Photos from the First NCC Convention (1974)
by Frank Wollenhaupt
Issue No. 425 - February 2009
This past month, I have been working on a time-line to be added to our MVSG website. Going back through all my notes, photos and
Crystal Ball’s, it is like a step back in history, a lot of history that many/most of the members today do not know or remember. I know
it has reminded me of many things from the first years of NCC that I had forgotten about.
What I thought I would do this month would be to share some of the early photos of the convention and display room. On the cover of Crystal Ball issue #13, it shows a great display of Cambridge glass that was presented at the first convention of the NCC (yes, I was there). If you weren’t, all you had to enjoy were some black and white photos in the Crystal Ball. I thought it might be nice to see, in color just what it looked like.
First, I think we should give some ground rules/information. The first convention didn't have a show with it. We held the convention at the same time that Charles Upton held his annual antique show at the Armory in Cambridge. NCC had nothing to do with the show or the display; it was all Charlie Upton's and he bent over backward to make the two things happen without a hitch. The display room was put together out of three or four major collections from the Cambridge area. What a joy to the eye it was.
Also remember that this was 1974. Most of these items were new to us. We didn't know things like this were even made. This was before we had all the books printed in color about "our" glass. Before Florence, before Collectors Books and before Shiffer Books. This was the start of the "glass" information age and what a time it was.
So with that said, for the first time in print, on this page and the next, here are some of the color photos from the first glass convention/display. Enjoy.
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