Evening beverages are seldom boring, but this lady has found a way to make them even for fun. Jess Ritz stumbled across a treasure trove of souvenirs that most travelers would pay big bucks to lay their hands on — vintage glassware from luxury hotels around the world. All this without going anywhere but her neighbor’s house.
The Collection
Traveler Jess Ritz has a unique treasure trove of original vintage souvenir beverage glassware bearing the official crests and logos of iconic international hotels and resorts. She has in her possession a set of glasses with the image of Hotel George V crown, from the pre-Four Seasons-rebrand era, a set with the iconic outline of the Trinita dei Monti’s twin church bell towers from Hotel Hassler Roma, and one from La Mamounia in Marrakech, The Peninsula in Hong Kong, The Pierre in Manhattan, The Dorchester in London, Hotel de Paris Monte-Carlo, and many more.
The Source
No, Ritz has not flown all around the world and stayed in these upscale venues to add to her souvenir collection! According to her, when her next-door house opened for an estate sale, Ritz couldn’t suppress the urge of a quick peek inside. Her unknown neighbor was a Hollywood studio publicist, who was ready to auction off all possessions, mostly from the time around the mid-1980s. There Ritz found stacks of a few unremarkable and long-neglected tableware placed on Formica countertops. With a keen eye, she found out the unique and ultimate score of the souvenir set. It was a collection of eight rock glasses embossed with original logos of historic international hotels from exotic locations around the world. According to Ritz, these evocative pieces were her best impulse buy to date, as they are unique and authentic, and she hasn’t seen anything like this ever again in any other auction, antic market, or online sale.