A Little History is Written with a National Treasure Inkwell tells about William Henry Harrison and collectors David and Janice Frent Edited by Ralph Finch
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The Harrison ‘Hard Cider’ glass inkwell
eritage Auctions of Dallas recently conducted the sixth auction of selections from one of the top collections of presidential material ever amassed, that of David and Janice Frent, two people who make the rest of us look like pikers, or pickers, or privy diggers. Shortly after they were engaged, the Frents received a small jar of political buttons from a friend. The Heritage catalog noted: “Both of us were intrigued by what we saw and wondered who wore the Teddy Roosevelt Rough Rider pinback, the Taft button and the Alton Parker picture pin,” David Frent recalls. “Both of us liked the history of our country and these few items formed the beginning of what would be a multi-decade quest.” (One can only imagine what they come have amassed if they had been given a roll of antique toilet paper.) “Fifty years later, the Frents have one of the premier collections of presidential and political campaign artifacts. Their pieces have been displayed at the Museum of Modern Art and featured in ads, textbooks, magazines, on television and on a U.S. postage stamp. At the latest auction installment, I selected Lot 43046, described as a
“William Henry Harrison ‘Hard Cider’ Glass Inkwell, 2.25 inches by 2. One side of the barrel-shaped, clear glass inkwell has ‘Hard Cider’ in relief with ‘Tippecanoe Extract’ on the other. The bottom has a ground pontil scar and was said to be in excellent condition.” It had a minimum bid of $200, and sold for $250. (The buyer’s premium per lot was “25 percent on the first $300,000, plus 20 percent of any amount between $300,000 and $3,000,000, plus 12.5 percent of any amount over $3,000,000 per lot.” Clearly, this was not an event for beginning collectors or privy diggers.)
Harrison, 1773-1841, was an American general and politician, the ninth U.S. president, and his ephemera is extensive. Especially popular with glass collectors are Harrison flasks, often impressive, and usually expensive. The Heritage catalog included this (edited) information: “Among members of the organized fraternity of political items collectors, the Frent collection has long been revered as the largest, most extensive, and valuable collection ever assembled. Its history began shortly after the Frents’ marriage in 1968, a monumental election year when public awareness of March 2020
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