_OLD GLASS
AND
HOW TO COLLECT IT_
[Illustration]
_The Standard Book on the Subject._
A HISTORY OF ENGLISH STAINED
GLASS WINDOWS.
By MAURICE DRAKE. Fully Illustrated in Colour
and Half-tone. Foolscap folio. £2, 2s. net.
“One of the most beautiful, nay, most sumptuous, books
produced in recent years, and from that point of view the Author
and the publisher, the artist and the printer, and, indeed, also
the binder, are to be heartily congratulated. But it is also an
interesting book to read, although the subject is not everyone’s
subject, for it is written, not merely with knowledge, which one
can find anywhere on most subjects, but with knowledge touched
with humanity, which is the kind of knowledge that we want in
a book.”--_Daily Chronicle._
FIRST STEPS IN COLLECTING.
By Mrs GRACE VALLOIS, Author of “Antiques
and Curios in our Homes.” 64 Illustrations.
Picture Cover. 6s. net.
In this book G. M. Vallois has grappled successfully with the
problem of how to give the amateur a slight general knowledge
of a wide subject, without deluging him with technical details.
ANTIQUES AND CURIOS IN OUR HOMES.
By G. M. VALLOIS. 61 Illustrations. 6s. net.
In addition to being interesting to those who possess old furniture,
etc., it should appeal to young persons making a home, as, even though
they may not be able to buy Antique Furniture, it is of educational
value to them, inasmuch as it teaches in a most fascinating manner the
difference between Sheraton and Chippendale, between Wedgwood and Willow
Pattern, etc.
[Illustration: A fine specimen of Early Bristol Glass, with landscape
painted by Edkin.]
OLD GLASS AND HOW
TO COLLECT IT
BY
J. SYDNEY LEWIS
ILLUSTRATED
LONDON
T. WERNER LAURIE LTD.
30 NEW BRIDGE STREET, E.C.4
The Author desires to express his best thanks to Miss Whitmore Jones, Mr
Cole of Law, Foulsham & Cole, Mr A. Edwards of Messrs Edwards Limited,
for their kind permission to include examples of old English and Irish
glass from their Collections, and to Messrs Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge
for allowing him to include the list of prices fetched by various
specimens at their Sales.
He is also desirous of acknowledging the assistance he has received from
the Authorities of the British and Dublin Museums, and also to the late
Mr J. Herbert Bailey, to whom and to “The Connoisseur” he is indebted
for several of the illustrations.
His indebtedness to the great work of Mr A. Hartshorne is one which he
shares with every writer who takes as his subject “Old English Glass.”
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. INTRODUCTORY 1
II. EARLY ENGLISH GLASS 27
III. EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY GLASS 55
IV. MEMORIAL GLASSES 95
V. BRISTOL AND NAILSEA GLASS 115
VI. IRISH GLASS 128
VII. CURIOUS AND FREAK GLASSES 154
VIII. FRAUDS AND IMITATIONS 166
IX. SOME HINTS TO COLLECTORS 182
CATALOGUE OF PRICES OF PRINCIPAL PIECES OF
GLASS 191
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Early Bristol Glass; landscape painted by Edkin....._Frontispiece_
FIG.
1. Elizabethan Glass (Brit. Mus. Coll.) }
} _To face page_ 42
2. Posset Cup (Charles II.) }
3. Feeding Cup (William III.) }
} ” 48
4. Glass Panel (Charles II.) }
5. Glass Tankard with Coin blown in Base }
} ” 50
6. Coin blown in Base of Tankard }
7. Air-twisted Stem Glasses.....” 62
8. Air-twisted Button and Baluster Stem Glasses.....” 66
9. Opaque-twisted Stem and Rose Glasses.....” 68
10. Double Ogee Bowls.....” 72
11. Ale Glasses and Sweetmeat Glasses.....” 74
12. Eighteenth-century Drinking Glasses.....” 76
13. Rummers and Baluster Stem Glasses.....” 84
14. Decanters and Salt-cellars (Eighteenth Cent.).....” 90
15. Candlesticks and Tapersticks.....” 92
16. Jacobean Rushlight Holder and Wine Glasses.....” 94
17. Jacobite Toasting Glasses.....” 96
18. Jacobite Goblets.....” 100
19. Jacobite Glass.....” 102
20. Memorial Toasting Glasses.....” 106
21. Memorial Glasses (Various).....” 108
22. A Nelson Glass and George IV. Coronation Glass.....” 110
23. Commemoration Glasses.....” 112
24. Tankards and Grog Glasses.....” 114
25. Old Bristol Glass Decanter and Mug.....” 120
26. Bristol Glass Vases and Candlesticks.....” 122
27. Bristol Glass Vases and Castors.....” 124
28. Early Nailsea Jugs.....” 126
29. Nailsea Jug and Mug.....” 128
30. Early Irish Glass.....” 130
31. Old Irish Salad Bowls and Celery Glasses.....” 132
32. Old Waterford Centrepiece, with Collar.....” 134
33. Old Waterford Preserve Jars and Bowls.....” 136
34. (1) Old Cork Decanters; (2) Old Waterford Decanters.....” 138
35. Old Cut Irish Decanters and Finger-basins.....” 140
36. Early Irish Fruit Dishes.....” 150
37. Masonic, Toasting, and Freak Glasses; an Early
Cambridge Yard Ale Glass _Page_ 160
38. Saxon Glass.....” 30
39. Various Styles of Cutting.....” 7
40. Examples of Baluster Stems and Tear Glasses.....” 57
41. Tear Glasses.....” 61
42. Old English Glasses.....” 65
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY
The origin of glass is lost in antiquity. Pliny, indeed, ascribes its
discovery to certain Phœnician mariners who, being shipwrecked upon a
sandy shore, used a block of the natron which formed their cargo to
support a pot which they were putting over an improvised fire. The heat
fused the sand with the natron, and lo! the glass was discovered in the
ashes.
Since, however, Pliny’s authority was Rumour, and since, also, such a
phenomenon is a physical impossibility--for no bonfire could produce a
temperature at which sand would fuse--it is possible that Rumour in
Pliny’s day had a no greater reputation for reliability than in the
twentieth century. But the story, if not true, is at least well invented
and serves to show at how early an age in the world’s history glass was
known.
It is more than probable that the place of its origin was Ancient Egypt,
and that the Phœnicians, who were undoubtedly acquainted with its use,
drew their knowledge from the workers on the banks of old Nile. At any
rate articles of glass have been discovered in tombs of the fifth and
sixth dynasties--some 3300 years before Christ. This, the earliest known
glass, is generally opaque, and is chiefly used to form small articles
of ornament, such as beads for necklaces, etc. The “aggry” beads, found
in Anglo-Saxon barrows and made in our own time by the Ashantis and
neighbouring tribes, are of similar type. Some admirable specimens of
ancient Egyptian glass are to be found in the British Museum. Among them
is a turquoise-blue opaque glass jar of Thothmes III.--the greatest of
all the kings of Egypt--dating from about 1550 B.C.
At a later date glass was extensively made in Alexandria, the sand in
the vicinity being of exceptional purity and so, suitable for its
manufacture. The city speedily became celebrated for the beauty of its
output, and articles of Alexandrian glass were largely exported to
Greece and to Rome, where also, in the space of a few years,
glass-houses were established; and to Constantinople, which was, in
time, to become famous for the manufacture of coloured glass and of the
Mosaics so dear to the Oriental taste.
The Greeks do not appear to have developed the art of glass-making at a
very early age, but specimens of glass have been found in Grecian tombs,
and, in the Golden Age of Ancient Greece, when art and literature
reached their zenith under Pericles, glass was certainly employed for
purposes of architectural decoration.
In Rome, however, the art of glass manufacture found a congenial home
and was developed to a high pitch of excellence. So widespread was its
use that it is a truism to say that in Rome of two thousand years ago
glass was employed for a greater number of purposes--domestic,
architectural, and ornamental--than it is to-day, even though the
glazing of windows was in its infancy and the use of the material for
optical purposes was scarcely known. In effect, coloured and ornamental
glass held much the same place in the Roman household that china and
earthenware do among us to-day. Glass was used for pavements and for
the external covering of walls. The Roman glass-workers were
particularly happy in their combination of colours, both by fusing
together threads of various colours, or by fusing masses, so as to
imitate onyx, porphyry, serpentine, and other ornamental stones.
The most interesting of all was the famous cameo glass. A bubble of
opaque white glass was blown, and this was coated with blue and a
further layer of opaque white superimposed. The outer coat of blue was
removed from the portion which was to display the design, leaving the
white to be carved into whatever figures the artist’s fancy dictated.
The finest example extant of this kind of ware is the famous Portland
vase in the British Museum.
The art, thus brought to such perfection in Rome, naturally spread
throughout Italy and the Roman colonies in France, Spain, Germany, and
Britain. Probably workmen from the Italian cities also established the
first furnaces among the lagoons of Venice, and so laid the foundation
of what were to be the finest glass manufactories in the world. At the
end of the thirteenth century a guild of glass-workers was formed.
These sequestered their craft upon the island of Murano, and there
cultivated it with an increasing skill that in a brief space made
Venetian glass the marvel of the civilised world. The peculiar merits of
the Venetian product were grace of form and lightness of execution. Many
of the vessels are surpassingly thin. The quality of the metal, however,
leaves something to be desired. It is dull, frequently tinged with
yellow--due to the presence of iron--or purple--the effect of too great
a proportion of manganese. The workmen became so skilful that, carried
away by the _joie d’exécuter_, they produced not only the artistic
forms for which Venetian glass is famous, but all sorts of
extravagances--ships, animals, birds, fishes, and so on--whose only
merit was to testify to the excellence of a technique which could so
triumph over the difficulties of form and material.
Meanwhile, other European nations had taken their cue from Venice, and
glass-houses sprang up in various parts of the Continent, particularly
in France and in Bohemia; the latter, indeed, speedily became the great
rival of Venice.
In England, as we shall see, glass was made during the Roman
occupation. Under the Saxons, glass-workers were imported from the
Continent, but to judge from the number and variety of the specimens
found in Anglo-Saxon tombs, it is probable that it was also manufactured
to an equal extent at home. During the Middle Ages the art appears to
have fallen into abeyance, save in a few isolated instances to be noted
later, but in the sixteenth century the custom of using glass vessels
was introduced from France and the Low Countries, most of the pieces
being imported from Venice. To prevent the money thus expended from
leaving the country, efforts were made about the middle of the century
to establish the art by the aid of workmen from Murano, and the history
of glass manufactured in England may be said to have fairly begun. It
was undoubtedly stimulated by the religious persecutions on the
Continent, particularly the Spanish Terror in the Netherlands, for the
Low Countries were seriously endeavouring to rival Murano in the art,
and the craftsmen who fled for refuge to England undoubtedly did much to
develop their trade in the country of their adoption, as did the
Huguenot refugees at a later period.
[Illustration:
_Strawberry
Cutting_
_Hob-nail
Cutting_
_Diamond
Cutting_
_Fleur-de-lis
Cutting_
_Fan Cutting_
_Herring-bone
Cutting_
FIG. 39.]
In the seventeenth century the whole process was revolutionised by the
introduction of a large proportion of oxide of lead, making what is
technically known as “flint” glass--a glass much more brilliant than any
other, a quality due partly to its transparency and partly to its
increased refractive power, which renders it specially fitted for
“cutting”--a process which enhances its beauty by increasing the number
of ways in which the light rays falling on the glass are dispersed. The
discovery has given English glass a well-deserved pre-eminence for
beauty of metal--a pre-eminence which the glass-cutters of the
eighteenth century admirably sustained by the excellence of their work.
All this time the art of glass-making on the Continent had been
developing. In particular, the Venetian workers at Murano had perfected
the art of colouring and enamelling glass--a result which was later to
have its influence upon English artists. An admirable example of what
they achieved in this direction is an old spinet in the South Kensington
Museum, which once belonged to Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia, the daughter
of James I. Whatever its merits as a musical instrument, its once
gorgeous gilt crimson leather case hides an interior of the utmost
interest to students of glass, for the interior of the lid is panelled
into eighteen divisions, each representing some classical
subject--Narcissus, Daphne, Andromeda, Argus, etc.--admirably done in
coloured glass. The front of the keyboard, the stretcher bar and the
keys themselves are also elaborately decorated in similar fashion with
coloured glass, silver or enamel. The keys are covered with ornaments in
coloured glass, the accidentals being faced with blue and white striped
glass and the naturals being fronted with the same.
Although it is no part of the purpose of this book to deal in detail
with the technical side of the manufacture of glass, yet some few words
as to the nature of the material with which we are dealing are not only
desirable but essential to the proper understanding of its various
qualities and kinds and the different stages of its manufacture.
The scientist will tell us that glass is a double silicate, being
compounded of a silicate of sodium (or potassium) and a silicate of
lime. For the benefit of non-scientific readers, we may remark that a
silicate is a chemical compound formed when silica combines with an
alkaline substance like lime, soda, or potash. Silica is probably the
most widely distributed substance in nature. Silicate of alumina is, for
example, the basis of all clayey soils, and silica, in the pure form of
quartz, is the chief constituent of the sand of the sea and of all those
rocks which are known as sandstones. Rock-crystal, amethyst, agate,
onyx, jasper, flint, etc., are all varieties of silica. Crystalline
silica is hard enough to scratch glass--a fact utilised, as we shall
see, in the sand-blast which is used for the purpose of engraving
patterns on glass. Silica is fusible only at a very high temperature,
but readily combines with alkaline substances to form soluble silicates,
which are known in commerce as soluble glass, or water-glass, because it
dissolves readily in hot water. Water-glass is used in making artificial
stone, in coating stone surfaces, _e.g._ walls of buildings, etc., to
preserve the stone from decay under the weathering influence of the
atmosphere, and in the manufacture of cement.
Ordinary glass has many valuable properties which make it of great
importance in the arts and manufactures. Among these may be mentioned
the fact that it can be made to take any shape with ease. It resists the
action of all ordinary acids, and hence is of the utmost value to the
chemist and the chemical manufacturer. Hydrofluoric acid alone attacks
it, by combining readily with its silica and so dissolving it. For this
reason, hydrofluoric acid is used in etching on glass. Again, glass is
cheap, being literally made from the dust of the earth; it is
transparent, and so can be used in buildings, transmitting light whilst
protecting from the inclemency of the weather. Its transparency, too,
combined with its high refractive power, make it of inestimable value
in the manufacture of optical instruments. It is this high refractive
power, too, which gives to cut glass its beautiful lustre and sparkle,
and one aim of the glass-founder is to increase this refractive power
and so enhance the brilliancy of his product. If glass could be made
which would refract light to the same extent as the diamond does, it
would exhibit the same “fire” as the king of gems. It is hard and close
in texture, and so is capable of taking a high polish. Its great
drawback is its brittleness, but this can be reduced to a great extent
by immersing it, whilst red-hot, in a hot bath of paraffin oil, wax, or
resin. A tumbler of glass so “tempered” may be dropped on the floor
without breaking.
It may be added, as a matter of common interest, that this brittleness
is largely a result of the fact that glass is an extremely bad conductor
of heat. Because of this, a mass of molten glass, when cooling, becomes
set on its outside surface long before the interior has become
solidified; hence the solid exterior prevents the molecules of the
interior portion from contracting. As a result, a condition of strain is
established, the interior molecules tending to contract, while the
exterior tends in the opposite direction; consequently a very slight
blow is enough to cause a fracture.
_Varieties of Glass._--As we shall frequently find it necessary to refer
to the various kinds of glass, it may be as well at the outset to
attempt to give a clear idea of their differences and of the meanings of
the various terms employed in describing them.
As regards quality, the chief kinds are crown glass, flint glass, plate
glass, bottle glass, and crystal glass, and the differences in
composition may be conveniently expressed in the form of a table:--
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| | | | | | |Oxide of|Oxide of|
| |Silica. |Potash. |Soda. |Lime. |Alumina.| Lead. | Iron. |
|--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------|
|Crown. | 67 | 21 | -- | 10 | 2 | -- | -- |
|--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------|
|Flint. | 44 | 12 | -- | -- | 1 | 43 | -- |
|--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------|
|Plate. | 78 | 2 | 13 | 5 | 2 | -- | -- |
|--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------|
|Bottle. | 59 | 3 | -- | 25 | 6 | -- | 7 |
|--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------|
|Crystal.| 56 | 9 | -- | 3 | -- | 32 | -- |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
Cheapest of all glass is bottle glass, where the base is mainly lime.
The metal used for medicine bottles contains more potash and is purer
and clearer. The use of potash and soda makes the glass more easily
fusible; alumina has the opposite effect; lime makes a harder glass;
lead gives lustre, increases fusibility, and heightens the refractive
power. Hence in glass which is to be cut and polished the employment of
lead in sufficient quantity is a factor of the highest importance. This
is a point to be specially noted in connection with English glass.
Lead--chiefly the oxides known as litharge and minium--in small
quantities has long been employed, the introduction of the metal serving
as a flux, but lead glass was generally avoided as being too brittle.
Merret, writing in 1662, remarks that could this glass be made as tough
as crystalline, “it would far surpass it in the glory and beauty of its
colours.” It will be noted that the two kinds of glass in which lead is
used in quantity are flint glass and crystal. The larger the amount of
lead the greater the beauty and brilliancy of the product, a result due,
as previously intimated, to the increase in refractive power that is
brought about by its addition.
Flint glass derives its name from the fact that in England the
silica, which is the main constituent of all glass, was procured
from flints which were calcined and pulverised. Being highly
refractive it is extensively employed in the manufacture of optical
instruments--telescopes, microscopes, etc. Quartz and fine sand are now
used in the place of flints. The glass is soft, and hence easily
scratched and dulled. It is essential that only the purest materials be
employed, and special furnaces and pots are needed. Flint glass was
known in quite early times. It was probably discovered by accident that
certain stones were fusible, for fossil glass is found in many places
where great fires have been. Volcanic glass--obsidian--is a well-known
substance, while there exist in Scotland ancient forts, the stones of
which have been fused together by the action of heat. The Venetians used
quartz in preference to sand, since the latter was liable to contain
impurities, and the Venetian craftsmen who settled in England were
accustomed to ensure the purity of their silica by calcining flints.
Crown glass is the finest sort of ordinary window glass. Plate glass is
the superior kind of thick glass used for mirrors, shop windows, etc. It
will be noted that it is the only kind of glass which contains soda.
The process of glass manufacture comprises three stages, mixing,
melting, and blowing. The various ingredients are first finely ground
and then thoroughly mixed by the aid of a mixer, forming what is known
as the “batch.” This is placed in melting pots. These are crucibles of
fire-clay, _i.e._ clay capable of withstanding the action of heat. The
clay must be of the finest quality, and be carefully freed from
extraneous matters which might affect the quality of the glass. Hence
the manufacture of the “pots” is itself an industry of some importance,
and as each costs some £10, they form an important item in the expense
of manufacture, especially as the pots are short-lived, some eight to
ten weeks being the average life of one of them.
The ordinary pot is an inverted section of a cone, the apex being
closed. For flint glass a covered pot is essential, the form ordinarily
adopted being a bell-jar closed at the bottom and with an arched
opening at the top. Each pot holds from ten to fifteen cwt. of the
“batch.” When full, the pots are placed in specially constructed
furnaces, holding from five to fifteen pots, and capable of producing a
temperature of from 10,000° to 12,000° F. The details of the firing are
intricate and interesting but have no direct bearing on our purpose;
their object is to produce complete fusion, to allow for the removal of
all impurities, and to ensure the homogeneity of the product.
The final stage with which we are concerned is that of blowing, since
all table glass, worthy of being called table glass, is blown. In other
words, every decanter, vase, tumbler, and wine glass of the better sort
begins its existence as a bubble of molten glass at the end of an iron
tube--the glass-blower’s tube--and owes its form to the delicate touches
of simple tools held in a skilful hand and guided by a trained eye. It
is this fact which gives glass its individuality. There is no
hard-and-fast rigour of line, no mechanical uniformity of shape, such as
is associated with machine-made goods; even the simplest wine glass is
an individual thing, which the taste of the craftsman has endowed with
artistic distinction whilst retaining its simplicity of form.
It is a matter for regret that the glass-blower’s art is seriously
threatened in these latter days of hurry and competition. The demand for
cheap glass has led to the introduction of blowing machines, in which
the bubble of molten glass is taken up by one of many blowing tubes, and
placed inside a mould, air being driven by machinery through the other
end of the tube and inflating the bubble until it touches the sides of
its mould. The budding craftsman thus loses the practice of blowing
these simpler forms, and as he is now forbidden to work at the furnaces
until he is over fourteen, he often fails to acquire that lightness and
dexterity of hand which are the mark of the first-rate craftsman, and
which can be most readily gained in early life. There is, of course, no
reason why common vessels should not be produced in this way, and
tumblers, decanters, and lamp glasses are so manufactured in large
numbers.
Needless to say, moulded or pressed glass has little value, either
intrinsic or artistic, in the collector’s eye, unless it has acquired
distinction on account of its age; for moulded or pressed glass has been
known from early times, and it is of the greater interest, since only
English glass, _i.e._ flint glass, or glass of similar characteristics,
can profitably be so dealt with. It will be readily understood that only
glass of a low melting point, which does not quickly solidify, and which
at the moment of solidification expands and fills out the interstices of
the mould, can be successfully treated in this way. One bar to the
extensive use of this form of glass was the cost of the essential lead
and potash. These are often now replaced by baryta and lime, with the
result that a very suitable glass is produced, which contains no
appreciable quantity of either lead or potash.
The art of glass-cutting in Europe dates back to the middle of the
sixteenth century, when it was extensively practised on the Continent,
particularly in Bohemia. The earliest examples were probably imitated
from the rock-crystal cups of ancient Greece and Rome. There is no doubt
that in both these countries the art was practised for the
ornamentation of the famous crystallinum, whilst some vessels were
undoubtedly cut out of the solid block.
The discovery of flint glass revolutionised the art of glass
ornamentation. The strong refractive powers of the new glass made it
specially suitable for cutting, which brought out a wonderful fire and
sparkle that even the finest art of Bohemia and Venice had not been able
to attain. At first, of course, the English craftsmen were far inferior
in artistic merit--both as regards design and execution--to those of
Bohemia; but the superior brilliancy of the metal atoned to a great
extent for the deficiencies of the workmen, and Early English cut wine
glasses and punch glasses are by no means to be despised. “L’article
Anglais solide et confortable, mais sans élégance,” spread the fame and
fashion of English glass throughout the Continent and, incidentally,
over the world.
The earliest examples of English cut glass are perhaps the
thistle-shaped glasses, originally fashioned in Bohemia but adopted by
Scotland as representing the national emblem. Apart from these, the
ogee-shape was most commonly selected as being more amenable to artistic
treatment than the bell.
The stem is usually knopped and cut into facets, and is invariably
hexagonal in shape. The cutting is continued beyond the top of the stem
on to the lower part of the bowl, so as to give a kind of finish.
Sometimes, indeed, the cutting is made to include the bowl in a scheme
of decoration, and the rim is engraved with conventional designs,
wreaths of flowers, etc. Towards the end of the eighteenth century the
facets became long flutes.
The process technically known as glass-cutting is essentially one of
grinding and polishing. The grinding is done by a wheel, made of
cast-iron, and made to rotate rapidly by a continuous band passing over
a revolving shaft. Above the wheel is a receptacle containing sand and
water, which can be fed on to the wheel as desired. Smoothing is done by
a sandstone wheel, similarly mounted, and polishing by a wooden one fed
with putty powder. The craftsman holds his piece in the hand, pressing
it against the rotating wheel.
Engraving is really very fine grinding, done usually with a copper
wheel or, rather, disk, whilst etching is done by coating the glass with
wax, or some similar protective substance, scratching the pattern
through the wax and then subjecting the piece to the action of
hydrofluoric acid.
It need hardly be said that only the best kinds of glass are cut by a
method which makes such demands on the time and skill of the workman;
the cheaper kinds of glass are all moulded or “pressed.” Pressed glass
is also essentially English, no other kind, save flint glass, being
suitable for treatment in this way. It is, in the first place, essential
to obtain a metal which has a low melting point, and one which does not
shrink in solidifying, as that would draw it away from the sides of the
mould, and so effectively spoil the design. The low melting point of the
metal enables the product to be “fire polished.” In this process it is
reheated to a point sufficient to melt a thin surface layer, and so
remove any roughness due to the process of moulding, and leave a smooth
bright surface. The art of pressing glass has been brought to a high
degree of perfection, elaborate decorations being produced with ease.
The cost of the process, too, has in recent years been lessened by the
use of baryta and lime, in the place of lead and potash, and in this way
the output has been greatly cheapened, while baryta glass, if inferior
in sparkle to lead glass, is yet far more brilliant than ordinary glass.
The problem how to distinguish real old glass from modern imitations is
one that besets the collector at every stage of his progress. A few
specimens supply their own testimony in the shape of a date, but it is
by no means impossible to engrave a date on a piece of specious-looking
real antiquity, and so give it a fictitious value, by making it appear
“the thing which it is not.”
As to the character of the glasses themselves, shape alone is no
criterion of age. Apart from the possibility of deliberate imitation, it
does not follow that because a piece is ponderous, clumsy in appearance
and, to a modern eye, unduly capacious, that it is necessarily an early
piece. Right from the beginning of glass manufacture in England, two
qualities, at least, were undoubtedly manufactured; the better to
ornament the tables of the great, and the poorer for service in kitchen
and tavern. Whereas articles of the former were as dainty and artistic
as the skill of the craftsman would allow, the latter were roughly made
and deliberately ponderous to bear the rougher usage to which they were
subjected. As the same practice continues up to the present day, it
follows that there is in existence a considerable quantity of common
glass with all the attributes, as far as shape and clumsiness of form
are concerned, of that of an earlier period.
Possibly the appearance of the metal and the style of workmanship are as
reliable guides as any others. The metal of the earliest glasses was by
no means perfect. Instead of the beautiful clarity and perfect
transparency we are accustomed to associate with glass, there is often a
streakiness or cloudiness visible in the material, together with
numerous bubbles and flaws. If the striations are horizontal, the glass
is of an earlier type than if they are perpendicular. The sides of the
bowl are often irregular, and the stems are often clumsy, uneven, badly
balanced, and altogether disproportionate in point of size to an eye
accustomed to the slenderer style of modern glassware. An important
point is the junction between the bowl and the stem. For some
extraordinary reason, the welding of the two seems to have given the
ancient glass-blowers considerable trouble, and the join is often too
clearly perceptible. Hence the collector who comes across an apparently
ancient piece bearing evident signs of clumsy joining should give it
more than casual attention. Sometimes, to obviate the difficulty, the
base of the bowl was made into a kind of knop, and at other times the
junction was hidden by an irregular band--the prototype of the collar
which so often appeared in glasses of a somewhat later period.
The bubble which appears in many stems was probably the outcome of
accident and possibly of an attempt to imitate the hollow stems of
Venetian glass. It is worthy of note that whilst the bubble is almost
invariably present in the baser forms of early eighteenth-century glass,
it is frequently absent from the finer varieties. Another point of
difference is that the better specimens rarely have the folded foot,
which is invariably present in the coarser makes, the turning under of
the rim, whilst plastic, to make a kind of welt, being an obvious
precaution against the rougher usage to which they were inevitably
subjected. Sometimes the feet were domed, but these were difficult to
make and the numbers were restricted. In some specimens ridges or ribs
are formed on the upper and lower sides of the foot.
The earliest glasses were devoid of any attempt at decorative engraving,
and these plain glasses may also be roughly classified by noting whether
the glass rests on the flat of the foot or on the rim only. The former
are of the earlier type.
Among the tests which the collector might apply are the following:--
Note whether the glass rings clear and sweet in tone. In twisted stems,
note whether the stem twists to the left or the right. The genuine
glasses have almost invariably stems twisted to the left. In
opaque-twisted stems, note particularly the colour of the spiral. In the
forgeries the opacity is less definite, the twist often having a kind of
translucent look.
Genuine old glass often has a cloudy tinge with frequently a tone of
steely blue. Forgeries may show a greenish tint.
In old glass the centre of the base, where the piece was, after being
finished, knocked off the pontil, is generally left rough; in the
imitations it is generally ground smooth.
The foot of a genuine old glass is never quite flat, there is always a
slope--sometimes a very pronounced one--from the centre to the edge. The
modern imitation, usually made abroad, often has a perfectly flat foot.
The edge of the bowl in a genuine old glass is always rounded, never
left hard and sharp.