photo by: Shelley Hanson

Jack Peacock of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, holds a fish-shaped glass bowl while posing with his hundreds of pieces of glassware for sale during the Fostoria Glass Society of America’s Antique Glass Show & Sale in Moundsville on Sunday.

MOUNDSVILLE — Antique and collectible glassware once made by the Fostoria Glass Co. and other glass houses was sparkling and shining in Moundsville this past weekend during the Fostoria Glass Society of America’s Antique Glass Show & Sale in Moundsville.

Cassie Clark, a member of the Fostoria Glass Society of America and one of the event’s organizers, deemed the annual event a success. It was held in the Moundsville Center inside the former West Virginia Penitentiary building.

“We had a whole bunch of wonderful people coming from all over the place,” Clark said Sunday. “We’ve had a great show. The dealers, you can really tell how the glass has sold down in there. People have been walking out with bag after bag.”

Clark said the weekend kicked off with a catered dinner. The show began Saturday and included an auction at the end of the evening. The show started up again Sunday and concluded at 2 p.m.

“We had a wonderful auction that brought in a lot of money,” she said, noting the final amount was still being tallied. “This is our big fundraiser for the year to raise money for the museum.”

Moundsville’s Fostoria Glass Museum, 511 Tomlinson Ave., is opening seasonally and features a variety of glassware made at the Fostoria factory that operated in Moundsville between 1891 and 1986.

Prior to 1891 it was produced in Fostoria, Ohio. There is also a gift shop with glassware for sale.

“It’s a great show. We’ve had glass donations given to the museum and monetary donations,” Clark said. “A lot of the pieces are valuable. So that’s what we want to do; preserve the history of the glassware. That’s our goal for Fostoria. So the museum is our little preservation place.”

Robinson said people can join the society for $25 per year. The membership includes a quarterly newsletter, Facets of Fostoria.

Jack Peacock of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, said he has been setting up at the Moundsville show for many years. Peacock said he sells at about 24 different shows across the country. He typically brings more than 1,000 pieces representing 35 companies. He is co-chairman of the National Depression Glass Association’s Glass Show & Sale slated for July 13-14 at Tiffin Middle School in Tiffin, Ohio.

Peacock enjoys buying and selling glass, but does not have a collection at home. His interest in glassware began as a child. His mother grew up in Tiffin, Ohio, and he would visit relatives there.

“They lived just a couple blocks from the glass house. My cousins would take me and we would run barefoot to watch them blow glass in the glass house. It was fascinating,” he said.

“I’ve always been fascinated by it. It was hot, but then I got old enough to realize it was made from melted sand and chemicals to make the colors. I was fascinated by the engineering and the chemistry – the whole process of making glass.”

Peacock complimented the organizers of the show and sale in Moundsville.

“Their committee does a wonderful job of setting the show up and making our job easy. They take very good care of us. The customers here are friendly and they spend money. We love it,” he said.