Figural Acid Etchings 1870-1970, Book I, Aetna - Lotus: A Glass Collector's Guide to a Century of American Figural Acid Etchings with their Background and Story Significance

These books illustrate 225 American figural acid etchings on glass (people, animals, birds, etc.) spanning 100 years, from 1870 to 1970. Forty-six glass and/or decorating companies are represented in these books, plus an "Unknown" category. There are dozens of etchings within these pages that the average glass collector has never seen. Many of them are the only examples that the author has ever seen.

To maximize the user friendliness of this book, there are three different cross indexes: Index by Etching Name, Index by Company Name, and Index by Subject Matter.

Each etching shown in these books is taken from a piece, or pieces, of the author's personal glass collection, which consists of nearly 2000 pieces of glass, collected over some 40 years. This collection is believed to be the largest and most comprehensive collection of Figural Acid Etchings in the United States.

The background stories told with these etchings have been extensively researched. This is the first book on glass etchings that has ever explained the meanings of the etchings, or their historical, biblical, and mythological story backgrounds. The stories behind the etchings are what make them so interesting to collect. When people buy an antique of any kind they are usually interested in the story behind it. These books bring those etchings to life in the hands of collectors.

As of 2016, it has taken more than 18 years to complete this book. Over the 40 years that the author has been collecting these etchings, he has bought, sold, studied, and researched glass anywhere and everywhere that he possibly could. He has traveled hundreds of thousands of miles to visit the U.S. Patent Office, glass and art museums, both here and abroad, glass factories, libraries, and other glass collections. He has dug for shards at old glass company dump sites, and collaborated with dozens of fellow glass collectors, as well as researching hundreds of glass related books and articles.