Dreams of Many Colored Glass - excerpt

A brilliant young man finds his life changed – against his wishes – by someone else’s dreams.

Fritz kept filling in the Grand Canyons of my education with anecdotes.
“Many years ago, Robert Koch bought his first Tiffany favrile for $4, which was a significant amount of money then.”
“I thought the Colonials traded in wampum.”
“You should respect your elders.” Fritz dipped his chin so he could look at me over his glasses.
“I do. But they need to earn the respect.”
“Koch wrote a definitive biography. He amassed a collection of Art Nouveau, including Tiffany art. Including a god-awful punch bowl that looks like it should have come from a carnival. But it’s a glorious example. His wife became a dealer instead of a teacher, so she could help him.”
The last statement seemed to come from deeper inside Fritz. I speculated what Mrs. Fritz had given up, in her husband’s pursuit of lamps.
So began my entry into the world of Tiffany, an entire ecosystem built on sand, fire, and light. There were times – coming into the breakfast room when 6 a.m. light bounced through an amber shade; seeing twilight change the sapphire and cream maze of a peacock lamp; sitting in a warm June evening when the peonies outside were almost as beautiful as the ones he created - that I caught myself from falling into the Tiffany well. I would never have admitted it to Fritz, but it would have been an easy fall. The lamps were gorgeous, if not worth the money.