Jarring Comments
from Tom Caniff Tom, at 80, takes the lid off and looks back on a lifetime of interesting jars and old friends Compiled by Ralph Finch
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n the middle of a cold January day, I got a warm message from friend, jar expert and AB&GC magazine columnist Tom Caniff of Steubenville, Ohio. So, since Tom and I are getting older, I thought that now might be a good time to ask him a few questions. His first few answers were:
barely talked to at bottle shows. Now that we don’t even see them, I find myself wondering how they are and, in some cases, if they’re still alive. I can’t blame all of this on Covid though, some of it’s due to health problems, and an unfortunate declining interest since we’re no longer actively collecting.
“I’m afraid that the virus is getting to a lot of folks, leading them to be less careful, and I’m afraid that many, especially us old fogies, may well pay a stiff price for their foolishness.
“We’re still doing as well as can be expected though.”
“As far as I know, I’ve reached an age, almost 80, that none of my earlier relatives achieved, but although I’m grateful for what I’ve had, I don’t want to go down the tubes because of doing something stupid. “I’m at the end of my rope with the jar column, I’m afraid, but it’s been a long run and there’s not much left that I’d like to cover. I’ve done this mainly to satisfy myself and now it’s getting to be too much like work, having covered so many topics that I’d wanted to clarify, for myself if not for others. “I, too, find myself missing old friends and acquaintances, some of whom I
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Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
And we had more questions, to which Tom, using his unique, humorous style, generously replied. “Questions? I’m too old to remember answers, and if I do, the answers are probably wrong. “Quiz 1 – First jar? I already had a grouping of ‘old’ fruit jars that we’d liberated from abandoned farmhouses when I bought my first ‘good’ jar after several weeks of soul searching (and yes, I did finally find my soul and still have it today, although in somewhat worn condition). I shelled out $15 for a stained quart aqua LEADER jar with no lid nor clamp. Although I remember it kindly, it’s now long gone. Not sure if I got my money back or not.
A photo of Tom hangs above his Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors Hall of Fame Award from August 8, 2008.
“Quiz 2 – First column? The ‘Label Space’ first appeared in the March 1992, issue of BOTTLES & EXTRAS, published by *Scott Grandstaff and Kitty Roach, of Happy Camp, California. My first
