From all corners of the United States, Pittsburgh-area made glass will be making its way back home from Thursday to Saturday, July 24 to 26, to the 23rd Annual Convention of the Phoenix & Consolidated Glass Collectors' Club (PCGCC). Beautiful glass items made in Monaca and Coraopolis will be coming to the Embassy Suites Hotel, Pittsburgh Airport located at 550 Cherrington Parkway in Coraopolis, Pa. Made in Coraopolis between 1896-1964 and in Monaca between 1880-1960, this American-made glass will be on display to the public from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on July 24 and 25.
In addition, a live club-members-only auction, as well as an educational seminar on the "Consolidated Florentine & Chintz lines," will be held on-site as well. Club membership is $25 a year for singles or $35 a year for couples. The Convention Registration fee of $45 per person and club membership is required to participate in the Saturday auction. Registered members may consign items at no charge.
The Consolidated Glass Company Factory, was known locally as “The Glass House.” Every year at the PCGCC convention, glass arrives in paper bags or in plastic bins from someone's home to be shared with members of the PCGCC who are in town for their annual convention. Whether it be a rare Ruba Rombic whiskey set in smoky topaz from the 1927-1932 period or the more plentiful milk glass Con-Cora pieces from the 1945-1962 time period, the items that come in from the public is one of the reasons the PCGCC returns to Pittsburgh every year. The club strives to foster the connections between the descendants of the people who made and decorated the glass and the people trying to preserve its history.
Glass made by both the Consolidated Glass Company and the Phoenix Glass Company can also be seen in a display at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh in the long-term fourth floor exhibition, “Glass: Shattering Notions.”
To learn more about the convention, visit www.pcgcc.org.