National Cambridge Collectors, Inc.

A non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

NCC Organization Information

Our Mission

The National Cambridge Collectors, Inc. is a non-profit Ohio corporation which was founded in 1973 to establish and maintain a permanent museum in Cambridge, Ohio for the display, study and preservation of Cambridge Glass. Part of the mission includes accumulating and publishing information related to the Cambridge Glass Company. Check this site regularly for news of scheduled meetings and upcoming events.

Membership

Membership in the National Cambridge Collectors is available for individuals at a cost of $22.00 per year, and an additional $3.00 per year for associate members (12 years of age and older, living in the same household). All members have voting rights, but only one copy of the Crystal Ball is mailed to each household.

Beginning in 2006, the Board of Directors authorized a new structure for membership dues, including the ability to make a donation to the organization at the same time. The structure is very similar to that used by other non-profit organizations.

Presently, we don't have the capability for you to pay via PayPal® but plan to do so in the near future.

To pay by check, you can print out the Application for Membership form and mail it in along with your dues. Use your browser's "BACK" button to return to this page. [Note: You will need the Adobe Reader® version 7, as the list is in "PDF format". Most modern computer systems come with the Adobe Reader® already installed. However, if you don't have it, you can download it here]

Officers and Board Members

The Board of Directors consists of 12 members. Each is elected to a four year term, and the terms are staggered so that three directors are elected every year. The Board meets after each election to choose the officers for a one year term. The Officers, Board members and Committee Chairpersons are all listed in the Crystal Ball each time it is published.

The Crystal Ball - NCC's member newsletter

One of the benefits of membership in the National Cambridge Collectors is the monthly newsletter, known as the Crystal Ball. This publication informs members of happenings within the club, in study groups (see below), Convention plans, Glass Shows, Board of Directors meetings, and a President's message. In most issues, there is a detailed article relating to some phase of Cambridge glass, such as a study of a particular pattern, or historical information about the company. In addition, there are advertisements (classified or partial to full-page) from dealers and individuals with glass for sale or pieces wanted. Click here for advertising rates and terms. The Crystal Ball is a wealth of information, and members look forward to its arrival in their mailbox every month. NCC members can access an electronic version (in PDF format) each month in the Members-only section of this web site.

Cambridge Study Groups

These are groups of members who live fairly close to one another, and who hold regular meetings where they study topics related to Cambridge glass (sometimes related to glassware made by other companies as well). When space permits, the minutes of each of the study groups are published in the Crystal Ball member's newsletter. Currently there are eight active study groups.

Publications by NCC

Various Study Groups or individual members have spent many hours researching and putting together books on a number of topics pertaining to Cambridge glass. There are Catalog reprints, small books on individual patterns, the Colors in Cambridge Glass book, and numerous others. Visit the Books for Sale page to see the list.

NCC's eBay Store

The publications mentioned above that are for sale can be purchased online at the NCC's eBay Store, using PayPal® to make things easier for "computer literate" visitors and members. There are other items besides books available and you can even renew memberships (or join NCC !) and make donations to the Museum or Century Club funds.

National Museum of Cambridge Glass

The crowning achievement of the club has been the creation of the National Museum of Cambridge Glass, in Cambridge, Ohio. The NCC had built an earlier museum in Cambridge, only to have the massive flood of 1998 inundate the old museum. Through the hard work of many members, most of the glass was rescued, but the original museum had to be closed and eventually sold. Subsequently, NCC club members got together and raised the necessary funds to acquire another building in Cambridge (on higher ground), and today the National Museum of Cambridge Glass is a reality again. You must schedule a visit if you're anywhere near Cambridge.

Penny Court Mall - mini Museum

During the period when the first museum had been flooded out, and the new museum was in the process of being acquired and finished out, the Penny Court Antique Mall, in Cambridge, was very generous in providing some cases in which the NCC could display some of the museum pieces. Since the new museum has opened, Penny Court continues to house a "mini-museum" with Cambridge glass on display and with information for visitors to find the new National Museum of Cambridge Glass. The NCC thanks the folks at Penny Court for their unwavering support of our efforts.

Annual Convention

Every summer, towards the end of June, the National Cambridge Collectors holds a Convention in Cambridge, Ohio. It is held at the Pritchard-Laughlin Center, on US 40 in Cambridge. The Convention is a place where members gather to have a whole lot of fun, attend the Annual Meeting of the organization, listen to seminars by guest speakers and attend a Glass Show which features some of the best dealers in Cambridge glass from all over the country. There's even an event called the "Glass Dash", which is a kind of four hour mini-show, where the dealers come and set up early in the morning and it's over by 11:00 am. There is a banquet, displays of Cambridge glass and often there are bus trips which bring conventioneers to other glass-related sites in the area. We have a list of motels in the Cambridge area, along with the information you need to contact them directly. Be sure to let them know that you are with the National Cambridge Collectors, to ensure that you receive the best rates. This is surely an event not to be missed, so plan for Convention now.

Fund Raising Activities

There are a number of different fund raising activities which provide the support for the Club activities. The annual dues barely cover the expenses of producing the Crystal Ball and delivering it to the membership. Covering the costs of running a first-class museum requires fairly substantial income for this non-profit organization.

The NCC (National Cambridge Collectors. Inc.) established the Heritage Society in 2005 as a way to secure the future of its Cambridge Glass preservation mission. The NCC's Heritage Society provides members and other contributors with a non-binding. completely voluntary pledge program. Members of The Heritage Society are those who have included the NCC in their wills or estate plans, thus providing the organization with a secure future.

Every year there is an All-Cambridge Glass Auction held in conjunction with the March Quarterly meeting, with the items listed in the Crystal Ball and forms provided for members and non-members alike to submit absentee bids. All glass in the Annual Auction is guraranteed to be Cambridge glass. This is a major fund-raising project each year.

From time to time, the Board of Directors authorizes the production of an item from an original Cambridge Glass Company mold to be made in a limited run as a fund raising project. The pieces are usually made by Mosser Glass Company, and always in a color that was never originally made by Cambridge. The latest offering is a pair of Scotty Dog Bookends, in either cobalt blue, frosted cobalt blue, or crystal frosted.

Some other fund-raising activites include a "Century Club" where members donate $100 or more and have their names engraved on a plaque in the museum, "Name a Case", where members donate the cost of one of the cases in the museum used to display glass and have the privilege of placing a plaque on the case acknowledging their donation. Other fund raising tasks include selling membership pins, souvenir glass items, tote bags, prior year's Convention souvenirs, videos and even replacement plastic lids for Cambridge salt/pepper sets.

Members-Only pages

This web site provides members with information not available to the general public. There is a members-only section which is password protected, and which contains articles and information from back issues of the Crystal Ball newsletter. The section includes a search engine which makes researching specific Cambridge-related topics much easier, as the search covers all the back issues on our site. Beginning with the April 2007 issue, electronic copies of the Crystal Ball are kept in the members-only section in PDF format. This is another of the key benefits of membership in NCC.

Constitution and By-Laws

The National Cambridge Collectors, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. The Constitution and By-Laws of the organization are listed in PDF form (follow the link), and are also published periodically in the Crystal Ball newsletter.

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