# Trip to the Corning Glass Museum



## Mike O (Feb 2, 2009)

Yesterday Feb 1st was my 45th birthday, My wife told me not to make any planes because  she had made planes to go away on a little mystery  birthday trip and that I needed to prepare to drive 6 hours! She never told me where we were going but to just shut up and drive. Well about 5 Â½ hours into the drive I started to see billboards for the Corning Glass Museum and figured it out then. We just went to a hotel on Saturday but got up early and got to the museum at 9 am. It was well worth the drive, there truly is something for everyone. They start in the beginning when man 1st learned how to make glass and followed all the way up to today with things like fiber optic technology. Myself I like the 1820â€™s to 1860â€™s American era and I was not disappointed. There was plenty to see; Of course I am also partial to historical flasks and there were 100â€™s to see there and some VERY rare ones too. Another great sight to me was an original mold to a GI-85 Lafayette flask made in CT. To see that and know that I own a flask that was made it that exact mold was really cool.  She also had made plans for me to blow my own glass too. I made an ornament and my daughter made a flower. I got to learn a whole lot more about this hobby of ours and see first hand how the things we collect are made and it adds a new respect for me, especially the early hand blown glass. You would be surprised how heavy the blow tubes or Ponte rods are. So that is my quick report. I would recommend to everyone if you ever have a chance to go there that you do!


----------



## Mike O (Feb 2, 2009)

I missed the picture.


----------



## Mike O (Feb 2, 2009)

Here is the mold I talked about


----------



## Mike O (Feb 2, 2009)

For the marble lovers


----------



## Mike O (Feb 2, 2009)

For the ACL soda lovers


----------



## Mike O (Feb 2, 2009)

Instaed of posting all my pictures here if you would like here is a link to my Photobucket site you are welcome to take a look at all the pictures. I hope you all enjoyed I had a great time.   MIke
http://s270.photobucket.com/albums/jj119/harvardpower/Corning%20Glass%20Museum/?start=0


----------



## cobaltbot (Feb 2, 2009)

Thanks for the report, that is a really cool place,  I've been year's ago would like to go back.  The whole finger lakes region has nice things to see such as wineries, some great waterfalls, and hiking at Watkins Glen.


----------



## earlyglass (Feb 2, 2009)

Mike,

 Very nice! Thanks for sharing your photo library with us. It seems like you had a great time. 

 As a collector, once you really understand the process of creation, you have a much higher appreciation. Along with the rudimentary tools, and harsh living conditions... these glass blowers had incredible quotas to fill daily. When you think about the numerous steps and applications for the creation of a decorated freeblown pitcher with lily pad application, threading around the top, a footed base, a durable handle, tooling of the mouth, crimping of the foot, the annealing process, etc... it is amazing that a single piece was produced! 

 My only complaint with the Corning format is that it is really cramped and there seems to very little organization. They also do not put enough preference on the real rarities. Some GREAT pieces are tucked away on the lower shelf, 3 rows back! The museum is certainly quite an experience.

 Thanks again for sharing.

 Mike


----------



## Mike O (Feb 2, 2009)

Yes I agree I would not have laid out the display quite like that. The shelves were crowded and there was no information available on the flasks as to just what you were looking at. In some of the other displays they had a number that you could reference on a info card, but even then it just said â€œbottleâ€ or â€œvaseâ€ nothing really explaining what it was or itâ€™s rarity Etc. Here is an example here in this picture are 2 of the rarest Lafayette flasks,  a GI-89a and a GI-89b I took this picture because I was unfamiliar with what I was looking at and it seems that between the 2 molds there are only 3 known examples!  Now that information in my opinion should have been posted.


----------



## Stardust (Feb 2, 2009)

Wow............
 What a nice place and how very nice of you to post the pics and share your album.
 Thanks for sharing. [] stardust


----------



## glass man (Feb 2, 2009)

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR GIVEING ME A CHANCH TO SEE SUCH WONDERFUL BOTTLES AND I HAVE A FEW MARBLES LIKE SOME OF THE ONES YOU SHOWED! COOL!MAN I WOULD LOVE THE JOB OF ORGANIZING ALL THAT!COURSE I WOULD NEED TO KNOW ALOT MORE THAN I DO NOW.MAN WHAT HARD WORK PEOPLE HAD TO DO TO GET US THESE BEAUTIFUL BOTTLES! AT LEAST THEY WOULD BE GLAD TO KNOW WE TAKE THEIR WORK AS WORKS OF ART! AGAIN THANK YOU FOR THE PICTURES!!! JAMIE  OH AND DANG A LATE HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!


----------



## RED Matthews (Feb 2, 2009)

Hello Mike O,  All I can say is WOW!  You have shown a big reason for every person that is into bottle collecting should find a way to get to this museum, check out their favorite glass of interest and absorb a fantastic appreciation for what they get to see.  My summer home is about 28 miles from this museum.  I try to get there two times per summer.  One of those times is spent in their Museum Library and the special exhibit of Frederick Carders glass work.   I have an important glass friend in the Netherlands that is planning a trip to my summer place to take in this museum.  He is involved with a museum in the Netherlands that helped me with the capacity markings on my recent involvement with a large green demijohn.

 The most unique thing about your post is you have a bottle to match the Lafayette American Flask.  Is the parting line similar to what this mold would have produced?  I am working on a homepage blog that refers to Mold Metals and the reactions of different mold metals to the appearance of the glass bottle surface appearance.  I especially like this mold because it is an early EARLY shell mold in my opinion.  The advantage of this mold set-up is the fact that the brass would remove heat rapidly from the glass blown against the surface.  Thus setting the glass surface, without any Cold Mold Ripple, that would have occurred in a full thickness mold of either brass or cast iron.  While I was involved with experimental molds we made some molds for a ketchup that were made of 1/8th inch of electro-formed nickle backed up with 1/4" of pure copper.  These were then mounted in cut out cast iron mold hangers and made bottles without any machining in the cavity.  This work was done on a Double Gob I-S Machine.   We also made some Ancient Age Gin Bottles that had completely stippled cavities with cave man symbols in the stippling.  These were made with the same metal electroforms.  The project was to expensive and dropped.  But They Worked!

 Well I am going to be timed out - so I will be back to watch the interest of other Forum members.  Thanks, and I apprecieate what your wonderful wife gave you for a bithtday!   RED Matthews


----------



## ajohn (Feb 2, 2009)

Wow ! What a cool birthday present!!!!You must have been a good boy lately!
                                                                              A-John


----------



## beendiggin (Feb 2, 2009)

Mike O, Happy b-day and I think we all should give you an A+ on your report...That was a great gift, thanks for the pics ....I went to the Jones Museum of Glass in I think Standish? Maine and that was cool, been to the National Bottle Museum in Ballston Spa, NY, and that was cool, but now I have got to see Corning!  Really nice!


----------



## beendiggin (Feb 2, 2009)

> For the ACL soda lovers


 
 I love seeing that Downeast Beverages acl...I have dug a lot of those over the years.  Probably my favorite acl from Maine.


----------



## RICKJJ59W (Feb 2, 2009)

Was there any puce in that bunch of flasks? I thought I saw one.


----------



## tigue710 (Feb 2, 2009)

hey Mikey, that is a most considerate gift!   very cool...  Man I'd love to go there.  I'm surprised to see and hear how everything is just sort of shoved in there with out much of a description..  Sounds like any old bottle collection although there are some great pieces...  I would expect a brief history on every bottle though... it is a museum right?   Looked like some of the back lighting was out too?

 What is going on with the punty rod?  Is it a picture to give you an idea of what the oven looked liked?

 lets see your marble!


----------



## mikmis (Feb 2, 2009)

mike, 
    what a great birthday present, looks like it was alot of fun .thanks for sharing the pics and happy birthday.


----------



## Mike O (Feb 2, 2009)

> ORIGINAL: tigue710
> 
> hey Mikey, that is a most considerate gift!   very cool...  Man I'd love to go there.  I'm surprised to see and hear how everything is just sort of shoved in there with out much of a description..  Sounds like any old bottle collection although there are some great pieces...  I would expect a brief history on every bottle though... it is a museum right?   Looked like some of the back lighting was out too?
> 
> ...


 Here is a picture of the ornamate that I made, The had to put it in a cooling oven for 24 hours so they have to ship it to me this week.  I would not say that everything was just shouved into the cases but for a bottle collector we would have done it differently. They are more about "glass" in general so the bottle thing is just a part of it all.


----------



## Mike O (Feb 2, 2009)

> ORIGINAL: Mike O
> 
> Instaed of posting all my pictures here if you would like here is a link to my Photobucket site you are welcome to take a look at all the pictures. I hope you all enjoyed I had a great time.   MIke
> http://s270.photobucket.com/albums/jj119/harvardpower/Corning%20Glass%20Museum/?start=0


 I just put another 50 pictures from the wifes camera up so if you liked what you saw there is some different pictures from a non bottle persons point of view


----------



## Stardust (Feb 2, 2009)

dr. t 
 i just came back for the tour and thought the very same  thing....
 beautiful.... but each bottle wasn't given it's own little space...
 and a little history.

 mike,
 i loved seeing you guys blow glass.
 i would love to go there.
 what a fun way to spend your birthday!
 hope you've got something planned really nice for her's. []


----------



## tigue710 (Feb 2, 2009)

hey is that a Tippecanoe in the case with the lafyette mold?


----------



## earlyglass (Feb 2, 2009)

Yes Matt... along with a Blue Columbia and a Jared Spencer!


----------



## earlyglass (Feb 2, 2009)

Nice original Bininger Cannon right below it as well.


----------



## tigue710 (Feb 3, 2009)

I would like to see the Hartford flask alright but I'm much more impressed with, and would much rather have the Tippecanoe!  I'd go out there just to see that... it looks green also and, dont quote me on this, but I thought there was only one known green example?

 Did they sell the Bininger Cannons like that?  Where did the mount come from?  That is very cool...


----------



## RedGinger (Feb 13, 2010)

We are planning a trip there, possibly tomorrow.  Looks interesting.  Their site says prepare to spend 3-5 hours there!


----------



## RedGinger (Feb 13, 2010)

Now I'm looking at the Ballston Spa site, wondering if we should go there.  Can anyone tell me which they would choose?  We love the old glass and that one looks more up our alley.  Corning does look really cool, though and making something from glass would be a lot of fun and fascinating.  I remember a post someone did on Ballston Spa, but I can't fnd it.


----------



## surfaceone (Feb 13, 2010)

Hey Lauren,

 Last year I took the opportunity to make a lightning stop at Corning. I got there late, and only had a 3 hour tour. Not enough time, by a lot. I concur that the labelling and display practices made me wonder, "What were they thinking?" More than a few times...






















http://www.nationalbottlemuseum.org/ Check with them, before you go. Looks like Winter Hours precludes a Sunday visit.


----------



## RedGinger (Feb 13, 2010)

Thanks surface.  Yeah, I saw that about their hours.  Well, we'll check out Corning anyway.  I'll take some pics for my fellow bottle junkies.  It's in the Finger Lakes region, which is well known for its wineries.  I think that will be my favorite part[][]


----------



## cyberdigger (Feb 13, 2010)

Swedish Hill Viking Red... mmmmmm ..[][]


----------



## cyberdigger (Feb 13, 2010)

Tee-hee !!![8|]


----------



## RED Matthews (Feb 14, 2010)

Hello You Corning Visitors.  I spent 5 different days in the museum, last summer and 3 of those were with my friends from the Netherlands.  Each summer I spend 4 or 5 days there and I am developing some contacts with key custodians to gain more help with my questions and answers for learning.  The have a fantastic large library that can easily consume two days if you have a prepared list of things you want to look up.  While there you can not overlook the Steuben Glass Show Room of Frederick Carders works and glass.   My summer home is about 28 miles from there, near Watkins Glen.  
 With out a doubt - you can't go there without learning more about what you are collecting.  It sounds like some of you enjoyed it also.
 RED Matthews


----------

