Early American Glass~1932~George S. McKearin~American Art Association~Anderson Galleries~Sale 3938~Very Rare~Auction Catalog~Free Shipping

Early American Glass~1932~George S. McKearin~American Art Association~Anderson Galleries~Very Rare~Auction Catalog~Sale Number 3938~Free Shipping.

This rare auction catalog is in very good condition considering its age. Browning of the cover. Name stamp on inside front cover. Some wear on the outside binding. Lots of photos. Clean pages. A rare find!

In 1923, George, with the help of his daughter Helen (who was 27 at the time), opened a retail antiques shop in New York City, called McKearin’s Antiques, Inc. The shop did well, selling all types of antiques to retail customers in the city. It might be that they got into the retail business like a lot of collectors do — to sell off things they didn’t want, so that they could raise funds for buying items that they did!

In 1929, McKearin loaned examples of American glass from his personal collection to the Girl Scouts Loan Exhibition at the American Art Association, Anderson Galleries, 30 East 57th Street, New York City. The Exhibition ran from September 25 to October 9, 1929.

Almost immediately after the end of the Exhibition, the stock market crashed, and the Great Depression began. Perhaps because of the financial pressures of the Depression, McKearin did two things — he decided to part with a majority of his glass collection at auction (1931/32), and close his retail store in New York City (1933), and move back to Hoosick Falls.

McKearin’s decision to part with his glass collection resulted in a monumental auction, held in two sessions, by American Art Association Anderson Galleries, Inc., 30 East 57th Street, New York. (American Art would become Parke-Bernet Galleries in 1937 until 1964, when they were purchased by Sotheby’s.)
The sale was billed as Early American Glass / The Private Collection of / George S. McKearin / Hoosick Falls, N.Y. Part one was held on April 22 and 23, 1931 and was comprised of about 350 lots. Part two was held on January 6 and 7, 1932, with a little over 360 lots.

In the Foreword to Part I, McKearin wrote: “But now the time has come when I feel I can no longer continue the responsibility of private ownership of a collection of such magnitude. My hope has been to see at least a representative and comprehensive portion of the collection go to one of our great museums, where it would be available to others interested in the study and collecting of early American glass. I sincerely regret that I am not so situated as to make such a gift from the collection for this purpose.”

If McKearin sounded a bit regretful in Part I, by the time Part II was sold McKearin was ready to engage in a little well-deserved bragging: “I feel warranted in making the statement that not only does this sale, as a whole, represent the finest and most representative selection of Early American Glass ever presented for public sale at any one time but also at no time has there been made available so many unique and superlative pieces representing the best work of our early American glass houses.”

“From our book shelf to yours. Wishing you great reading.” Barbara and Michael

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Each book in our collection has been hand selected by Barbara and Michael over many years of hunting for them. We hope you will find a special treasure to read or share.