E-mail: houston@chattanooga.net

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www.thehoustonmuseum.com

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The Houston Museum is open Monday through Friday, with the first tour at 9:30 a.m. and the last at 4:00 p.m. The museum is open seasonally on Saturdays and Sundays and closed major holidays. Admission is $8.00 ages 18 and up; $3.50 ages 4 to 17, and free for children ages 3 and under. Special discounts are available for groups of 20 or more.

A unique museum in the Southeast, the Houston is one of Chattanooga's significant visitor attractions. The museum offers guided tours of its permanent displays of the rarest pieces from Mrs. Houston's collections and changing exhibits as well. It also houses a gift shop where many unusual items are available, including some similar to glass and ceramic pieces in the Houston collections. The gift shop is open to the public, free of admission charge.

The History of the Houston Museum
Legends galore surround the enigmatic life of the red-haired country girl who came to Chattanooga in 1904 and proceeded to put together what is considered one of the world’s finest collections of antique glass, furniture and much more.

Anna Safley Houston (1876-1951) was an eccentric antiques dealer, considered a “town character” and called “Antique Annie.” But in time she became a nationally recognized authority on antique glass and dedicated her life to her collections. During the 15 years prior to her death she lived in virtual poverty in a huge ramshackle structure she had built with her own hands on the outskirts of the city, saving her choicest antiques for a “museum” and refusing to sell them even to buy food, medicine or other essentials.

She left all her possessions in trust to the people of Chattanooga, but her “museum” did not become a reality until a decade after her death, and then only through the efforts of dedicated volunteers who recognized the true value of her legacy. Today her collections are valued at so many millions of dollars that the Board of Trustees which oversees them will not even discuss a figure for publication.

And her collections -- including some hundreds of antique pitchers (the largest collection of its kind in the world) as well as many other kinds of antiques numbering tens of thousands of individual items -- attest to her uncanny ability to find and acquire rare pieces, many of which are now considered priceless.

The remarkable life story of Mrs. Houston, including her “collection” of at least nine husbands, is told in a biography, “Always Paddle Your Own Canoe,” published in 1995 and available at the Houston Museum Gift Shop.

Glassware and Ceramics
Anna Safley Houston amassed what has been termed by some experts to be the finest collections of such objects in the world. Stunning art glass pieces including Tiffany, Steuben, Loetz, Durand, Amberina, Plated Amberina, Pomona, Peach Blow, Burmese, Cranberry, Satin and more are among the inventory. There are cut glass vessels and over 600 patterns of Early American pressed glass, as well as Mary Gregory-type glass in abundance.

At one time, Mrs. Houston owned 15,000 glass and ceramic pitchers, surely the largest collection of its type in the world. Today the entire collection numbers approximately 12,000 pieces -- over 50 smaller collections within the larger assemblage. A generous sampling of lustreware -- copper, pink, yellow and silver -- and numerous pieces of Staffordshire, Wedgwood, Royal Bayreuth, Royal Worcester, Doulton, Royal Doulton, Rockingham-Bennington pottery, Parian, Meissen, Chinese export porcelain, Mettlach steins, Toby jugs, face mugs and humidors are highlights of the ceramic holdings.

American art pottery adds special interest to the mix. There are Newcomb, Rookwood, Weller and Roseville creations. An Alabama butter churn is among single objects drawing visitors’ special attention. All in all, there is an overwhelming number of treasures to behold.

A sampling of the amazing glassware and ceramic items follows.

• Steins
  More than 75 rare steins are displayed on shelving in the second floor hall of the museum. Many were produced by Villeroy and Boch at its factory in Mettlach. The colorful vessels include krugs and children's steins and are shown with some novelty pieces from Royal Bayreuth, including the highly collectible Devil and Cards grouping.
• Toby Jugs
  Supposedly named for a notorious drinker of the eighteenth century, the first Toby jugs were used for beer. The Houston Museum is fortunate to possess a fine collection of Toby jugs and face mugs, which are seen here against the backdrop of one of the museum's fine corner cupboards.
• Miniature Lamps
  Miniature lamps, or "courting lamps," were used as night lights in the last half of the nineteenth century. They were made in many types of glass. The miniature lamp collection at the Houston is a collector's dream.
• Art Glass Baskets
  Art glass baskets were favorites of the Victorians. All types of art glass were used in their creation, along with lots of the artist's imagination. The Houston Museum features an extensive collection of these baskets, both in full size and miniature. The late Robert Miller, antiques expert, wrote a book on the Art Glass Basket, using Houston pieces as illustrations.
• Majolica
  A cherry Pennsylvania cupboard, circa 1850, holds some of the Houston's extensive collection of antique majolica, the brightly glazed earthenware pottery that delighted the Victorians after Henry Minton's re-introduction of it at the World Exposition in 1851. Prized among the museum's majolica holdings is a fish set by Joseph Holdcroft with six matching plates (in foreground). The cupboard displaying the majolica features candle drawers, bun feet and spoon slots.
• Upstairs Dining Room
  The Houston Museum's upstairs dining room features fine examples of early Staffordshire, flow blue and a complete set of Charles Dana Gibson Girl plates by Royal Doulton, as well as a number of handsome pieces of antique furniture. A unique collection of antique pickle castors is exhibited on window shelving. A photograph of museum founder Anna Safley Houston with her beloved dog, Sonny, hangs on the wall at left.
• Alabama Crock
  The butter churn of alkaline glazed stonewear bears a thumbprint at the base of both handles that identifies the piece to be from the Belcher's Gap area in North Alabama, where much beautiful pottery was made over a span of 60 years, beginning sometime in the 1850's and continuing until the end of the first World War (1918). The area was rich in kaolin, the main ingredient in the manufacture of porcelain. Belcher's Gap is in the Wills Valley.
• Pressed Glass Room
  The Houston Museum's pattern or pressed glass room displays many rare pieces, including an impressive sampling of coin glass. Many pitchers hang from the ceiling, reminiscent of their early storage in Mrs. Houston's original barnlike building. At least 600 different patterns are represented.
• Cranberry Glass
  Mrs. Houston's apparent affection for cranberry glass is borne out in the large number of cranberry pieces in the collection, including numerous pitchers, creamers, cruets and bowls. These shelves are in the upstairs Cranberry Room, which features a beautiful cranberry chandelier. Window shelving above the front hall staircase is also filled with cranberry pitchers.
• Tiffany Glassware
  Stunning examples of art glass pieces by Tiffany, Steuben, Loetz and Durand adorn the mantlepiece in the downstairs front parlor. Some of the pieces are from the original Houston collection. Others have been donated since Mrs. Houston's death, including a Louis Comfort Tiffany favrile late 19th century bowl (center) in gold and blue tones, which was added to the Houston collection in May 2009.
• Cameo Glass on Sugar Chest
  Handsome examples of cameo glass, including two signed Galle pieces, are displayed on one of three sugar chests in the Houston collection, a tiger maple chest with cherry top made in Tennessee between 1790 and 1810. Other cameo pieces in the grouping are by Thomas Webb, Val St. Lambert and J. Michel.
• Rookwood Tiles and Pattern Glass
  Rookwood tiles produced by the popular American art pottery factory in Cincinnati, Ohio, set off a fireplace in the museum's pattern glass room. A pair of Staffordshire dogs are displayed at every fireplace in the house.

Exhibition

Bottles, Baskets and Bowls
Through July

Victorian art glass and pattern glass pieces both have prominence in the decorative arts collection of the late Anna Safley Houston, which is housed in the Houston Museum.

“Despite the fact that the Houston collection also comprises all sorts of other media, the museum, now celebrating its 50th anniversary, has long been known as ‘the glass museum’, ’’ said its director, Amy Frierson.

“In light of marking the golden anniversary of this unique place, we decided to have this year’s special exhibits underscore predominant collection categories,” Mrs. Frierson continued.

The April through July feature, “Bottles, Baskets and Bowls,” thus highlights art and pattern glass pieces of which there are a super abundance in the Houston treasure trove.

Victorian art glass is classified in 11 categories: shaded (which includes Amberina, Peachblow and Burmese); frosted (including Pomona, overshot, crackle); pearl wares (mother of pearl and satin); opalescent; spatter; opaque; metal mounts; Venetian; clear, iridescent and cameo.

Art glass was first developed in the 1880’s and continues to be produced to this day. Color was used with great skill and inventiveness by Victorian designers and craftsmen, and a number of extremely talented artists emerged in the early years of art glass production, such as Joseph Locke, Louis Comfort Tiffany and Frederick Carder, who created distinctive types of this art.

Fine examples of pieces in Locke’s special formula amberina and plated amberina; of Tiffany’s iridescent and Favrile designs, and of Carder’s Steuben creations are found in the Houston collection.

The pressed or pattern glass whose manufacturing process was established in the early 1800’s was less expensive and produced more for the “common folks,” but it has nevertheless taken on a large following of fans and collectors through the years.

Antique pattern glass pieces command high prices in the market place today, and there are numerous collectors groups focused on particular glass factories.

A favorite art glass basket of Houston visitors is singled out for this special exhibit. Made in colorless glass with acid finish, circa 1880-1900, the piece has a deeply ruffled rim, ribbed body and is raised on six flaring applied feet. The intertwined handle has applied green frosted leaves and a large yellow and white applied flower at one side.

The Houston’s collection of art glass baskets is extensive and provided the material for a book on them, which was written by the late Robert Miller, an antiques expert. This “Bible of Baskets” has brought many collectors to the Houston since its publication.

While the Houston collection is replete with stunning art glass baskets, it includes only a few bride’s baskets. The difference in the two types is that an art glass basket stands alone, while a bride’s basket has a metal frame, usually silver plated.

One of the Houston’s bride’s baskets has a deeply undulating and ruffled rim with white exterior cased in shaded pink. Its interior is enameled with flowers and gilt foliate design.

Another bride’s basket is of similar shape and coloring and hand painted with a fruiting branch. Both have silver plated vintage design frames.

A mold blown Peachblow bowl, also known as Wild Rose, made by the New England Glass Co. in Cambridge, Mass., in the 1880’s, features a scalloped rim and flat base. The body of the piece shades from deep rose at the top to white at the bottom.

Another special bowl bears the signature of the famous French glass artist Emile Galle. It was made around 1890-1900. In clear amber, it is decorated with enameled flowers, dandelions and an insect.

There are a number of rose bowls in the display. These are crimped and pinch-edged bowls for holding dried rose petals. Decorative only, they produced a rose-scented aroma that helped freshen the air in the parlor or dining room and were especially popular from the mid-1800’s on.

A number of glass bottles and flasks dot the display. One is an Indian queen bitters bottle in deep amber with slight evidence of gold decoration still visible. The bottle was made in 1867.

Another amber glass bitters bottle is the product of Seward & Bentley in Buffalo, N.Y., circa 1864. A figural ear of corn forms another deep amber bitters bottle from the Pittsburgh area, circa 1868-1874.

Barber bottles, those colorful shaving accessories that were glass containers for various tonics, such as bay rum and witch hazel, are part of the bottle representation.

Mainly imported from Europe, they were made in many glass types, including cut and milk glass. They often featured hand-painted designs and sometimes were personalized with the owner’s name and symbol of his occupation.