The vintage glass bookends produced by Fostoria have become a favorite among collectors of antique bookends. Copycat pieces abound and the buyer must be certain they are getting the genuine article.įrom humble beginnings as a pressed glass manufacturer, the Fostoria Glass Company became an industry powerhouse. Buyer beware is the most rule for anyone in the market for collectible bookends. As with any collectible, the overall condition of the piece has a big effect on its value. The price determinants seem to hinge on the age of the set, whether truly vintage or from a recent production run. Forstoria, New Martinsville and other art glass producers, offered similar rearing horse bookend sets that are often confused with the Smith version. Smith patterns and those from other pressed glass companies is the cause of some confusion among some sellers. Several other art glass manufacturers made rearing horse bookends in patterns very similar to the original sets offered by Smith Glass. Smith was made originally made in clear, cobalt blue, emerald green and amber glass. The Crystal Rearing Horse bookend set by L.E. He is rumored to have died, without much notoriety, early in the 1930s.ĭoing a search of the online market for collectible bookends, one is likely to uncover several offerings from Depression Era glass manufacturers. Martins Ferry, Ohio was the home of the Buckeye Glass Company and Smith is said to have spent time there as a designer during the 1880s. Smith appears to have been a somewhat enigmatic character, moving around to different glass ventures before finally settling in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. Smith Company is said to have been founded in the early 1900's by Louis E. Born in Scotland, Kelman must have seen that the business of pressed glass production could be sustained. William Kelman purchased the ailing company in 2005. With the company very near the point of closing forever in 2004, help arrived in the form of new ownership. With a history that spans over a century, the Smith Glass Company, as it is now called, has been resurrected. Smith Company created a line of products that have become very collectible. Some very fine examples of Bradley and Hubbard vintage bookends are in a collection at the Smithsonian Institute.įamous for Depression Era glasswork, the L.E. The period from the early 1900s though the 1940s were the heyday for B and H bookends and several highly collectible items were issued during this period. Cast iron was a staple material for the production of everything from cookware to doorstops. The company began as a producer of cast iron clocks but the events of history propelled B and H into the manufacturing of other types of metal goods.

The name Bradley and Hubbard has become legendary among collectors of vintage cast iron bookends. A hand painted set often referred to as the Sailor and Captain Bookend Set, is quite rare and a great example of classic Hubley work.

Today, vintage bookends by Hubley have sold at auction for several thousand dollars. Opening in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in the early 1890s, Hubley produced cast iron toys, doorstops and cast iron bookends until the company closed in 1965. Decorative and functional, Hubley bookends were made in variety of finishes with some patterns featuring hand painted detail. Hubley Manufacturing was just one of several companies that produced what are now collectible antique bookends. Several American companies had a heyday producing what were once just decorative items for practical everyday use.

Along with cast iron doorstops and toys, truly vintage cast iron bookends can command very high prices. Vintage cast iron bookends are among the most highly prized antique collectables. During this period, many companies in the United States were producing what are now highly collectible items of a bygone era. From bridges to toys, doorstops and bookends, cast iron was in wide use through the early part of the Twentieth Century. Cast iron had been in use for nearly 2500 years.