museum. They're in the search for more, but this is the only one so far.
HOST: When was this one made?
APPRAISER: This one was made in 1887 for one year, just one year after this came on the market.
HOST: I see, so we know that there are others of these that exist.
APPRAISER: Yes, there are. But we don't know of any of these that exist.
HOST: We do not. Well, let's assume for a moment that one has survived and it's out there somewhere on somebody's shelf, quietly sitting, waiting to be discovered.
APPRAISER: Let's hope so.
HOST: So how do we compare the values of these two pieces?
APPRAISER: Well, this particular piece, in a fine antique show, would sell for in the $2,000 to $2,400 range, dependent totally on color. Color will dictate whether this is a higher price or a lower price.
HOST: So there are different color combinations made in those years.
APPRAISER: Yes.
HOST: And is this the most desirable color combination?
APPRAISER: This is the most desirable, where it blends and it blends and it blends. It's beautiful. Now, this one, on the other hand, because there are no records, if one were to turn up, it would have to be tested in an auction market. And it would be $6,000 to $8,000 as an estimate.
HOST: I could see why you chose these two vases to talk about, Kathy, they're just beautiful. Thanks for sharing them.
APPRAISER: Thank you, my pleasure.
