In mid-June, I received a call from a Cleveland area attorney who said that he was handling the estate of Viola A. Roth. He stated that Miss Roth had bequeathed her glass collection to the National Cambridge Collectors, Inc. She was a graduate of The Ohio State University and an educator for many years.
On July 26, Carl Beynon, Lynn
Welker and I traveled to Cleveland to pack the collection. The
executor of the estate also gave us the NCC memorabilia that Miss
Roth had saved over the years. One of the newspaper clippings was
an article about Cambridge Glass written by Jabe Tarter for the
June 23, 1973 Akron Beacon Journal. In his article, he wrote that
a Cambridge study club had been formed and was referring to the
beginning of the National Cambridge Collectors, Inc! Charles
Upton was listed in the article as the person to contact for
information.
Viola Roth joined the National Cambridge Collectors in 1973, was member #121 and remained a member for 32 years. Maybe she joined after reading Mr. Tarter's newspaper article since she kept it in her records. Miss Roth also saved all issues of the Crystal Ball and every NCC membership card that she received.
She must have been impressed with the evolution of our organization to entrust her collection to our care. A large portion of the bequest will be featured in the 2006 Museum Sample Room as a tribute to her generosity. By including the National Cambridge Collectors, Inc. in her will, Viola Roth has associated herself forever with our organization and her special gift will enrich lives for generations to come.
Following is a partial list of items we received: 20 swans in many colors ranging in size from 3" to 8½", 35 nude stems in several sizes and colors, two Crown Tuscan/gold encrusted Diane lamps, Helio Ram's Head bowl and Doric Column candlesticks, four flower frogs, Heatherbloom relish and keyhole candlesticks, Jade gold sponged comport, Crown Tuscan oval bowl gold encrusted Diane, Ebony gold encrusted Blossomtime bowl, Crown Tuscan gold encrusted Portia cake plate, several keyhole ivy balls, Light Emerald Buddha, Crown Tuscan Dolphin candlesticks with bobeches, several pair of keyhole candlesticks in many colors, Peach Blo bowl etched Gloria, Crown Tuscan Charleton Gardenia comport, Willow Blue vase etched Betty, Light Emerald vase etched Betty, Pencil Dogs, Crown Tuscan Seashell comport with Charleton Boat Scene, Royal Blue Farber Whiskey jug/tumblers with Farber holder, Amethyst Farber ice bucket, Cambridge Arms, LaRosa Caprice salad bowl, several original pamphlets of cuttings, and an original booklet "Seashell - A New Creation".
Below you will find a few sample photographs from the Roth Bequest. The photographs do not show all of the bequest, just some of the highlights. This was truly a wonderful addition to the National Museum of Cambridge Glass.