2012 Bottle Show

Ballston Spa, NY

The 2012 Saratoga Show took place at Ballston Spa High School in Ballston Spa, NY on Saturday, May 12. 

Sponsored by the National Bottle Museum, the annual event serves as a thank you to those who support and promote the museum’s mission and as a means of attracting new participants to the hobby which researches and preserves this particular form of historic artifact.

Like the museum, a not-for-profit educational institution on Milton Avenue (Route 50) in the village, The Saratoga Show highlights the history, technology and artistry involved in creating mouth blown bottles.

Dealers and collectors from coast-to-coast and Canada had plenty of opportunities to exchange information and socialize. All proceeds support the National Bottle Museum. For more information, please CONTACT US.

Those who attended the antique bottle show and sale sponsored by the National Bottle Museum at Ballston Spa High School on Saturday, May 12 were invited to bring along old bottles to be identified by experts at a brand new booth called Granny’s Attic.

“People are welcome to bring in vintage bottles they have either inherited, received as gifts, dug up or found in old buildings,” said NBM Trustee Roy Topka (at right in above photo), who will be overseeing the new attraction at the 2012 show. Other than the price of admission ($3 for adults; $1 for children), there is no cost for the bottle identification service.

With more than 40 years of bottle digging and collecting experience to his credit, Topka – who is a longtime bottle researcher for the National Bottle Museum and the author of Old Schenectady Bottles – said he is looking forward to examining “old bottles people may have had lying around for years or bottles that perhaps have been sitting in the window with flowers inside of them or were simply stashed away in an ancestor’s attic.”

Topka recommends people with items for Granny’s Attic arrive no later than 2:30 p.m. in order to ensure sufficient time for the bottle identification process to be completed. Individuals who may have large accumulations of bottles are advised to bring in representative examples of the different types if they have similar pieces.

Asked how clean the bottles need to be when brought in for identification, opka responded: “It’s important that they be free of loose dirt. Bottles with any kind of contents should NOT be brought to this show If people have bottles with contents they can bring a picture – one of the front will do — with a brief description of embossing.”

Although National Bottle Museum representatives do NOT provide appraisals, Topka said “we will provide basic bottle information and history if we know it or can find it. People will be advised somewhat on rarity or if the bottle is well represented.” Topka, who is planning to set-up a bottle basics table, with some bottles and terminology, perhaps a mold and a blowpipe, added that those attending the show and sale are welcome to check with the dealers regarding bottle values.

Other attractions at the 2012 show included live flameworking demonstrations by internationally acclaimed scientific glassblower Sally Prasch, Museum Glassworks instructor Larry Rutland and NBM Museum Glassworks Director Lisa Daigle. Hand-crafted glass gift items were on sale at the flameworking exhibit along with books and a variety of souvenir items, much of which is currently available in the museum’s gift shop.