The National Glass Collection at the Annual Convention

At the 1999 NDGA Convention in Little Rock, Arkansas, the newly elected President of the NDGA, Mr. Kent Washburn, proposed the building of a National Glass Collection, and offered the first piece of glass that he ever purchased as the initial donation. By the time the Board of Directors met on Sunday, the idea had not only gained widespread acceptance, but the Board unanimously approved the concept. By the end of the Show on Sunday afternoon, twenty-five pieces of glass had been donated towards the start of the National Glass Collection.

As you scroll down the page, you will be able to see some of the glass and other items that have been donated and exhibited at the NDGA Conventions since that time. The collection continues to grow, and our focus now needs to be on a place to display this wonderful treasure. The NDGA now has set up two funds specifically directed toward the National Glass Collection. One fund is for the purchase of glass, and the other is for the maintenance and preservation of the collection itself.

Here is the form for those of you who would like to make non-cash donations, such as glass, books and periodicals, advertising material, glass-making tools, molds, etc. All officers and members of the Board of Directors will aid in these efforts. To contact the Acquisition Committee Chairperson or a Board Member, visit our NDGA Information page . Checks may be sent to the NDGA, P. O. Box 8264, Wichita, KS 67208-0264, please indicate on the memo line of the check "National Glass Collection."

Inventory List of the Collection

Here is the current inventory listing (in PDF® format) from June 2009. The items shown on this page are only a small portion of the whole collection (the listing is well over 280 pages long).

2011 Convention - San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio's Convention was beautiful, and half of one wall was dedicated to exhibiting the additions to the National Glass Collection. Here are four photos (one photo couldn't take in all of the glass). Click on a photo to see a larger sized picture.

2009 Convention - Danbury, CT

Danbury 2009 One corner of the O'Neill Center in Danbury was dedicated to the National Collection this year. Here are some photographs of the glass and other items that were donated before and during the Convention. Click on the small photo to see a larger version. Danny Cornelius and Don Jones initiated the Pitcher Collection and part of it is displayed. Kent Washburn donated some original Fostoria drawings to the Collection's historical documents section, which is growing along with the glass collection. In fact, we are beginning to run out of storage space. We really need a museum.

Pitcher Collection	National Collection	National Collection
Library Collection	Advertising items	Fostoria Drawings

2008 Convention - St. Charles, MO

A whole corner of the St. Charles Convention Center was dedicated to the National Collection this year. Here are a couple of photographs of the glass and other items that were donated before and during the Convention. Click on the small photo to see a larger version. Jack Peacock again added many more candlesticks to the Candlestick Challenge. The collection continues to grow.

2007 Convention - Modesto, CA

The front lobby of the Modesto Centre Plaza was the setting for the huge display of glass, books and other material in the National Collection. Click on either of the photos below to see a larger version. Many pieces were added to the Candle Holder Challenge and the Reference Library. Pictured in the photos are Linda Bredengerd, Chairman (left) and Sarah Van Dalsem, Committee member (right) along with the huge display that required two photographs to get it all in.

2006 Convention - Waxahachie, TX

National Collection 2006 This year's Convention featured some of our young collectors, and in recognition of her work with her grandmother, Acquisition Committee Chairperson Linda Bredengerd, President Washburn appointed Amanda Parmenter as an official member of the Acquisition Committee. She is the youngest committee member ever to serve the NDGA.

The National Collection continued to grow, with a number of donations of both money and glass at the Convention. There were three donations of particular note.

The NDGA received its first bequest, from the estate of the late Arlene Shields. Mrs. Shields passed away in April, and her desire was that after the family had chosen any items they wanted, the residual glass be donated to the NDGA to support the Washburn Fund, which she had originally started with the first donation. Included in her bequest were pieces of Carnival glass, kerosene lamps which had been used in her childhood and many other assorted items. In addition, each of her three sons has pledged to make a donation to the NDGA Washburn Fund in her name.

The second is the group of Dolphin-handled and Dolphin-footed items donated by various members in memory of Julian McEwen, a long-time dealer and friend to all. Julian was particularly fond of Dolphin-themed glass items.

The second donation is in the form of a challenge. Dealer and Board Member Jack Peacock donated a table full of single candlesticks. His challenge was to members and dealers alike: donate your unpaired single candlesticks and make the collection into something spectacular. As you can see from the photo, he gave us a good head start. Do you have an unpaired candlestick you'd like to contribute?

2005 Convention - Waxahachie, TX

The year marked a milestone, as the National Glass Collection has now exceeded 1000 pieces of glass. National Collection booth On display was a complete set of Fostoria's "Baroque" pattern in topaz (yellow) that was donated to the National Collection at the San Antonio Show in September 2004, in memory of our late Treasurer and long-time member J.R. Johnston of Oklahoma. The NDGA booth (shown at left, staffed by Linda Bredengerd, Acquisition Committee Chairperson) had on display much of the glass that was donated during the Convention and at other recent shows. In addition to the glass that was donated, some interesting non-glass items were added to the collection, including an original Morgantown etching plate of the "Sonoma" etch and a tumbler with the "Sonoma" etch on it. There were also several nice cash donations made at the Annual Membership Meeting, all to support the National Glass Collection for either acquisition of glass or maintenance of the Collection.

2004 Convention - Council Bluffs, IA

Click on the image to see part of the National Collection that consisted of items donated in Council Bluffs, July 2004.	Click on the image to see the rest of the items donated to the National Collection in July, 2004 at the Convention in Council Bluffs.	Click on the small image to see a larger picture of a Glass Company mold used to press an item such as a bowl or cup.	Click on the small image to see the set of Fostoria Baroque in topaz (yellow) that was donated in memory of J.R. Johnston at the San Antonio show in September, 2004.

2003 Convention - Claremore, OK

The photographs above show the glass from the National Glass Collection that was displayed at the Convention in Claremore, OK. Click on any of the three photographs to see a larger version. The display was so large that we couldn't get it all into one picture. That's a nice problem to have - the National Glass Collection is growing.

In Claremore there were three tables set up in memory of three NDGA members who passed away since the Kansas City Convention. Each display had a placard which told about that person, and next to that were the items of glass purchased for the National Glass Collection in their memory. They are shown below. Click on the small photo to see a larger version.

Colonel (Ret.)	Tom Herr	Fern Angus
Ed Black	Long time	Charter Member
Board Member	NDGA Dealer	& Historian

2002 Convention - Lee's Summit, MO

The photographs above show the display of glass that was donated at the Convention in Lee's Summit, MO, and over the course of the year 2002. Click on any of the small "thumbnails" to see the larger photo. The collection is growing quickly. After the Convention was over in Lee's Summit, William Walker and Sandra Bridwell Walker donated five banana boxes of glass to the National Glass Collection.

2001 Convention - Salem OR

The photograph above shows just some of the glass which was donated to the National Glass Collection at the Convention in Salem, Oregon, during the Convention and over the course of the preceding year.

National Depression Glass Association

Preserving America's Glass Manufacturing Heritage

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