Tony Nettell Goes to the NDGA Convention
by Tony Nettell
Issue No. 409 - August 2007
I'm Tony Nettell and I have been involved with depression era glass since the age of 12. Now at the age of 26, I finally had the opportunity to do a display of my best glass, Cambridge of course, at a show. But not just any show. This was the 
NDGA (National Depression Glass Association) Annual Convention!
I had attended a few glass shows before but nothing of that caliber. Doing the Cambridge Glass display was one of the best experiences I've ever had. I never would have been able to do this without the much appreciated help of my mother, Patty, and my sister, Stacy. Packing and unpacking over 200 pieces of Cambridge is quite tedious I've come to find.
The lobby was filled with many beautiful and interesting displays, showing a wide range of American glass manufacturing. Just a few examples of the displays 
exhibited were: Fostoria "Vernon" in orchid, an orange colored glass collection (totally awesome), the National Glass Collection which features a wide variety of interesting pieces, and Paden City Glass Company being represented with a stunning table of interesting pieces in a full range of colors.
The Cambridge display I exhibited included settings for four in willow blue and heatherbloom "Apple Blossom", and willow blue "Cleo" (photo at left). Also included were several pieces in heatherbloom "Portia", a 12.5" draped lady flower frog in blue, and a ritz blue samovar etched "Martha". I've been told by several people that they thoroughly enjoyed the display and to see so many hard to find pieces in one site was "awesome". (Photos of the display, which covered two 8-foot tables, are shown below)
The night before the convention there was a gathering at the the Staley's house. On display were over 10,000 pieces of depression era glass. It was quite awesome to be in the presence of it all. A large amount of Cambridge was represented including Rose Point, Decagon, and Caprice to name a few.
The sale was wonderful. I have never been in the presence of that much absolutely stunning glassware ever. Every other word out of out mouths was "Wow!". I was able to meet some wonderful people and make some really good connections on finding more glass for my collection.
Some particularly wonderful Cambridge pieces I spotted included: a #730 ½ lb. Candy with cover in green "Cleo", a heatherbloom "Apple Blossom" Statuesque nude stem table goblet, #937 68 oz. Pitcher in willow blue etched #739, #1228 9" pillow shaped vase in heatherbloom, and many, many, consoles sets with figural frogs in all sorts of sizes, colors, and patterns. I even came home with a few goodies for myself: four Federal green "Parrot" dinner plates and a blue "Apple Blossom" 3400/67 12" five part Celery and Relish.
As my collection grows I hope to be able to do more displays in the future. Attending next year's Cambridge Convention is certainly high on my list of things to do. In closing, I just wanted to say that it was truly an honor to represent Cambridge Glass for the Convention.