Cambridge Nearcut No. 2696 Wheat Sheaf No. 131 Green 32 ounce Whiskey Decanter No. 2

I received an email from a lady by the name of Kristi Kyhl from Grapevine, Texas in September of 2017. She exclaimed that she had the second known reported "Cambridge Wheat Sheaf Green Whiskey Decanter". I had to assume she identified hers by seeing my "only one known" here on Showcase. I was in a mild state of shock and very excited to have her send me photos.

Sure enough, her photos showed she did indeed have one. She was interested in selling it but coming up with a price was tricky since mine was the only one known (before this one) and there was no history of pricing to go on. We came up with what we thought was a fair price for both of us and I bought it. I am grateful the transaction went smoothly between us since we were total strangers, thousands of miles apart, but by speaking on the telephone, we got a chance to get acquainted with one another. Today, as I write this article, In checking my glass inventory records,  I saw that I paid the same exact price as I had paid for the original decanter.

I asked Kristi if she would write a little bit about where it came from and she was happy to tell us.

Kristi writes, "My parents, Fred and Carol Hosfelt had an antique store named Canal Days Antiques in Roscoe Village for many years.  Roscoe Village is a restored canal town that was on the Ohio Erie Canal.  Roscoe Village is just on the other side of the Muskingum River from Coshocton, Ohio.  Coshocton is about 30 miles Northwest of Cambridge.  During this time they purchased multiple estate antiques and to my knowledge the jug came from one of those purchases. The jug moved to Texas when my dad moved here a few years ago.  I hope you enjoy it!"

Kristi's parents are both gone now and I thought this would be a lovely tribute to them both and Kristi too. I am over the moon happy to have this second decanter. The good part about it is that it is really very different from my other one. This one has far more gold dominating the overall iridescence along with highlights and accents of magenta, green and blue. Thank you Kristi for thinking to sell it to me!

I have included the reunion photos of the first one reported with its twin. The first one is on the right in all the photos. They have been apart now for over 100 years. It's nice to see them together. It simply amazes me how two such objects have come back together after all the traveling the first one did. I find it interesting this second one known has spent most of its existance only 30 miles away from the Cambridge Glass factory where it was made.

Please visit the other one known here on Showcase to read and see more about this fascinating whiskey jug that was only really made in crystal by Cambridge.

I have a theory or two as to why many weren't made in green. It's difficult to pour whiskey from a decanter when you can't see through the glass to know it's coming... especially pouring into a shot glass or cordial. These decanters are also very heavy. Unless they are clear, it's difficult to know if there's anything in them. Filling them is also difficult since you wouldn't be able to see the fill level. So, the clear versions were more practical.

Perhaps they made a few of these in green to commemorate the pattern itself which is mostly seen in clear. It can be so much more appreciated in its iridized form from every angle. The iridescence on both of these is very thick which brings me to my business sensible conclusion that they may have had to spray it a few times to get this gorgeous coloring. That in itself could have been cost prohibitive, just another possible reason why they weren't mass produced in this color.

The Christina Katsikas Collection