MEMORIAL GLASSES
No specimens of English glass have greater fascination for the collector
than those which derive their interest, apart from their intrinsic
merits, from their association with some historical event, some great
cause, or some famous personage.
Fortunately for such, our ancestors in the palmy days of glass
manufacture freely availed themselves of the possibilities of this form
of advertisement and commemoration, so that a considerable number of
memorial pieces are still in existence. Many of these were, of course,
merely intended to record some happening of purely local significance:
the building of a bridge, the opening of a canal, the launching of a
ship; or, narrowing the interest still further, the birth of a son or
the marriage of a daughter. Others, however, had a wider appeal: a great
national victory on sea or land, the winning of an election, or the
passage or defeat of a hotly contested Bill in Parliament. All were
suitably inscribed and generally dated--a fact which adds to their
importance and value--and frequently decorated, in addition to the usual
conventional designs, with a more or less crude pictorial representation
of the event or of some important factor connected with it. Thus the
battle of Trafalgar would be indicated by a picture of the famous
victory or by a portrait of Nelson. Frequently such glasses were
dedicated to the glorification of some famous hero, as were the Nelson
glasses, Keppel glasses, etc.; or to the furtherance of some great
cause, as the Jacobite glasses, with which we shall have presently to
deal at length; or, again, to the diffusion of some political principle.
The collector must, however, be chary of assuming that a memorial glass
was necessarily contemporary with the event it records. The warning is
particularly necessary in the case of Jacobite glasses, of which large
numbers were made by faithful adherents of the House of Stuart long
after the Jacobite cause had been relegated to the limbo of lost hopes.
And it is perhaps unnecessary to add the further warning
[Illustration: FIG. 17.--JACOBITE TOASTING GLASSES.
(From the Rees Price Collection, by permission of the Connoisseur.)]
that in connection with old glass, as with other antiques, the supply
seems somehow mysteriously to adapt itself to the demand; and it is the
easiest and least detectable of frauds to take a veritable old glass of
no particular merit, and by inscribing it with a motto and an emblem or
two, increase its value twenty-fold.
There is, of course, much old glass stored, more or less inaccessibly,
in ancient houses up and down the country, and every now and again some
such hidden treasure is brought to light. But it may be generally said
that, in view of the fierce light the modern craze for antiques has
thrown upon such hiding-places, the prospects of the present-day
collector of finding, say, a “Fiat” glass are so remote as to be
practically negligible.
The Jacobite glasses form by far the most important of English memorial
glasses. They were used by the followers of the ill-fated House of
Stuart, not only in their homes--where, indeed, their use might be
dangerous--but in the clubs and secret societies which met to keep alive
the Pretender’s memory, and to plot for his return. Great numbers were
probably made, mostly, it is thought, at Newcastle, whence the
manufacturers might, in case of need, speedily retire across the Border
and seek concealment from the law among a sympathetic population.
Unfortunately, few only remain, for when the toast had been duly
honoured, it was a frequent custom to shatter the glass, that it might
be used for no inferior purpose. A similar custom prevails still in
certain military messes, the stem of the wine glass being snapped after
the toast of the reigning monarch has been duly drunk.
Some of the Jacobite glasses, however, were of superior quality and
admirably inscribed and decorated. These, it is assumed, were carried
from place to place by their owners, often in properly fitted cabinets.
Each member of a Jacobite club probably brought his own glass, which was
stored, with the others, between the meetings, in a secret receptacle;
the possession of such a glass being, of course, treason. Thus it is
that many have been preserved--frail memories of a lost cause and
symbols of a loyalty as unparalleled as incomprehensible. At this
distance of time it is difficult to understand the glamour that
surrounded the Stuart cause and the wealth of loyalty that was lavished
on objects so painfully unworthy.
James I. was a foreigner to England and English sentiment, and with none
of the qualities that win admiration or esteem. He was ungainly,
garrulous, vain, pedantic, and, above all, cowardly in an age which
placed physical courage as the first of human attributes. Even his not
inconsiderable intellect failed to compensate for an utter lack of
everything else which his time found worthy of admiration. Charles I.
was a tyrant, narrow, mean, obstinate, and unscrupulous--a man without
ability, a king without honour. His death is the one bright spot in a
dreary and disastrous record, for
“Nothing in his life
Became him like the leaving of it.”
Charles II., gay, witty, insouciant, reckless, had, it may be granted,
certain qualities that take the common taste, but he was utterly
profligate, entirely without principle. He sold England to France,
betrayed Holland, robbed the State and the Navy, and starved his sailors
to flatter his mistresses. James II. was cold, callous, cruel--a
sycophant to the strong and a tyrant to the weak. He was a bigot, and
unscrupulous in his bigotry. He was no less licentious than his brother
though much more a hypocrite.
What was the glamour that made men give their all--house, wealth, lands,
and even life itself--to bolster the falling fortunes of an unworthy
line and restore it to the throne from which it had been twice driven by
an outraged people? But we are digressing. There is, in any case, no
doubt as to the glamour which surrounds the Jacobite glasses in the eyes
of the collector of to-day.
The greater part of these glasses were used in one or other of the
various clubs or societies which sprang up for the purpose of
propagating Jacobite principles and furthering the Jacobite cause--which
meant, in brief, plotting for the downfall of the House of Hanover, and
in a hard-drinking age it was clear that their consultations could not
have been carried on without a considerable consumption of strong
liquors, and a consequent adequate supply of glasses, the majority of
which were probably engraved in some way or another distinctive of the
occasion.
The most famous of such clubs was the Cycle Club, founded in 1710 by Sir
Watkin Wynn,
[Illustration: FIG. 18.--JACOBITE GOBLETS.
(From the Rees Price Collection, by permission of the Connoisseur.)]
and one of the most interesting of commemorative glasses refers to him:
“Let no deceipt within your glass be found,
But glorious Watkin’s health go briskly round.”
The motto of the Cycle Club appears to have been the Latin “Fiat” (“May
it happen”), and this word is generally found engraved on Jacobite
glasses, which are, in consequence, often referred to as “Fiat” glasses.
A “Fiat” glass is shown in Fig. 21, and other excellent specimens of
Jacobite glasses in Fig. 19. Another motto is “_Redeat_.”
The best of the Jacobite glasses bear the portrait of “Bonnie Prince
Charlie” on the bowl, encircled by a wreath of laurel, flanked on each
side by Scotland’s emblematic thistle. Others have two roses supporting
the laurels. Sometimes there is the Stuart rose, with two buds, a
reference, perhaps, to James II. and his two sons. The design, too, not
unfrequently includes an oak leaf, a reference to Charles II.’s escape
from the Roundheads, after the battle of Worcester, by taking refuge in
an oak, while
“Far below the Roundhead rode
And humm’d a surly hymn.”
Some also are engraved, in addition, with a star--the symbol of a hope
never realised by the hapless Stuart line. Most of these emblems may be
found in the two specimens shown in Fig. 19.
I have sometimes found the portrait of the Pretender with oak leaves,
thistle, and rose, in place of the usual “Fiat,” and the motto
“_Audentior Ibo_.”
These glasses have usually air-drawn or knopped stems and funnel-shaped
bowls. These Jacobite glasses are among the luckiest “finds” of the
collector of Old English glass, and it is needless to say that the
greatest care is essential in purchasing anything which purports to be a
genuine specimen. “Fiat” glasses, especially those bearing the portrait
of the Pretender, are imitated in considerable numbers and generally
disposed of through the shops of small country dealers, pawnbrokers,
etc.; but I have seen specimens, even in galleries and large shops in
London, which were flagrant frauds, a fact which should have been
perfectly patent to the vendors. So _caveat emptor_.
Frequently the ordinary tests for the antiquity of the glass are
useless, since the piece is itself genuine old glass of the proper
period and
[Illustration: FIG. 19--JACOBITE GLASSES.
(From the Rees Collection, by permission of the Connoisseur.)]
only the engraving modern, and this is given a spurious appearance of
age by rubbing down with sand and earth, and by allowing the lines of
the pattern to become filled with dust and dirt. A test that may be
found useful is to hold the piece in a strong light, when some part of
the engraved portion may be found untouched by the “treatment,” and
bearing in its clearness and sharpness of line convincing evidence of
its recent origin.
Of the Jacobite glasses, those dedicated to the Old Pretender are
entirely beyond the hopes of the ordinary collector. A few exist in old
country houses dotted up and down the country and in various museums.
One in the British Museum bears the mottoes “_Cognoscunt me mei_” and
“_Premium Virtutis_.” Young Pretender glasses are naturally much more
numerous, and it is probable that specimens may still be found in
out-of-the-way places.
Special finds of Jacobite glasses are occasionally made, a whole set
being discovered in some unexpected hiding-place. One such set is the
famous Oxburgh Hall find, now to be seen and admired in the Victoria and
Albert Museum. Eleven Jacobite glasses in all were discovered, eight of
them being “Fiat” glasses. Four of them, of a larger size, bear the
Prince of Wales’ feathers on the upper surface of the foot. One is the
glass inscribed to Sir Watkin Wynn, previously mentioned, and one is of
special significance, in that it bears in addition to a portrait of the
Young Pretender an inscription, unique in the history of Jacobite glass:
“Charles ye Great, ye Brave, the Just and Good
Britania’s Prince ye noblest of her Bld.
Thy Glorious Feats ye World may Proᵐ
Britania’s Glory and Britaine Shame.”
As poetry the verse undoubtedly leaves something to be desired, although
as a panegyric it is fairly comprehensive. That fact will, however, in
nowise detract from its unique interest in the eyes of the collector,
whilst the most rabid Jacobite--if such a person still exists--can
hardly fail to be satisfied with such a wholesale and whole-hearted
testimony to the merits of the leader whose cause he had espoused--the
luckless Prince, whose doom it was to be always remembered “Over the
water,” “Great, Brave, Just, Good, Britania’s glory,” and the rest! This
was a hero indeed, _sans peur et sans reproche_. Even the legendary
Arthur of Round Table fame could hardly claim more.
A critic might suggest that the portrait which appears on the other side
of the glass is hardly worthy of these exalted sentiments, though in
point of artistic merit it may fitly challenge comparison with the
quality of the verse.
The “Chastleton” glasses form another famous Jacobite set. There are two
decanters and eleven wine glasses. The glasses are engraved with the
rose and two buds, representing, presumably, James II. and the two
Pretenders, and the Cycle Club motto, “Fiat.” In addition there is an
oak leaf. Whether this is an allusion to the famous Royal Oak of
Boscobel, in which Charles II. took refuge after Worcester, as
previously mentioned, or is merely the distinguishing mark of the
English Jacobites, just as the thistle was the badge of their Scottish
comrades, is obscure.
The decanters are still more interesting, having, in addition to the
rose and its two buds, two oak leaves and a compass, the needle of which
points to a star apparently rising towards the zenith--probably in
hopeful anticipation of the fortunes of the Jacobite cause. Miss
Whitmore Jones, the present owner of Chastleton, claims that these were
made at Derby.
Glasses thus elaborately inscribed do not exhaust the list of Jacobite
glasses. In many cases the rose emblem appears alone, without the
incriminating “Fiat” which would inevitably convict the owner of
treason. In other cases the emblem was hidden from the casual eye by
being engraved underneath the foot. The times were perilous ones, and it
behoved careful folk to exercise the greatest caution; hence arose all
the system of symbols and catchwords associated with the Jacobite cause.
Byrom sums up their attitude in the well-known verse:
“God bless the King, I mean the faith’s defender;
God bless--no harm in blessing--the Pretender;
But who pretender is, or who is king,--
God bless us all,--that’s quite another thing.”
It is possible to meet, here and there, with glasses dedicated to the
early Georges, but these are few and, to say the truth, are lacking in
the interest that their romantic and tragic history threw over
everything associated with the hapless Stuart line.
Williamite glasses are more numerous. They,
[Illustration: FIG. 20.--MEMORIAL TOASTING GLASSES--JACOBITE AND
WILLIAMITE.]
of course, date from the revolution of 1688, when party feeling on the
one side ran as high in favour of Dutch William as it did on the other
in favour of the House of Stuart. Many of them were undoubtedly produced
in Ireland, the more interesting commemorating the battle of the Boyne.
Some bear the portrait of the King--generally crossing the Boyne on
horseback. Such specimens are exceedingly rare. Later ones bear only an
inscription, “To the Immortal Memory,” or “To the Immortal Memory of the
glorious King William,” with possibly a rosebud. These are, of course,
more ordinary, but are still worth collecting, providing the purchaser
can assure himself that they have not been specially prepared for his
benefit.
The phrase above quoted is possibly a reminiscence of the toast given at
Orange meetings: “To the glorious, pious, and immortal memory of the
great and good King William, who freed us from Pope and popery, knavery
and slavery, brass money and wooden shoes”--quite a creditable record of
achievements.
The “boot” glasses, to which we refer among the freaks, were probably
made in large numbers in George III.’s reign to testify to the national
hatred of Lord Bute, whose punning emblem, “the boot,” was burnt by the
mob in a thousand bonfires, whether justly or unjustly history fails to
say. But there is no doubt that Bute was hated with a fury almost
without precedent, and the King’s mother, whose favourite he was, was
hated with equal intensity. In 1763 a jack-boot and a petticoat were
publicly burnt at Temple Bar, and a crowned ass led through the streets
by a man in a Scottish plaid. Boot glasses are generally from four and a
half to five inches in height. They are often moulded to represent
lacings in the front and trimmings at the sides, and were doubtless used
for strong waters, cordials, and liqueurs.
Memorial glasses inscribed with the names of our great seamen are, of
course, numerous. One to Admiral Hawke, inscribed “Success to the
British Fleet” and dated 20th November 1759, was evidently made in
commemoration of the battle of Quiberon Bay, in which that great seaman,
deliberately ignoring the fighting instructions, flung convention to the
winds and won a startling victory, and freed Britain from the dread of a
French invasion. Similar glasses
[Illustration: A “FIAT” GLASS SHEWING STUART ROSE WITH SIX PETALS.
UNION GLASS, CIRCA. 1801.
ARMORIAL GLASS.
WILLIAMITE GLASS.
FIG. 21.]
bear the names of Boscawen, Rodney, Anson, Keppel, and Nelson.
The “Nelson” glasses, as may be supposed, are particularly interesting.
Some bear the hero’s portrait; others are adorned with a representation
of his famous flagship; others, again, were made in commemoration of his
death and his burial in St Paul’s Cathedral.
One such specimen described by Mr Hartshorne deserves special mention.
It is a goblet rather more than 8 inches in height, on the
straight-sided bowl being engraved a representation of the great
Admiral’s funeral car in the shape of a ship. On the stern is the
historic name _Victory_. At the prow stands an emblematic figure of
Victory, bearing in one hand a laurel wreath and in the other a branch
of bay. On the canopy of the car is inscribed the word “Trafalgar,”
below it the name “Nile.” It is stated that the glasses were made for
the officers of the _Victory_, each of whom received one in memory of
his chief.
The ordinary commemoration glasses made at the time of Nelson’s funeral,
and publicly sold as memorials of the event, have on the one side a
representation of the funeral car and on the other, encircled by a
laurel wreath, the words:
In Memory
of LORD
NELSON
Janʸ 9ᵗʰ 1806
The date is that of the public funeral. These glasses were probably made
in considerable numbers, but are now very rare.
Apart, however, from the funeral glasses great numbers of pieces must
have been inscribed with his name as a testimony to his popularity and
of the public gratitude for his victories.
Miss Wilmer in her book on “Early English Glass” gives an illustration
of a tumbler inscribed with the names of Nelson, Duncan, Howe, and St
Vincent and the date 1st August 1798, together with various nautical
emblems. But, as we have said, the manufacture of commemorative glasses
was not confined to occasions of national importance, nor were such
glasses dedicated only to national heroes.
Events of very local importance were frequently signalised in this way.
Thus one is inscribed “Up to Sowerby Bridge, 1758,” and serves to record
certain improvements in the
[Illustration: A NELSON GLASS
FIG 22.]
[Illustration: A COMMEMORATIVE CORONATION GLASS OF KING GEORGE IV.]
navigation of the Calder River. A golden fleece which also forms part of
the decoration symbolises possibly the commercial advantages likely to
accrue thereby. Another commemorates the opening of the Aire to Calder
Canal, and bears the inscription, “Success to Trade and Navigation.”
Others bear political cries, like a cider glass (Fig. 23) from the
Singer Collection. It is characteristically engraved with sprigs of
apple blossom and a barrel, presumably of cider. Around the brim is the
legend, “No Excise,” a probable reference to the political agitation
which followed the attempt of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir
Francis Dashwood, in 1763 to impose a duty of no less than 4s. a
hogshead on cider.
The next glass is from the same collection. It bears a ship engraved
upon the bowl, and has a thickly twisted opal stem and slightly waisted
sides, which give a peculiar charm to its shape. On it are inscribed the
words, “Success to the Eagle Frigate--John Knill, Commander,” which
seems to indicate that it was made to commemorate the launch of that
vessel. The fine air-twisted goblet, which is the largest in the
illustration, belongs to a period somewhere about 1760. The figure
depicted is that of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, then our ally
and at the zenith of his military glory. It was through his aid that
Pitt was enabled to win our colonies of India and America on the
battlefields of Europe, and the exhortation to “Keep it up,” which
appears on the glass, was evidently the expression of some British
sympathiser’s goodwill. Possibly the piece was made to celebrate one of
Frederick’s victories.
The other glass has a small portrait with the inscription, “Long live
George, Prince of Wales, 1759.” It is beautifully engraved and
altogether one of the finest specimens extant.
Fig. 27 illustrates particularly fine and interesting examples of a
tankard, a covered jar, and a grog glass--all excellent of their kind.
The tankard on the right of the plate is engraved with vine leaves and
bunches of grapes, together with marguerites, and inscribed with the
names Joseph and Jane Burrows, and was probably a “marriage” or
“betrothal” glass.
The goblet with a square base which stands to the left of the plate
(Fig. 24) is very quaint. There is a representation of a sailing craft
upon
[Illustration: FIG. 23.--COMMEMORATIVE GLASSES.
(From the Rees Price Collection, by permission of the Connoisseurs.)]
one side, with the inscription, “The Ann and Bessie,” and on the
reverse, “James Oddie, Bromley,” probably the name of the owner both of
the craft and the goblet, who registered to posterity his pride in the
one by means of the other. This glass, I am informed, was the property
of the late A. P. Trapnel, Esq., a renowned collector of Bristol
porcelain and, though to a less degree, of old glass.
The covered grog pot or jar in the centre of the group is artistically
engraved with roses and festoons, with the inscription, “Success to the
Britannia, Edmund Eccleston, 1774.”
For the illustrations of several of the above pieces I am indebted to
the courtesy of the late Mr J. T. Herbert Bailey. Such examples, which
cannot fail to interest the lover of art as well as the collector of
antiques, amply testify to the strides which glass manufacture had made
in England, and are also useful as indicating the nature of the finds a
collector may even yet make in out-of-the-way places, provided he will
first take the precaution to acquire such knowledge of the
characteristics of old glass as will serve to protect him from being
deceived by modern reproductions. One does not, for example, expect to
find engraving or cutting on early importations from Venice, or that the
glasses made in commemoration of various events invariably bear
appropriate inscriptions, by which they may be immediately identified.
Sometimes there is a date alone, sometimes a figure or merely initials,
and the collector’s imagination and historical knowledge, as well as his
expert acquaintance with the qualities of old glass, are all called into
play to determine the date and occasion when the specimen was produced.
It need hardly be said that historical and commemorative glass are very
widely imitated, the commonest and most plausible of the various forms
of deception adopted being, as elsewhere suggested, to engrave some
comparatively valueless specimen of real old glass with figures exactly
imitating the genuine thing, and so giving it a fictitious value.
[Illustration: FIG. 24.--TANKARDS AND GROG GLASSES. EARLY 18th CENTURY.
(From the Rees Price Collection, by permission of the Connoisseur).]