Here is another addition to my growing “Wish List”: a piece of Steuben Glass! I wrote not too long ago about Lalique and still continue to admire the work and hope to someday own an example. Steuben is another glass maker of the highest quality. Their commonality is that they are both top-notch American glass makers. Only these two makers were included in the 1936 exhibition by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. That really tells you something about them!

Steuben was founded in 1903 by Fredrick C. Carder and Thomas G. Hawkes in Corning, New York. Hawkes was already very well-respected as the owner of a large, successful cut glass firm, located in Corning. Carder was from England and held the position of designer for Stevens and Williams. Because he had been passed over for a promotion, Carder agreed to come to the US and manage Hawkes’ Steuben factory. Carder’s great love was colored glass and he continued the experiments that he had started in England. He is given credit for perfecting Gold Aurene, similar to the iridescent art glass that Tiffany was making. They continued to make colored art glass that eventually was produced in over 7,000 shapes and 140 colors. This all ended at the start of World War I due to restrictions on materials. The company was then sold to Corning Glass Works, becoming the Steuben Division.

The depression and decreased desire for colored glass brought about a lot of management changes in 1932. John MacKay was appointed to Carder’s position and Carder became Art Director. Another change, in 1933, was the appointment of Arthur Houghton Jr. as President. A newly formulated glass was developed and the designers incorporated Art Deco and modernistic themes into their glassware.

Steuben has received tremendous recognition since 1934. Numerous exhibitions at leading art galleries and museums through the United States and Europe, the Gold Medal of the Paris Exhibition of 1937, and examples in leading museums, both in the US and elsewhere, are among their achievements. I have read that Steuben crystal was considered to be “the clearest and most transparent material produced by man and more free from flaws and imperfections than any glass produced.”   When you view the marvelous examples by designers such as George Thompson, for example the “heavy bowl on cut foot”, you can truly appreciate that statement.

Other designers included Kiki Smith, Peter Aldridge, Lloyd Atkins, David Dowler, Dante Marioni, Ted Muehling, Robert Cassetti, James Houston, Paul Schulze, Sidney Waugh and others.

Engraved glass is definitely my all-time favorite. And Sidney Waugh was the best known and most experienced American designer. The Zodiac was a popular subject as were commemorative pieces reflecting incidents in American history. Many of his pieces are now in permanent collections of museums, in the U.S. and Europe. So much for my chance of getting any! But I will continue my searching, you just never know what will turn up at the next estate sale, auction or antique mall.

Last week’s Hawaii quarter may have been the first time the island state has appeared on U.S. currency, but there were far more coins minted in Hawaii’s honor than most people know.  The Hawaiian dollar existed for only a short time, but reflects a unique time in the U.S.’ influence in the South Pacific.

Hawaii’s first modern government was established in the early 19th century, but it wasn’t until 1847 that they established a modern treasury and issued currency.   Prior to this time, the native currency of traders and visiting ships was used, and the local economy was so small it was not difficult to trade in foreign money.   As the economy and population grew, it became more difficult to exchange disparate monies, so a new, local money was established. The 1847 Kamehameha penny was the first coin issued by the Hawaiian government.  The penny was just the smallest denomination, with one “dala” (or dollar) was the largest, and several coins in between paralelling the structure and value of the U.S. dollar of the time, and all were minted in copper.   These coins were produced in small numbers, just enough for the small population on the island, by a private U.S. mint known for producing Hard Times tokens. The public didn’t completely take to the money, so the local banks had plenty to use, and no more coins were produced until the reign of King Kalakaua.

King Kalakaua was much more a product of Victorian times than his predecessors, and wished to make Hawaii a power in the South Pacific.  He increased trade with the United States, bringing more income to his small nation, and as such needed new money to improve his country’s economy.  The old coins were eliminated from circulation, and a new set of money was commissioned.

The U.S. Mint (as it still does today for other countries) produced this new coinage for Hawaii, and in 1883 they came up with Hawaii’s four requested coins: 1 dollar, 1/2 dollar, 1/4 dollar, and 1/8 dollar.  The first three matched U.S. coins of the same size and value, but the 1/8 dollar was a sticking point.   Coming up with a custom coin size would require a significant amount of mint re-working and new planchettes just for Hawaii, so a compromise was made:  Hawaii would have a dime instead.   While the 1/8 Dollar never reached regular circulation, in 1884 20 ‘proof’ sets of Hawaiian currency were produced by the Mint in Philadelphia…and the 1/8 dollar was included.    These 1/8th dollar coins are the most rare coin from Hawaii’s kingdom age, nearly impossible to find aside from private collections.    Pre-1880s coins are also extremely rare, due to their destruction and unlikeliness of leaving the islands at the time.   The Kamehameha pennies were slightly more common, because the lack of a penny denomination in the Kalakua era meant some people still circulated the old pennies for making change between the dime and the quarter-dollar coins.  Larger denominations were also produced as paper currency, up to a $500 bill, in the allegorical style of most Western Hemisphere money of the time.

In 1898, Hawaii officially became a territory of the  United States, and eventually the U.S. dollar supplanted their local currency.   Because the Hawaiian dollar was already based on U.S. dollar parity, it required no significant effort.   This wasn’t the end of special Hawaiian money, though.    In anticipation of World War II spreading throughout the South Pacific, the U.S. Treasury came up with a plan to avoid inadvertently financing Japan’s war.   Money distributed to Hawaiian banks was stamped with the word “HAWAII” on the front and back.    As long as Hawaii remained under U.S. control, those dollars would be the equivalent of a regular U.S. dollar, but if Japan were to invade and take over Hawaii, raiding their banks for funds, the Hawaii-stamped dollars would become as valuable as Monopoly dollars.  Thankfully, that day never came, but money stamped “Hawaii” remained in circulation for a short amount of time, a few returning in the pockets of sailors and soldiers stationed in the South Pacific.  These do not appear to have been minted specifically for Hawaii, but were stamps added to regular-circulation dollars in preparation for shipment to Hawaii, and most are of the 1934 and 1935 varieties.    As these eventually went back to the treasury and were destroyed, few still exist today.   While they can be relatively easy to find, they do demand a significant premium, $10-$50 depending on denomination and condition, and appeal to both numismatists and WWII collectors.

I have this casual collection of keychain items, and the best ones always somehow come out of Japan - little adorable characters, Sound Drop devices that play a single sound from Super Mario Bros., and flashing solar-powered things, among other neatness. The most curious set of keychains to come out of Japan has been the ‘Mugen’ series.

‘Mugen’ means ‘infinite’ or ‘endless’ in Japanese - and these Mugen keychains are meant to simulate a certain feeling or experience infinitely,  usually focusing on experiences that are exhausted after one use : tearing open a new toy package (Mugen Peri Peri), popping soy beans out of their pods (Mugen Edamame), and now, popping bubble wrap with Mugen Pop Pop, which has recently entered the states via Bandai.

Of course, popping bubble wrap is something that translates to most cultures, whereas popping open soybeans isn’t something that the US does on a regular basis (though I do suggest going to your local Japanese eatery, ordering a plate of steaming edamame and trying it out!). The real question is this : is infinite bubble wrap worth $6, and does it suitably simulate bubble wrap, and does it warrant precious keychain real estate? I know that my PVC Batman mini-figure is looking fairly ragged, but I have no plans on evicting him until his thin little plastic arm gives way.

Mugen Pop Pop comes in four colors, and each has eight buttons across its face. These are pressed, and they make a clicking noise, and respond with that visceral little bubble-wrap-like ‘pop’. This has led me to analyze exactly what is it about the experience of popping bubble wrap that makes it enjoyable, and why that differs from the unique experience of this toy. Is is the louder sound of bubble wrap, or is it the very fact that bubble wrap remains defeated after it deflates, and doesn’t fight its way back into fullness?

One would also think that the general experience of a well-executed bubble wrap simulacrum would be enough, but this bubble wrap is battery powered. Two tiny batteries rest in its back, right neat a small speaker, and emit this quiet digital popping noise reminiscent of an 8-bit video game. Every 100 ‘pops’, the device also emits one of five or six alternate noises - a hiccup, a bark, a flatulent noise, and so on. If we’re going to digitize popping, we might as well add little animal noises and Hilary Duff song clips and hell, why not a button that shoots vanilla pudding at your face? That’s what bubble wrap is all about, right?

Most telling, though, is that after I put it down, I actually and genuinely picked it up again subconsciously and started popping away without realizing it - until the spell was broken by what sounded like a little digi-cat meowing at me from my hands. Popping during commercials, popping between writing paragraphs as I ponder my next hilarious and cutting observation - it’s unstoppable, and it’s a perfect little bizarre stocking stuffer, and I have little doubt that it’ll infectiously spread through the keychain owning population, and on into the younger generations who don’t have any use for keys just yet as well.

I love Pixar. It’s really just this unabashed, unbiased adoration that’s deep enough for me to be slightly embarrassed about it as a 27-year old male. Seriously, if Pixar gave me a call and invited me over to be a concept artist, or a janitor, I’d drop everything and go. And when no one was looking, I’d hunt down all of the secret rooms in their building and play frisbee with their office monkey and draw myself into the background of a scene.

I missed Wall-E in the theaters because I’m a lonely hermit who’s too embittered against love sub-plots to avoid them even when they involve robots, but catching the movie on DVD was possibly even better - because I didn’t have to get into a toxic-emission-pumping car to drive home afterwards, or walk through a cloud of shame for having driven to the theater in the first place. While I’m not here to discuss the movie itself, it was a moving experience. You know you’re watching great animation when you find yourself ‘what a great movie!’ instead of ‘what a great cartoon!’ My natural predilection for robots aside, I completely dug the movie.

The DVD comes in a few formats, including Blu-Ray (a format which I’m not completely sold on just yet), a single-disc Standard Edition, and a 3-disc Special Edition. The copy that I happened to get was the 3-disc edition, which seems to be the best deal of all the varying editions. It comes packaged in eco-friendly cardboard packaging, with ‘drawers’ of a sort that slide out from either side of the DVD case - and given the theme of the film, eco-friendly packaging was the only thing that Disney and Pixar could do without being completely hypocritical.

There is one gigantic, explosive irony in the general distribution of the DVD, however. Without playing too much of a spoiler, there’s a certain sub-theme of the film that deals with the future-peoples’ collective lives being simultaneously dulled and overwhelmed by little portable screens that forever hover in front of their faces, obscuring the beauty and excitement of real life. The irony enters the picture with the inclusion of the extraneous third disc included in this set : a Disney File Digital Copy of the disc, specifically made to copy onto your iPod or mini video device. A little, portable screen that you can carry around to immerse yourself in instead of the real world.

Instead of saving plastic and practicing what the film preaches about breaking away from the screen, Digital Rights Management rears its ugly, wasteful head and demands that plastic be used for a third disc, instead of figuring out a less wasteful method, or just, like, dealing with it. Movie thieves are going to get around your DRM on the main DVDs anyhow, and I understand that it seriously sucks, but you have to appreciate the biting irony of the whole situation.

Aside from that, the DVDs are stuffed full of a crazy number of worthwhile extras.

Five of these extras are deleted scenes - two are half-rendered bits that change story pacing a little, and three aren’t scenes so much as animated storyboard sketches. There are also two complete short films included - one happening within the Wall-E universe as the main story is also happening, and one theatrical short called ‘Presto’. Pixar’s tradition of including a bonus short film before all of their features is one that I always forget about before the movie starts, and always love - but much to my disappointment, Pixar seems to have dropped the ‘blooper reel’ that they used to include with their film credits.

Of course, there’s director commentary, as well as some stuff about sound design and ‘Wall-E’s Tour of the Universe’. Disc 2’s main feature is a long documentary called ‘The Pixar Story’ by Leslie Iwerks (granddaughter of Ub Iwerks, the real designer behind Mickey Mouse), which is essentially a history of Disney through the late 1970s and branches off into Pixar upon its formation. It includes a lot of early home video footage inside the Disney studios, shot by friends and excited animators, so it’s a beautiful and rare look inside the world’s most important animation studio. For anyone who takes animation seriously, this is a must see (in addition to the documentary included on DC Super Heroes : The Filmation Adventures DVD). Also notable are 5 short how-to and informational videos from the future, and the disc is rounded out with Making-Of features, info about various robots & a minigame. It’s really stuffed full of every possible extra, and the documentary makes it truly invaluable.

The DVD arrives on shelves on November 18th. It’s a hopeful message for the future of a planet in flux, it’s visually breathtaking, and it’s very charming without ever becoming sappy. I’m in love with robots all over again.

Some of my collections are self dated, books with print or publish dates, magazines with the year and month and post cards with stamped cancel dates. Other items are dated by design elements by era - deco style, arts and crafts, Victorian, post war modern, depression glass.

Glassware, pottery, jewelry, paintings and other art forms evolve over time with avant garde today, passe tomorrow, but adding to the date-ability. Post card styles and processes become easily identifiable after studying dated examples.

Price guides {found at brick and mortar and on line stores} help to date items with time lines of the maker’s mark used. Country names change, Germany, Western Germany, West Germany and back to Germany. Occupied Japan is a favorite labeling for many figurine collectors, used from the end of the war until 1952, Nippon is older than Made in Japan.

Let’s look at other clues for age recognition that will help date lots of vintage items. First off, many items of a mechanical nature were stamped, printed or had a patent date or number cast onto the product. US patent #1 was issued in 1836 to protect the inventor from copycat product. By 1911 one million patents were issued. The two million mark was reached in 1935 and it only took till 1961 to pass three million. Design patents started in 1843 with D1.

Photographs in my collection are easy to date, many just by the dress of the subject, items or places in the background. Here I also have a Web site to help. Classy Image

Packaging, which adds greatly to the value of many products and often is a collectible unto itself, may also provide dating clues. The name of a manufacturer can be traced to a set time line, and the address is also helpful. In 1943 a two digit postal code was added to addresses in larger cities, (for example, Milwaukee 10 Wis.) and in 1963 Postmaster General John Gronouski promoted the five digit ZIP code at a conference in Annapolis, Maryland. The Zip + 4 was introduced in 1983.

The next addition to package dating is the UPC code, now found on everything from pencils to railroad cars. First patented in 1952 the product code was a circular pattern of  concentric circles of varying widths created by Bernard Silver and fellow college student Joe Woodland, at Drexel Institute, from a request by a grocery store owner looking for a quick price recognition system at the check out counter. The first commercial use didn’t occur till 1966 with the first bar code scan of a package of Wrigley Gum. It became an industry standard in 1973.

The traditional abbreviations {Wis., ILL. Conn.}, were amended to a two letter system by the US postal Service in 1987.

Phone numbers from small towns advertising items I have sold (Drug Store Labels) had one or two digit phone numbers. In larger cities a telephone exchange location would be named and the first two letters acted as the Alpha prefix followed by four and later five numbers. (MI tichell 1000). New York had used the two alpha - five digit dialing system starting in the 1930, with others adapting to five numbers in 1950. Most but not all phone systems adapted the number only dial system with some merchants continuing to prefix the five numbers with the older letters in their advertising well into the 1970s.

Some items are best left to an appraisal expert if you’re not sure of an item’s age or can’t confirm its provenance. Furniture styles are reintroduced as demand for a style is revived. Paintings need an expert to confirm age and authenticity.

And with all collections, new or old, it’s the hunting for and the display of, your trophy items that makes collecting fun.