A JSB Christmas

Last week, in a quest for information on German-made Christmas ornaments for a patron, I turned to the J. Stanley Brothers Collection, or JSB as we call it, for the man responsible for building the collection. JSB was one of those people who managed to do an astounding number of things in his 80 years of life (1896-1976)—the kind of person who makes the rest of us look like slackers. He was a violinist, composer (first composition at age 12!), writer (of books, articles, sappy greeting cards—forgive me, JSB), and a researcher extraordinaire.

J. Stanley Brothers
Museography: Official Magazine of the Kalamazoo
Valley Museum, Summer 2006, p. 9

His primary research interest was glassware, mostly on American glass factories, but he collected information about foreign glass companies, glass decorating, glass technology, and many other topics. His collection (what we own of it) takes up over 10 shelves in our special collections.

If he couldn’t clip the original document, he transcribed it by hand and even sketched designs of glassware or machines from patent applications. These were the days before photocopy machines and scanners, of course. He traveled around the country gathering information, but he also wrote many letters soliciting brochures, documents, and trade catalogs from glass companies.

Typewritten transcription. Kalamazoo Gazette, May 12, 1893. JSB Architecture folder CMGL 42491

In JSB’s Christmas folder were just the type of items I expect from this researcher: clippings from catalogs illustrating ornaments, magazine and newspaper stories on Christmas decorations and lighting, and JSB’s handwritten or typed notes, like the short entry on Coby Glass Products which produced ornaments, copied, he wrote on a card, from the “exterior of a packing carton.”

And then…an old, yellowed envelope containing a Christmas postcard. Entitled “A Loving Christmas Greeting” the card depicts a young child surrounded by greenery. On the back, someone had written: “Dear Cecilia, we all wish you a very Merry Xmas and hope that Santa Clause [sic] will bring you lots of presents.”

Postcard, JSB Christmas folder, ca 1918-1920 CMGL 42491

For a moment, I puzzled over why this card was in the folder. There were no pictures of ornaments or glass decorations anywhere that I could see. Then I noticed JSB’s thin, delicate handwriting penciled across the top: “This card has an over-layer of clear glass beads to improve luminosity. About 1918-1920.”

Back of postcard CMGL 42491

Ah, JSB, I can always count on you to overlook the sentimental in pursuit of your goal to document every aspect of glass history you could find.

In the words of J. Stanley Brothers:

Greeting Card Verse, Museography: Official Magazine of the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Summer 2006, p. 9

I can’t help but feel JSB’s hobby was fairly uncommon as well, and one that has helped answer a lot of glass questions for all of us and our patrons here at the Rakow Library.

The Rakow Research Library is open to the public 9am to 5pm every day. We encourage everyone to explore our collections in person or online. If you have questions or need help with your research, please use our Ask a Glass Question service.