"MANNING THE FORT" - Robin Preston is shown here about to perform some "html" wizardry on the maze that's become the lodestar of the pre-prohibition whiskey afficonados across the country.  Just when you thought he had all the bases covered, he takes it to the next level.  The most recent wrinkle is a series of regional and local databases on the whiskey trade.  As he says at pre-pro.com. "we're not just about shot glasses - we're about the pre-prohibition whiskey industry.  We're building databases of advertising shot glasses, brand names, distillers and wholesalers and their products".
I have a particular passion for the "label-under-glass" types, but they’re rare and many others feel just as passionately as I do. I only have five in total. I also avidly collect the souvenir and novelty glasses. Many of them were put out by master etcher George Truog’s company, the Maryland Glass Etching Works. How can anyone not look at the “Eye Opener” and “Going Back on a Friend” and not be enchanted?! I also have a collection of Philadelphia glasses. Not many are known and the ones that are tend to be scarce but I have around fifty so far. Sadly, two of them have holes in them, but a glass is a glass and until I find a replacement, they’re greatly treasured! Truog's work is another great idea for a column. By the way, did you say "holes" ??! Er, yes. One I bought that way for a nominal sum, simply because I’d never seen it before. The other was a sad tale. This was the “one that got away”, although not quite in the traditional sense. It’s a rare enamel “Whiskey Whiskey” from James Moroney of Philadelphia. It was a sleeper glass on eBay hidden in a collection of 10 modern glasses I won the auction and specifically requested that the glasses be individually wrapped to protect them, but the seller basically just threw them all in a box with a couple of grocery bags between. The box was tinkling when it arrived – not a good sound. I was really heartbroken at having lost such a rare old glass. Not so much because of the potential value, but because of the lost history, so I glued the pieces together and took a photo. Through the magic of digital technology I was able to recreate the glass as you see here. Any other glasses that stand out in your collection? I’m lucky enough to have several exceptional glasses. The two “Black Cats” are an example. The “Grass Widow” is a wonderful pictorial glass, as is the “Old Bard” and the “Millionaire's Club”. I also like the near-identical Wm Walker (a Pittsburgh glass) and the John Deis (Dayton, OH) glasses. Do you limit your collection to shot glasses? I like to pick up old letterheads and other “whisky paper “ when I see it at a reasonable price. It's useful for researching the origins of glasses and the artwork on the letterheads and advertising is very appealing in its own right. I have a small collection of advertising items from Philadelphia companies. A few tip trays, a couple of corkscrews, decanters, and some other bits and pieces. My only other serious collecting interest is mini-decanters. They were used by hotels and railways to take a single serving of whiskey to a patron. They’re a little bigger than a shot glass and they were branded either with an embossed label or a gilded label. I don’t have very many because they’re difficult to find, which is partly why they’re fun to collect. Any words of wisdom for a beginning collector, based on your own experiences? Collecting pre-pro glasses can be a great hobby that one can approach from many different directions. It can link you with this country’s past, the artistry on many of the glasses is outstanding, the glasses are by nature ephemeral and hence their value will only increase, and they have considerable intrinsic appeal. It is possible to put together a respectable collection for a relatively modest sum if you bide your time and buy only glasses in good to excellent condition. Patience is most definitely rewarded in this hobby. Although nice glasses may attract a feeding frenzy on eBay, they virtually always show up again and can be won at a bargain price.
	Howard Currier is an avid collector of shot glasses and brewerania from Boston, Denver and San Francisco.  Howard can be reached by E-mail at: hecurrier@comcast.net

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