Shot of the Week

Each edition of SOTW will begin with some stats on sales in the past 28 days to give us all a sense of where the hobby is going. In the past four weeks, 105 pre-pro glass auctions closed, 24 closed with no bidder, average price of the glasses that sold was $31.27. Three glasses sold for >$100, one sold for >$1,000. If we take the high-flyer out of the mix, average price of the glasses that sold was $18.65.

This summer will be recorded in pre-pro collecting history as the "Great Slump of 2010" -- or perhaps something a little more poetic. I hate to use the word "crash" in relation to pre-pro shots because the image of a heavy case laden with a collection's best-of-the-best parting company with the wall upon which it hangs immediately springs to mind. But, in the ten or so weeks since the last edition of SOTW, there's been precious little to look at, let alone bid on. Offline has been a different story, with so much glass on offer that it's been difficult keeping up with the action.

A little more on offline offerings later, but here's a round up of the best of the 'Bay in the past few weeks.

First the steals. Chuck Hoots was the only bidder on Paul Van Vactor's "Old Scenter" - taking home a red etched glass that does not read "Woodland Whiskey" for $40 is a good deal in anyone's book. I think this one was hurt by a poor picture and the chipped-and-ground rim. The Genuine predictably walked off with the "Cashmon Distributing Co." glass that Ed Sipos had listed -- but taking it for $16.01 was quite an eye-opener. Yes, it's a horribly tedious glass and the text is worn, but Colorado IS Colorado and there aren't that many pre-pro glasses from Denver. No doubt we'll see this one come back in the Fall with a $39.99 opening price. You heard it here first......


Old Scenter for $39.99?	CO for $16.01!

The Poo-Bah is showing bias, but here's two picks for "neat of the week". I know, new category, not sure what the heck qualifies for NOTW but I'm sticking with it for today. The first is an "O.K. Kentucky Standard" - a neat little glass that becomes even neater when one realizes that it comes from Geo. Wisseman of Sacramento, CA. And then there's a red/white-etched "Cross Town Club" - don't have a clue where it comes from but the red circle with the tsp. monogram is just so, well, neat. Neat, neat, neaty, NEAT!

Time to stop drinking coffee, I think.

Here's three high-flyers from the past few weeks - pretty much the only three.

The Perkins and the Old Kentucky Home Club (Blumauer & Hoch) are both from Portland, OR, which explains their appeal and final hammer prices. Oh yes, the Old Kentucky Home is also a lug, forgot to mention that small detail. Both are known glasses but nice examples of each: lakerdude took the hotel glass and oldcompletelyinsaneperson took the lug, along with the MMTS award and a strait jacket for use on special occasions.

The Madison IN glass at far right is one of those shots that completely mystify me - must be an Indiana equivalent of a glass from a bee-zarre little town in Pennsylvania. It's shown up three times in the last ten years. The last time was in 2004 - it sold for $102 way back then, so I knew this latest example would probably be something worth watching. It was - rsauley fought off some stiff opposition and finally won it for $172.50. Maybe someone in the know will drop me a line or post something in the chat room and fill us in on the why's and wherefore's of this one.

Which brings me to two glasses that I recently picked up offline - I show them here because I'd be interested to hear if there's anyone out there in pre-pro land that knows more about them. The pictures are not that great but they'll give you a good enough idea.

The first is an interesting picture glass with text that reads "Grimm's Fayette". The image features the American eagle perched above what looks like an Iron Cross from WWI Germany. The US Stars and Stripes and the British Union Jack fly to either side of the cross and there is an old-style cannon tucked in the image also.

Is this a WWI-related glass? Any idea what the text refers to? Again, if anyone has any ideas, please will drop me a line or post something in the chat room.

This glass was a generous gift of one of our collecting colleagues. It advertises "Westminster Pure Rye", from C H Ritter & Co. of Detroit, MI. It's also clearly a George Truog design: his hand on this one is unmistakable, even though there is no signature.

The label is black -- or at least "patchy black" -- which is what makes this glass so fascinating. One possibility is that this is some form of experimental glass. We don't really know when the colored labels started being used. Most glasses (and all of the early ones) have a "white-frosted" label designed to mimic acid-etching. We think these labels were created by cutting a template into a rubber stamp and then using it to apply an adhesive to the glass. Powdered glass (or similar vitrifiable medium) of varying degrees of coarseness was dusted on and the shot was then fired to melt the label onto the body of the glass. Perhaps this was some early attempt to create a black label using the same basic methodology?

It doesn't seem to have worked too well - the label is thin and very streaky.

A second possibility, and the one favored by the original owner, is that it's a proof glass. In this scenario, the adhesive would have been applied to the glass but then, rather than going to the trouble of applying the powder and firing it, it was doused or dusted with something like India ink. The adhesive layer can clearly be seen with a loupe and it's pristine. I don't see any granularity to the black layer. The designer may have been wanting to see how the label looked on the glass before finalizing it and putting it into production.

So my question is - has anyone else seen anything like this? Did this design actually ever go into production? I don't know of any extant examples but if you do... drop me a line. Thanks!

So how about a pick for SOTW?

You're going to think that the Poo-Bah has completely lost his marbles (and you may well be correct) but my pick for this edition is the lowliest and most common of all glasses, "The Hayner Distilling Co."

NO!!! SAY IT AIN'T SO!!!

I see a need to explain this pick before I lose the last vestiges of credibility. The first few weeks of The Slump were incredibly painful. Endless days went by and eBay was beginning to look like an Alabama Antique Mall which, if you haven't had the chance to experience in person, can be best summed up as being a purgatory for pre-pro collectors. "Antiques" in Alabama means anything made between 1970 and 1980. An AL shot-glass collector would view a Playboy shot glass as being the Holy Grail of the collecting field (I can already feel the searing pen of hate-mail as Alabama collectors write to protest. FYI, my e-mail is mailto:dickbales@yahoo.co).

And so it was on eBay -- nothing to look at, nothing to lust over -- and then, miraculously, the little gem below was listed by horn-man.

You can say what you want (and we often do) about Hayner glasses. Yes, they're common and easy to come by, but the example below clearly shows what a great glass this is in mint condition. The combination of a pristine gold rim and a label that has all the push-button hallmarks of a great pre-pro design - who wouldn't be proud to put this glass in their display case alongside a mint CA Bulldog?

The glass originally listed on June 3 and the auction closed seven days later without any takers at $14.99.

It immediately relisted at $9.99 and this time was snatched up by nickc3684.

This auction is for a great etched shotglass with a gold rim from the Hayner Whiskey Distilleries.

It stands a bit over 2 1/2 inches high and says: THE HAYNER DISTILLING CO. 1866 TRADEMARK DAYTON O and ST. LOUIS, MO.

It also has a great picture of a horseshoe and a whiskey barrel.

Excellent condition, very little wear.

You won't be disappointed with this beauty.