The Casebier Collection
Ronald L. Casebier 1933 – 2017
Ron earned a BS in Chemistry from Washington State University (1955), and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota (1959). He worked as a chemist and later an executive for ITT Rayonier from 1959 until his retirement in 1998. Ron was an avid gardener, made Tiffany style stained glass lamps, and collected art glass. He was a member of Mountain View Nazarene Church.
Those details are from Ron’s obituary. I knew him as one of this nation’s foremost collectors of Imperial Art Glass, most notably Free Hand Ware.
In 2009, when this website was in its infancy, I had the very good fortune to receive an e-mail from Ron volunteering photos for my website from his collection. Little did I know what a great collection it was and how instrumental his support would be in the success of this website and in furthering appreciation for and understanding of Imperial Art Glass. Today I get a chuckle when I see an auction house or an eBay seller use a description that came originally from Ron.
The website had less than 50 photos when Ron first contacted me. His input tripled that number. For weeks I would receive a few photos, e-mailed each night. Photos Ron had taken that day. Photos carefully staged to show the beauty of each piece. Photos that were accompanied by detailed descriptions, e.g. height, colors, cased or not, comparisons to other examples, Free Hand numbers, and on and on. Often he would call me late at night to explain a point he thought important or to patiently and thoughtfully correct a mistake I had made. The rigor and discipline of Ron’s approach to this effort spoke to his analytical/scientific and organized mind – a Ph.D. at his best – but foremost a lover of beauty, fragile and delicate beauty, whether it was art glass created by man or a flower he grew, created by nature and nurtured by him.
I was blessed to have known this man, even in the limited way of sharing this one interest. I will always marvel at his focus and dedication in building such a collection. His collection is now largely disbursed. Now other collector can hold these objects of beauty in their own hands; build their own collections.
For Imperial collectors everywhere and simply for people who appreciate beautiful things, and with special thanks to Penina & Skinner Auctioneers for their gracious consent to use these photos, I proudly present to you examples from the collection of the late Ronald L. Casebier.
Please click on the photos to enlarge them.
