The Ken Schwartz Collection

We were now looking at the Atlas, yet another Truog original.

“This was expensive, but if you don’t buy them when you have the chance, you never see them again”.

Amen to that as well.

Introduction

Meet Your Host

Temple of Glass

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Shot glasses:

Showcased

Indexed, A-Z

The most valuable glass of the valuable group turned out to be the "Bear Grass Old Bourbon", from Braunschweiger & Co., of San Francisco.

Ken, like other collectors I know, records details of prices paid for glasses on their base using white adhesive labels. I turned the glass over and grimaced. While the dollar amount recorded there was far short of what others have paid for the chance to own a lesser glass, this was certainly a substantial amount and bested anything I'd seen sell on eBay. I agreed that this was a one of a kind and I gingerly replaced it in its secure home.

By now, I'd become bewitched by the sea of glass and I'd lost the thread of my line of questioning. There was just so much on display and I lamented how pitiful my own collection seemed in comparison. For reasons unknown, the real lookers quickly drift from memory, leaving only the stains of the faded Wolf Distilling, the cracked Gilt Edge, and the Old Durham Whiskey whose label had to be summoned by a clairvoyant.

Ken fully understood the emotion, and recalled the urge to smash every last shot and bottle in his shrine after visiting his contemporaries and seeing the scope and quality of their collections.

The cub reporter started looking around for books on bottles and shots, or perhaps San Francisco city directories.
Q: “Is there a library that goes with all this? How do you research the glasses?”

The question was greeted with the special look reserved for idiots.

A: “No – I really haven’t got time to research this stuff. I work from 5:30 am until 9:30 am. In the afternoon I do work around the house that’s been put off for 20 – 25 years!”

The mention of work answered the question of how this collection was financed. Later, I learned that Ken had served in the army during the Korean War. After being released from the service, he spent some time as a salesman for Snap-On tools. On a whim, he answered an ad in a local paper promoting security alarms ready for home installation. Although the early alarms were rudimentary at best, he slowly built up a business that today employs 40 people, including several family members.

While there is no research library, Ken’s collection does include a treasure trove of information in the form of letterheads, paper advertising, and bottle labels. These are neatly organized in a dozen or so binders that are stacked precariously on a trunk just inside the door. I was anxious to see what I might plunder for use in databases, and started thumbing through the plastic sleeves. A world-class collection of glass deserves to be supported by an ephemera collection of similar quality, and I was not disappointed. Ken has accumulated an impressive number of billheads and letters from many of the Old West liquor dealers, many of which were photographed for inclusion in the updated version of John Thomas’ Whiskey Bottles of the Old West.

If only I’d bought a scanner with me – maybe next time! Ken was explaining that the binders were very popular with guests at his annual open houses, when he and his wife host groups of 50 glass addicts and their spouses in conjunction with the California Antique Bottle Club Show, held each January at the Shasta County Fairgrounds in Anderson, CA.

At the end of the day, I was struck by the remarkable generosity of Ken and his wife in giving of their time and energy in sharing their home and collection with total strangers. In addition to the regular group gatherings, Ken mentioned that 25 or so individuals just stop by to tour the Temple each year. Ken had given over his whole day to me, patiently endured my inane questions, helped me hunt down glasses that I needed to examine to clarify details of their etching (see the sidebar on documenting the collection), and had allowed me complete access to everything. I dread to think how long it took him to re-align the shots after I'd rummaged through the cases taking measurements for the database! Teenie had prepared two delicious meals for me, and as we sat eating sweet cantaloupe fresh from Ken's own garden (my favorite fruit - a real treat!), I was humbled that the couple would be so welcoming to someone they'd met only briefly at a bottle show.

Before I left that evening, Ken and I stood before the walls of amber glass and I commented on the immensity of a collecting vision that would drive him to create a room like this. "Oh I didn't do it for me", he explained, "I did it for you. I built it so that I could share the collection with other people."

Collectors like Ken Schwartz are a rare breed. If you happen to be in his neck of the woods, drop him a line* and set aside a day to stop by and visit. It will be one of the most memorable days of your lives.

*(Ken Schwartz died on March 22, 2013 at the age of 83. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him for his humor and affability, the generosity of his soul, his collecting passion, and for his expertise and knowledge regarding old glassware. His immense collection currently remains inact.)