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CAUTION: There are reports of an unusual number of these canes appearing at OHIO flea markets. One such report follows:
April 12, 2000: The cane shown here is just one of a number of supposed
Tiffin Glass canes which have been showing up in Ohio during the last 2
months. I've talked to a couple of people who have recently seen and purchased
several of these canes. So far, each cane has been a different color and
sometimes different styles. All of these canes has a Tiffin Glass sticker
which is about 3 times the size of the normal Tiffin label. These oversized
stickers say "hand made Tiffin". These canes with stickers are not Tiffin
Glass items. From the 1890s through about 1925 is the timeframe when glassworkers
made canes, usually for use in the annual Labor Day parade. The U.S. Glass
Company did not start to use a Tiffin Glass label until c.1928, and then
the sticker simply read "Tiffin", omitting hand made. The Tiffin sticker
reading hand made did not come into being until much later on. The oversized
stickers all look like they have age to them, or patina. I believe that
someone with some considerable computer skills has had a number of labels
printed up and applied to new canes. Also, oddly enough, these canes all
seem to be in excellent shape, not chipped on the bottom as they often
are. These canes have been spotted at the Mansfield, Urbana, Fremont, and
Perrysburg flea markets, all in Ohio. I have heard of a number of them
being purchased for less than $50.00, which is far less than an authentic
cane would bring. Moreover, there is no distinguishing characteristic for
a Tiffin cane. The best way to authenticate a cane is if you could trace
the lineage from a glassworker, down through his family members. Even that
would not be fool proof. So please, buyer beware on these items! If is
looks too good to be true, it probably is.
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