John Whitenight was born in a small upstate Pennsylvania town. By the time he was five years old he had developed an avid interest in art. This continued into his teenage years when he decided he would explore this talent further and ultimately share it with others by pursuing an Art Education degree. Upon graduation he began his art teaching career in a senior high school where he remained for the next 30 years eventually becoming the chairperson of the department. During this period he also acquired a Masters equivalent in decorative arts-related studies in Philadelphia where he now resides.

Always a collector of Victoriana, one fateful day in 1973 friends gave him a small glass dome containing three canaries. The following decades have been rich with the study of the why and wherefore of these lovely domed items. Currently, the author’s collection contains over 200 domed displays ranging in height from four inches to some over a meter in height.

This book has been a labor of love for the past 40 years of collecting and the past 10 years of researching. Great expense and care was taken in the book's color reproductions. Unfortunately some copies of the book are being offered in the market which are poor print copies compared to those available directly through the publisher and through my web site: www.underglassavictorianobsession.com.