[Illustration:
INTERIOR OF A PRIMITIVE HAND GLASS-CUTTER'S SHED.
_From a drawing in the Author's possession._]
=THE FASCINATION OF IRISH GLASS=
All old glass is interesting, but old Irish glass possesses certain
unique qualities which make its collection peculiarly fascinating.
In it we find an unsurpassed beauty and depth of colour--a poetry of
design and a velvet softness of touch which are a pure joy to the
connoisseur. Before describing Irish glass, however, let me first give
some idea as to where and when it was produced.
Glass appears to have been made in Ireland to a very small extent
during the Middle Ages, and it would seem from the evidence of
contemporary records that as early as 1332 the coloured windows of
Dublin Castle were made by local workers in Dublin. Some authorities,
however, hold that these records refer not to glass-makers, but merely
to glaziers, who used foreign glass for their work. What is certain is
that the manufacture of glass was not seriously commenced in Ireland
until the last quarter of the sixteenth century. Window glass, coloured
glass, and drinking glass were certainly made there in 1585, and their
manufacture appears to have been carried on more or less steadily from
that time onwards in various parts of the country.
History records, for instance, that very early in the seventeenth
century a patent was granted to a man named Aston to make glass in
Ireland for a period of twenty-one years.
It was not until the second quarter of the eighteenth century that the
great period of Irish glass-making arrived, and pieces were produced
rivalling, or even surpassing, the best wares of their kind made in
England and on the Continent. Unfortunately for the success of the
factories, the English Government passed an Act, in 1788, entirely
prohibiting the export of glass from Ireland. This measure did more
than anything to cripple the great and growing industry, but did not
actually kill it, as the makers were not forbidden to sell their goods
in their own country!
Irish glass was characterised by what was then regarded as a grave
defect. Little or none of it was as colourless as contemporary
English pieces, and consequently it did not in those days attain the
reputation of the latter. This characteristic, despite the endeavour
of local manufacturers to do away with it, appears to have continued
for something like a century. Mr. Dudley Westropp, in his important
work on "Irish Glass," page 162, mentions a "letter from Exeter, dated
December 7th, 1832," in which "Elizabeth Walpole, one of the partners
in the Waterford Glass Works, says she had a conversation with Edward
Eardley, a glass merchant of Exeter and Plymouth, about some glass
she was getting over from Waterford, with a view of selling. She says
that Eardley stated that all the Irish glass he had ever seen was dark
coloured; but she told him she had sent for some Waterford glass, so
that he might see for himself."
This statement throws a light on the somewhat equivocal reputation
enjoyed by Irish glass until well on in the second quarter of the
nineteenth century, and also shows that at that time the Waterford
makers considered that they had entirely freed their metal from the
dark tone formerly characterising it. It is indeed a curious irony of
human endeavour that the makers of Waterford glass, now deservedly
famous for its beautiful and dark grey-blue tone, tried to eradicate it
from quite an early date. They endeavoured to make their glass whiter
and clearer, like that of Bristol, and in this they succeeded after
1830. The _late_ glass of Waterford, _i.e._, made 1835 or afterwards,
was actually whiter than that of Dublin. _Little did these glass
artists think that a century later people in all parts of the world
would be trying to reproduce the early dark colour without success._
The poor reputation for colour that Irish glass suffered under during
the eighteenth century must in itself have greatly interfered with the
export trade in the finer pieces. That there was an immense export
trade during that period is shown from contemporary statistics, but
this appears to have been largely confined to commoner wares, such
as bottles, glasses, vials, and other articles in constant use and
requiring frequent renewal. The finer and more fragile pieces were
generally kept at home. The country gentry considered it the proper
thing to support local factories by buying the wares made at them,
though they did not always appreciate their purchases, and in many
instances supplemented them with imported English glass, which they
used in preference. Thus it happens that in many old Irish country
houses choice specimens of Irish glass have been discovered stored away
in garrets and cupboards practically unused since they were made.
There is little or no documentary evidence to establish the origin of
these pieces, for, as a race, Irish land-owners are not addicted to
keeping receipts of century-old bills, but tradition and the appearance
of the surviving pieces confirm the fact that they were originally
of Irish manufacture. It must be remembered that the tradition is
the more likely to be true because until comparatively recently
Irish glass was only lightly valued, so that it was more to the
interest of the owner to consider it of English rather than of native
manufacture. The tradition, however, is confirmed by the colour and
other characteristics of the pieces. It is interesting to note that
in many instances missing pieces in sets have been replaced by later
productions of English manufacture. The differences between these and
their originals are generally easily discernible, the rich depth of
tone, which is such a beautiful characteristic of Irish work, being
almost altogether absent from the former.
It must not be thought from these remarks that old Irish glass is
plentiful. The commoner wares, such as wine glasses, tumblers,
and bottles, which were manufactured in such profusion during the
eighteenth century, have practically disappeared; and though a larger
proportion of the finer and more valuable pieces, used less frequently
and treated with greater care by successive generations of owners,
have survived, they are still comparatively rare. Nine-tenths of
the so-called old Irish glass offered for sale have no claims to be
considered as genuine, but are either old pieces from other countries
or modern fakes--chiefly the latter.
=GLASS FACTORIES IN IRELAND=
From time to time humorists over here state that "no glass was ever
made in Ireland," so that the following list of localities where a few
of the best known glass-houses stood will be of interest:--