Out & About: Bryce Glass collectors display treasures at Ligonier museum

Two collectors of Bryce Glass Co. tableware and novelties have pooled their resources for the aptly named exhibit, “The Art and Novelty of Bryce Glass,” on display through Nov. 5 at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Ligonier Valley.

Harley Trice of Shadyside comes by his interest in Bryce Glass Co. products naturally — he’s the great-great-grandson of James Bryce, founder of the company that produced handblown glass in Mt. Pleasant from 1896 to 1965.

Debra Coulson of O’Hara, a retired environmental attorney and longtime collector of American antiques, began collecting Bryce glass in 1980 after receiving a piece as a gift.

The pair, co-authors of the book, “Bryce Glass, Art and Novelty in Nineteenth-Century Pittsburgh,” mingled with guests last month at an evening reception.

A musical welcome was provided outside the Ligonier Township facility by bagpiper Emily Trimpey.

Among the glass-encased displays is a collection of canary glass, which gets its yellow hue from uranium oxide and glows green under black light — which SAMA visitors can see by flipping a switch next to the display.

The glass exhibit shares space with “An Appreciation for the Familiar,” with paintings and drawings by artist J.D. Titzel of Greenville, Mercer County. Titzel had his own opening reception earlier in the day.

Seen at the evening reception were site coordinator Kristin Miller, Mark Coulson, Lori and Frank Kurtik, John and Suzanne Wright, Silvia Filippini-Fantoni, Linda Blum, Richard and Eileen Stoner, Michaelene McWhinney, Susan O’Donnell, Brenda White, Mark Weitzman and Marylynne Pitz, Larry and Pat Smitley and Clare Kaczmarek.