The Great Exhibition of 1851 and the glass that took centre stage.

Whenever one looks at a specific type, style, event or period of glassmaking in England, the word influence is often used, and one event, which took place in 1851, had a greater influence on the glassmaking than any other did.

Prince Albert's taste and his influence had penetrated far beyond The Royal Household in the late 1840's and he was looking for ways to diversify his interests. And so his dream was to become true in 1851 when the Great Exhibition opened its doors in May of that year. Thackeray described the opening ceremony as a noble awful great love inspiring sight, much grander than a coronation of Albert and Queen Victoria deeply moved by the joy expressed in every face wrote: God Bless my dearest Albert and my dear country, which has shown itself so great today.


London was packed to suffocation. Six million people visited the Exhibition, 900,000 Bath Buns were consumed on the premises and over 1,000,000 bottles of lemonade. Very early in the proceedings the Prince had decided to prohibit the sale of alcoholic refreshments in the restaurants, and it was observed that the industrial classes behaved with manifest propriety and good temper. Thomas Cook ran hundreds of excursion trains from the provinces, clergymen brought their parishioners in parties from remote country and school teachers hordes of children in button boots and sailor hats. The effect of the Exhibition was to widen the horizon of the lower and the middle classes and to make London known to thousands of people who had never seen it before.

The year 1851 is an important reference point in studying manufacturers of all kinds, no more so than the glassmaking industry. Although known as the Great Exhibition of 1851 the official title was The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations and was sited in London's Hyde Park. Many may think in today's technological age that official catalogues are now very comprehensive and full of facts for the visitor. Well that may be so, but for the Great Exhibition, apart from being extensively documented at the time, the official catalogue ran to four heavy volumes containing over 1,500 pages plus many illustrative plates. Apart from the official catalogue there were many other publications that helped evoke the occasion of the exhibition. Queen Victoria performed the opening ceremony on 1st May 1851.

It was not just the glassmaking exhibitors who revelled in the opportunity to show off their wares, but the whole exhibition building was a magnificent tribute to the glassmaker. English glassmakers undoubtedly received their highest recognition by the decision to accept Joseph Paxton's design for the building. Joseph Paxton was the estate manager of the Duke of Devonshire. The truth of the matter was, the design was basically one giant greenhouse constructed of iron and clad in sheet glass. The Birmingham glassmaker, Chance, was commissioned to supply the glass for the construction of the building and it comprised of an estimated 293,655 panes of glass with a total weight of over 400 tons. Before the building was finished it had already been dubbed The Crystal Palace by a writer in the periodical of the period Punch. Imagine the spectacular sight when viewed on either a sunny or rainy day, with so much glass glimmering for all to see.

Most of the British exhibitors of glass showed a full variety of glass, both clear and coloured pieces. Many of the pieces were also adorned with fresh flowers to bring out the beauty of the object. Most of the pieces were decorated in some manner or other, cutting vied with painting or even the two combined and gilding was a very much used decorative fashion of the period. Much of the elaborate ornamentation was instigated by the circumstances in which international rivalry was inherently encouraged. The display of English glass at the exhibition was contributed by about 100 makers and agents, and ranged from watch-glasses to a major exhibit of a crystal fountain standing some 27 feet in height. The English glassmaker F. & C. Osler at their Broad Street and Icknield Glassworks in Birmingham produced this magnificent fountain. The company of F. & C. Osler is not very much known outside the United Kingdom, but they were a major force within the glass industry from 1807 producing crystal chandeliers and furniture much sort after by Royalty and Rajahs. For those wishing to learn more about this company may I recommend the following book; Osler's Crystal for Royalty and Rajahs by John P. Smith ~ ISBN 0 9516159 2 0 published 1991 by Mallett Limited. The fountain was certainly an eye-catching piece as well as being a conversation piece and admired by Queen Victoria. The fountain had taken the company just less than eight months, from the time of acceptance letter received by the company from the Office of the decorative Committee, to blow, cut, deliver and assemble for it to be fully working for the opening on May 1st 1851.

The crystal fountain was not the only large glass item at the exhibition by F. & C. Osler, for there was a chandelier for 144 candles and a pair of fifteen light candelabra, provoking the premise that bigger is better. The candelabra were 8 feet high and had been a birthday gift to Prince Albert from the Queen in 1849 and may still be seen at Osborne House, on the Isle of Wight, where they stand in their original position.

In the catalogue for the exhibition under the glass section it noted that the material; .... is beginning to assume an extraordinary degree of importance in the present day. Yet few manufacturers have, until within a very recent period, made so small an amount of progress. Every process of the manufacturer having been beset with the stringent regulations considered to be necessary to enforce the due observance of the Excise laws, and no exemption being permitted even for the purpose of experiment or improvement, it is scarcely a matter of surprised that the production of glass remained in a poor and imperfect state both as a manufacture and as a philosophical problem. The same causes now no longer existing, a vast amount of progress has been made both in the extensions of the applications of this product, and also in the process of manufacture. These words echo the fact that in the period prior to the exhibition had seen vast improvements in the manufacture of glass. One English company which had shown these improvements through the exhibition was Rice Harris & Son, of the Islington Glass Works in Birmingham, who exhibited samples of ornamental glass of various colours, opal, alabaster, turquoise, amber, canary, topaz, chrysoprase, pink, blue, light and dark ruby, black, brown, purple and green. The article made in these colours were to be found gilded, enamelled, cut and engrave and they consisted of such items as liqueur services, tazzas, compotes, butter coolers, toilet bottles, goblets, water jugs, sugar basins and vases. The same firm also showed thread decorated items, a kind of glass for which Venice is famous and where for many years it was exclusively manufactured. Rice Harris & Son were according to sparse records the only glassmaker to exhibit pressed and moulded tumblers, goblets, wine glasses, sugar basins, salts, honey pots, butter coolers and door knobs.

Many other English glassmakers exhibited at the Great Exhibition including the Birmingham firms of Lloyd and Summerfield, George Bacchus & Sons as well as F. & C. Osler and Rice Harris & Son, the Stourbridge area was represented by W. H., B. & J. Richardson, Thomas Webb and Davis, Gateshead & Green, Molineaux, Webb & Company of Manchester and the London firms of Apsley Pellatt & Co., of Southwark and J. G. Green of St James Street Glassworks. Clear glass was only shown by the firms F. & C. Osler and J. G. Green, whilst all the others mentioned included in their displays greater or lesser proportions of coloured wares. George Gatchell the owner of the Irish Waterford glassworks also showed cut clear glass at the exhibition. With the imposition in Ireland of a duty on glass in 1825, the hitherto tax-free production was curtailed and the majority of the once bust makers soon discovered that they were no longer able to compete successfully in the open market place. Waterford had been in operation for sixty-five years when Gatchell took over at the company in 1848. and although it was far from being as prosperous as it had been, it was doing whatever it could to remain solvent during a difficult period. The Great Exhibition of 1851 was a great opportunity to prove how well it was maintaining the quality of glass and craftsmanship for which it had been known for so long. The Great Exhibition had been an ideal place for Waterford to show their wares, which included an elaborate centre, stand for a banqueting table, with forty cut dishes and other pieces. The design was that all the pieces fitted together without the use of any other material or metal other than glass. There was also a wide selection of decanters and another centrepiece on a tripod stand, but by the time the exhibition closed its doors for the last time on 15th October 1851, George Gatchell had been declared bankrupt and the glasshouse was closed down.

One of the many agents and dealers of glass exhibiting was the London dealer, Joseph George Green, displaying many items which received high acclaim at the time. In the Art-Journal it reported; 'we scarcely ever remember to have seen glass more exquisitely engraved than in these specimens'. This agent displayed many different variations of jugs being produced during this era and special note was made of the Etruscan shape by their makers and based upon the Classical oenochoe. One item included in the display offered by Green was that of a suspended ormolu chandelier in Elizabethan style fitted with glass silvered by Varnish & Company. Edward Varnish and F. Hale Thompson had taken out a patent in 1849 relating to a process for making vessels with double walls within which the surfaces were silvered. The silvering was sealed so this prevented tarnishing and was letter known as Mercury Glass. Such pieces could be left plain, engraved or cased with one or more colours and then cut through to reveal the mirror like body. Varnish also had their own stand at the exhibition displaying many items of their patent glass in green, ruby and blue most of all of which were said at the time to have been made by the London firm of Powells of Whitefriars. It was reported at the time that; Specimens of the beautiful silvered glass lately become so fashionable, and which have formed so ornamental a feature at various public banquets were exhibited by Messrs. Varnish of Berners Street. The silvered goblets were already familiar to the public, but there were various other articles, such as a chess table and curtain poles, which showed the great adaptability of the material for ornamental purposes. Another writer of the time suggested that the silvering was performed with a mixture of silver and grape sugar [glucose], but he was less than complimentary about the result; The effect, however, is garish, and the articles appear as if made of looking-glass, rather than of silver-plate, which they were intended to represent. Obviously the observations of this reporter were not those of the judging panel which awarded E. Varnish & Company a Prize Medal.

Both Lloyd & Summerfield and Oslers showed matt-surfaced glass busts of many famous people, including the Queen and her Consort. There were also what was termed, glass medallion busts of the Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel. One can only assume that these latter busts were presumably moulded cameos or intaglios and hand cut. A writer of the time noted that such objects as glass busts might prove superior to marble for statues and what he termed as monumental erections. Up until now makers of glass had always sought to obtain a shining finish, but now a duller surface was becoming more popular. As with most things, fashions come and go, and it was during the mid-nineteenth century we saw this change take place with matt finished glass becoming very popular. It was very popular as in the case of the opal glass which, was made in both England and Bohemia as well as France. On many pieces gilding was used in place of gilt-metal mounts and many pieces were in two tone. The most popular combinations being white and green and white and blue. Applied decoration in the style of snakes very often adorned such pieces and one of the leading pioneers of this was W. H., B. & J. Richardson of Stourbridge. Opal glass was produced in a wide variety of items of which the most favourite were tall vases neatly adorned by snake like applied decoration and ewers with handles in the same style.

Apsley Pellatt and Company exhibited not only finished goods at the exhibition but also a display of different types of glass, models of furnaces, tools and other items which were explained in an illustrated catalogue they produced to accompany the display. The wares shown included some of Pellatt's patented cameos, named Crystallo-ceramics, and known alternatively as Cameo-incrustations or sulphides. Such items had been devised at the turn of the century by a Frenchman, and took the form of small cameos skilfully enclosed within clear glass so that they acquired an attractive silvery appearance. It was felt at the time that special attention should be drawn to the vital importance of balancing the properties of the glass and the porcelain composition of which the cameos were made or failure would certainly result. It should be noted that the figure intended for encrustation must be made of materials that will require a higher degree of heat for their fusion than the glass within which it is to be incrusted, these are china-clay and super-silicate of potash, ground and mixed in such proportions as upon experiment harmonise with the density of the glass. Pellat had begun making such novelties soon after he had been granted a patent in 1819, and some two years later he published a book describing and illustrating examples of the cameos embellishing all kinds of subject matters ranging from prominent people such as Napoleon Bonaparte and William Shakespeare and other items such as the Badge of the Order of the Garter.

A further adaptation of the process was for the preservation of inscriptions, which were enamelled on a suitable material and then enclosed within a protective coating of clear glass. Such examples were used in 1840 to record building operations that took place at the Tower of London, Windsor Castle and many other important structures. Most of such pieces are inscribed with the words Apsley Pellatt, Incrustator. Pellatt used the process between the early 1820's until around 1860. The method was complex and unsuitable for large scale production, but with so many surviving examples to be found there must have been a steady demand. Other companies also made cameos, notably John Ford Glassworks at Edinburgh. It was predictable that a Scottish company should look towards a Scottish hero and hence they made cameos of the head of Robert Burns as well as the Duke of Wellington.

Pellatt's exhibits at the Great Exhibition not only comprised of a selection of cameo-incrustations but also what was described as Anglo-Venetian gilt and frosted glass. A series of dishes on tall stems, wine glasses, decanters, carafes, tumblers, claret jugs and other tableware items were elaborately cut in a fashionable manner resembling the work of the Venetian glassmakers. The frosted items certainly owed their origin to Murano, but are best known as ice-glass these days. This surface to the glass certainly resembles crushed ice and it was the revival of a technique practised in the sixteenth century. Apsley Pellatt always showed a keen interest in glass making and this is evident in many of the techniques he used and the revival of different types of glass. Pellatt will also be remembered for his book, Curiosities of Glassmaking first published in 1849, in which he described some of the methods employed by the early craftsmen at Murano.

In 1840 Christies the London auction house sold a collection of glass belonging to Lady Mary Bagot, among which were some Venetian glass pieces. In the catalogue listed, as frostwork was a latticinio salver, tall glass and goblet which realised GBP27, GBP19 and GBP15 respectively. These prices in today's currency seem very low but in their day they were considerably higher than was expected the items would make. This is possibly one of the first auctions to have taken place in London that included Venetian glassware. Some seven years later in 1847 a Frenchman of the name Debruge-Dumenil, a Far Eastern merchant who had amassed a large collection of objects d'art including much glassware, had his collection catalogued by Jules Labarte. Three years later part of the collection was offered for sale by auction in Paris. In total there were 2,000 lots of which 180 lots were of Venetian glass. All the glassware was sold averaging GBP10 per item.

The year prior to the Great Exhibition in 1851 saw an exhibition organised by the Society of Arts in London devoted to works of Ancient and Medieval Art. Proud owners of such items were only too willing to have their pieces exhibited, which proved a tremendous success with the public. One display was of Venetian glass, which was widely commented on in the press. By the time of the Great Exhibition, Venetian glass was making a comeback in England after being driven from the English market by George Ravenscroft in the seventeenth century.

The movement in favour of such Venetian glass received further encouragement by the formation of the Museum of Ornamental Art, which was the forerunner to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and was at that time part of Marlborough House in St James. The success of the Great Exhibition was instrumental in a committee being appointed and given a Parliamentary grant of GBP5000, with which to purchase suitable objects for formation of a museum of manufacturers of a high order of excellence of design or rare skill in workmanship. A large collection of works of art owned by Ralph Bernal was sold at auction in 183 and this was a starting ground for the museum. In a catalogue issued three years later for the new museum, there were seventy-four pieces of glass listed. Out of this total number of pieces sixty-one were listed as Venetian of which thirty-five had come from the Bernal auction. The highest price paid for a piece of glass at the auction of GBP54, was for a large flat tazza on a stem enamelled with foliage and arabesques and partially gilded, paid by Baron Gustave de Rothschild.

The Venetian style of glass pieces was back in the fold and popularity of the English. This was evident in some of the many pieces displayed by Bacchus and Sons, one of which was champagne glasses with colour twist stems. The stems were twisted into one or more loops midway and they were illustrated in the catalogue as Venetian. Although the English craftsmen tried their best to imitate Venetian glass they were handicapped somewhat by the peculiar properties of English flint glass. Venetian glass was made from a metal incorporating soda as the principal flux, which gave it the quality of cooling more slowly in comparison with the English glass. This allowed the Venetians more time during which to manipulate the material and form it into complex shapes without frequent reheating, whereas the contrasting quick cooling flint glass did not respond easily to the same treatment.

Venice is also credited with being the place where one of the revivals of ancient Roman glassmaking techniques originated, one which played a small and barely noticed role at Hyde Park in 1851. Amongst the foreign exhibitors was Pietro Bigaglia who had exhibited a selection of millefiori glass paperweights in Vienna six years before. Apsley Pellatt in his 1849 book Curiosities of Glassmaking illustrated on in colour giving it the caption Venetian Ball. For those that have a copy of this book, may I refer you to Plate 6 - Fig. 1 and the notes listed for this item are as follows; A solid ancient Venetian Ball, consisting of fragments of filigree cane, placed in a hollow, transparent, white glass pocket, and collapsed by extracting the air as the mass fuses together by the heat of the furnace. One should also point out at this time the French glassmakers were also producing this style of paperweight which was to proved very popular. The organisers of the Great Exhibition divided and subdivided the many thousands of items into convenient categories of which Glass was Class XXIV, of which subsection 5 of section F comprised of Glass Mosaic, Millefiori, Aventurine and Venetian Glass Paperweights. So despite the fact that French made paperweights had been produced for some five years the name of Venice still clung to them. There are two factors that made Venetian wares more popular. One was the fact the Venetian glass had a superior sales feature and the other was possibly because of the wariness of France, alerted by the recent and continuing political troubles in that country, hence making the English somewhat reluctant to knowingly buy French goods. The principal French Glassmakers of the time were only represented at the exhibition by Clichy who displayed some paperweights, the others such as St Louis and Baccarat were conspicuous by their absence. Although evidence proves that both the English firms of Bacchus and Rice Harris & Son were both producing paperweights around this period of time but there is no record of either displaying them at the Great Exhibition of 1851. Most being produced were of millefiori pattern and by this time most were using a lettered cane to denote the manufacturer such as IGW, which has been suggested it stands for Islington Glass Works.

During the period of the exhibition and the early 1850s, not all glassware sold was ornate and costly, and both makers and dealers were keen to sell their better and more expensive goods, so commonplace varieties seldom received attention. In addition to their production of such items as paperweights, Rice Harris & Son displayed, pressed and moulded glass tumblers, wine glasses, sugar basins, door knobs, salts, goblets and both honey pots and butter coolers at the exhibition as already stated. Henry Mayhew in his book; London Labour and the London Poor made comments on the availability of cheap glassware. He noted that street sellers of second-hand glass were seldom seen in the capital. Mayhew who himself was an ex-seller of glassware said it had been a profitable trade making around one pound a week. At the period before cast glass was so common, and, indeed, subsequently, until glass became cheap, it was not unusual to see at the second-hand market stalls, rich cut glass vessels which had been broken and repaired, for sale at a low price. The dealer often being the repairer and hence making a profit from damaged goods.

One item, which began a lengthy enjoyment of popularity around the time of the Great Exhibition and featured greatly in many Victorian homes, was the glass lustre. A lustre can best be described as a cross between a vase and candlestick but without any real function except to be ornamental. The lustre varied in design over the years, its decoration ranging from cutting to casing with painting and gilding or, in its cheaper versions, to harshly tinted opal or coloured glass. No matter what the quality of a lustre, it was mandatory that it should bear a fringe of cut prisms and drops suspended from the rim. All lustres were made and sold in pairs and from the vast amount that have in recent years come on to the second-hand market, one can assume that not many British homes did not have their fair share of them.

When one thinks of glass, it is not immediately thought of in the realms of the clothing industry. However buttons made of glass, moulded with holes ready for stitching, or with a single larger hole through which a metal shank could be riveted in place were being made in vast quantities. Evidence suggests the buttons were formed by what was termed as pinching, using a pliers like tool for the purpose. This tool had the shape and ornament of the button cut into its jaws in intaglio, so that a small piece of molten glass could be squeezed between them to be easily and quickly completed. Another kind was somewhat more complex in its making, requiring a sheet of clear or coloured glass to be coated with lead foil and then cut into pieces of the required shape and size. These were heated to melt the lead, and prepared pieces of tinned metal, already complete with shanks, were soldered to the lead back glass. Each button was then finished by being cut to its final shape and given a decorative cut pattern on the front. Possibly the leading company making glass buttons during this era was Neal & Tonks of Birmingham. It is also known that the same firm also made glass shirt studs as well as horse bridle rosettes in fancy cut glass.

To examine all the styles and types of glass which was displayed by the English glassmakers at the Great Exhibition would certainly be a lengthy task, but I hope that by touching on some of the more unusual types and styles such as glass furniture, buttons, lustres and of those who were making these style has broadened your knowledge. The Great Exhibition building was moved to Sydenham after it closed its doors in Hyde Park and it remained there as a popular attraction until it burnt down in 1936. Very few fragments of the crystal fountain, which had been a centrepiece, were recovered and now they are in the Museum of London and the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

Bibliography:
The Curiosities of Glass Making by Apsley Pellatt
Archive records Department Victoria & Albert Museum
Archive records Department Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
The Broadfield House Glass Museum
Oslers Crystal for Royalty and Rajahs by John P. Smith



The Early Days of Glassmaking


Albert Hartshorne wrote in his detailed and comprehensive history of "Old English Glasses" that there was simply no proof that there was glass production in Britain from the 6th to 15th century. His authoritative assertion on such matters may be questionable, for he stated that a glassmaker by the name of Laurence Vitreanus was melting glass at Chiddingford in the year 1230. Also in an account of the inventory issued by the second son born to King Edwards I [1268-1274] it made reference to a beaker which is said to have cost two and half pence. This also adds fuel to the argument about whether glass was being produced in Britain, as the low cost is more than likely because it was produced here and not overseas. There is further proof that Abbot of Wearmouth sent to France for glassmakers in 675 and in 1350 large sheets of colourless glass could be made in England which were used to glaze the windows of St. Stephens Chapel at Westminster.

Saxon tombs also revealed glass objects which also supports the claim that glass had been made in England prior to the Roman conquest and survived through that period. If further proof was needed to shame the information given by Hartshorne, one only has to check the tax roll for the East Anglian town of Colchester. The register lists three glass-masters although the records do not show if they were glassmakers or just plain glaziers.

Records also show that later in the sixteenth century, the predominant form of glass in England was of the French and Venetian form. During 1570 evidence supports the fact that French glassmakers and mirror makers who first settled in Surrey and a little later in Salisbury, Wiltshire and this marked the beginning of the modern era in glassmaking in England. Many had come to England through the mediation of their fellow compatriot, Jean Carre, who had settled in Antwerp, Belgium.

Wood was a major necessity in glassmaking for the forests provided the fuel to heat the furnaces and hence many of the earlier glassmakers often went from one place to another in search of forest areas. Their wanderings took them from England to Scotland and Ireland, in search of this fuel and evidence can be found through shards of broken glass at many sites throughout all the countries involved in these early days of glassmaking. Conservation was even evident in those early days and the necessity of preserving the already scarce trees for the more important construction industry lead to a ban on the use of them as a fuel in 1650. Hence the change was made to using the fossil fuel of coal for the furnaces used in the making of glass.

Coal gas escaping from the burning of this fuel created a problem and hence the process of melting was made using closed pots to protect the glass batch. During this thirty-year period, Vice Admiral Mansel held the glassmaking monopoly in Britain and he was followed by the Duke of Buckingham, who, thanks to his influential position at Court, fought against the import of incomparably better glassware from abroad. By the end of the seventeenth century Great Britain supported some eighty-eight glasshouses and the following century saw glass production making tremendous strides forward both in quantity and quality. The glassmakers of this period saw the potential of the market place producing mainly goblets and dishes which were in far greater demand than other items.

Britain even in those distant days was very much the front-runner of the industrial revolution guided by the demands of the buying public and society. Some of the factors, which took Britain to the top of the industrial table, included: -


* Inns and taverns were flourishing within Britain far long before any other country. These provided a natural outlet for the glassmaker.
* The wealth of the economically rapidly developing middle classes was also increasing in a very quick time.
* The rising ability of the founders using their purchase power of primitive capitalism led to certain customs developing in Britain and not elsewhere.
* One such tradition being the use of different glasses for each type of wine. This was mainly influenced by the entrepreneur of the day mixing the imported wines with different kinds of distillates of local origin. One could possibly say from these earliest of days the Anglo-Saxon set the cocktail trend and for each new concoction a new style of vessel was created.

From this lively society of life, it stimulated production of other items on a large scale, such as candlesticks and chandeliers. Another important factor one should also take into consideration when looking at this period in the glassmaking industry of Britain is the growing colonial Empire which, opened up large overseas markets, especially in the North American continent. From those early days of trade, sales were secured through tariffs and other means, which such countries as England could enforce on dependent countries. It was emerging that the two most popular types of glass being produced for overseas sales were that of Bristol and Nailsea. At the same time the Irish glassmaking industry was striving forward with such glassmaking institutions as Waterford and Cork being the major two.

It was during this epoch that the English invention of lead crystal came about. The addition of lead increased not only the weight but also the whiteness of the material, it intended to give the glass an absolute transparency and was known as magnificent lustre. This affect is shown particularly when the facet cut broke the light and reflected it. Evidence supports the fact that during the mid seventeenth century there were six major glass-houses in the London area producing lead crystal glass much admired by many and it intended to have a sheer elegance over that which was being made at the same time in Bohemia. This magical clarity of English glass made it famous throughout the world in the eighteenth century. Most of the polishing and cutting of the glass was done in England by experienced polishers and cutters mainly from Holland but even so their work was not considered as good as that done by those in the Bohemia region. Neither did the shape of the piece display the same elegance nor the variety of pieces being produced in Bohemia. A further additional way of ornamentation was the entire surface of the glass being covered with faceted diamond cuts and this art was perfected by the Bohemian and Silesian glass-houses who developed the art to perfection.

It was during this same period that milk glass was introduced into production within England from Bohemia. There was a general need within society for a glass to replace porcelain, which was so expensive. This milk glass was to become a major part of many of the English glass-houses and many pieces were decorated lavishly with oil and enamel colours.

Much was changing at this time in the history of glassmaking within Britain and it was not long before English glassmakers along with those from the near continent decided to go to America and apply their artistry. It was in 1607 when the first attempts were made in glass production in the States at Jamestown in Virginia. Since those early days wherever glass-houses have been established we see the art of skilled craftsman has expounded the beauty of glass in many shapes and forms.

The Stourbridge Glassmakers of old.

The Webb family
Thomas Webb I (1804-1869) founded the Thomas Webb Glassworks - one of the most famous glass factories in the area. He started his career in 1829 in partnership with the Richardsons at Wordsley. His son Thomas Wilkes Webb (1836-1891) took over the firm in 1863.

Thomas Wilkes Webb employed some of the best craftsmen that have ever worked in Stourbridge, including George Woodall, Frederick Kny and William Fritsche. He helped make the factory internationally famous and in 1878 he won the Grand Prix at the Paris Exhibition.

The Thomas Webb Glassworks continued making high quality glass until its closure in 1990.
Thomas Wilkes Webb's sons, Thomas and Herbert Webb (1871-1946) also founded a glass factory in 1897, in partnership with George Corbett. Known originally as Thomas Webb and Corbett Ltd. and later simply Webb Corbett, the factory still exists today, as part of the Royal Doulton group.

The Richardson family
One of the leading glass firms in Stourbridge in the 19th century was the Richardson factory. William Haden Richardson (1785-1876), Benjamin Richardson I (1802-1888) and Thomas Webb started this in 1829. It was situated on the banks of the Stourbridge Canal in Wordsley, diagonally opposite where the Stuart glass cone can be seen today. The firm won many official prizes and awards, including a Prize Medal at the 1851 Crystal Palace exhibition, which helped to confirm the area as the most important centre of English glassmaking. Benjamin Richardson is sometimes called "the Father of the Stourbridge Glass Trade" because he did so much for the industry.

The Richardson factory had several changes of name in the 19th century, but continued to make consistently innovative and fashionable glass throughout. The firm was eventually taken over by the Thomas Webb glassworks in 1930.
Other members of the Richardson family were also involved in glass. John T. H. Richardson (1835-1913) established the Royal Castle Flint Glassworks in Tutbury, Staffordshire in 1871. Benjamin Richardson III (b.1864) donated the Richardson Collection of Glass to Stourbridge, which can be seen today at Broadfield House Glass Museum.

John Northwood ~ 1836-1902
John Northwood was the most important person in the Stourbridge glass trade in the 19th century. He was born in Wordsley in 1836, and served an apprenticeship at Richardson's as a painter and gilder of glass.

In 1860 he set up a glass decorating business in Barnett Lane, Wordsley with his brother Joseph, where he developed acid etching as a glass decorating process. His most famous achievement was the revival of the art of cameo glass, which had been lost since Roman times. From 1881 until his death he was the Art director for Stevens and Williams.



Irish Glass Holds a Fascination


When one looks back over time within the glassmaking industry, ones mind will recall the glass produced over the years in Ireland.

Glassmaking in Ireland was not an intentional process, but one, which came about through events mainly in England. When an Excise Tax was imposed in England around 1746 it made the cost for producing crystal glass soar and it became a commodity, which lost its viability in the market place. It was during this time many leading exponents of the glassmaking art, left England and began to set up glasshouses throughout Ireland. Glass in Ireland was not taxable and thus it was an ideal situation for many to exploit. I feel it should be mentioned here that eventually in 1797 a tax was levied on Irish glass, but only on bottle glass, however this gave the makers some fifty years of unhindered production. Hence there was a strong incentive for English workers to start plying their trade where conditions were easiest and Ireland was their first choice. From its earliest days, there had always been a fascination for collectors of Irish glass. Much was cloaked in a veil of sentimentality, many feeling it had an aura of its own, but any study of Irish and English glass reveals that it is by no means easy to differentiate between them.

If we look at old illustrations of both Irish and English glass of this period, rarely is there any suggestion of a distinctive difference between the two types. This is understandable, since the new workers in Ireland took with them samples of their wares, which had been made in England, and hence glass items made at Waterford and elsewhere were inevitably copies of English pieces. In this way, history repeated itself, for just as the English had gained the secrets of glassmaking under the tuition of Italian glassmakers nearly two centuries earlier, the Irish now acquired their knowledge from the English. Once the Irish had learnt their craft, they continued to appreciate and admire the beauty of English design and the excellence of its cutting. The leading pioneer of Irish glass in the English tradition was John Hill, a renowned Stourbridge glassmaker. Hill went to Ireland circa 1783, where he worked with two brothers, George and William Penrose, and although his time with them was brief, he was to Ireland what Jacopo Verzelini was to England some 200 years before.

In 1786 Jonathan Gatchell, who also worked with the Penrose brothers and later became the owner of the factory, succeeded Hill at the Waterford glass works. Gatchell died in 1823 but various members of his family continued an association with the Waterford glasshouses until 1851.

With these facts we can see how the beginnings of Irish glass being produced in Ireland came about. However this knowledge is not of great assistance in guiding the collector to identify the specific places where particular pieces of glass were made. The great difficulty with most glass is the fact it was not marked, as was the case with porcelain and fine bone china of this period. One of the few Irish glasshouses whose name appears on glass was that of the Penrose Brothers. Evidence also exists that some Belfast glass was marked with the name of Benjamin Edwards, who had formerly been a glass worker in Bristol, which would substantiate the reason why some Belfast decanters are in the style of those originally produced in Bristol, that were long tapered ones.

Of all the Irish glass houses the most notable is that of Waterford and many believe that such items produced there have a bluish tint and could be recognised by this feature against the white effect of glass made in England. I should say at this point here is not concrete proof in this fact, and most authorities do not accept this as a way of attributing Waterford glass. This was also mention by W. A. Thorpe in his book on English and Irish Glass where he says: "The superstition has already been exposed so often that we need only remark here that a dark blue tint is a very common technical fault in old glass and the numerous imitations of it." The difference between English and Irish glass consists more in points of detail than in any one style, but there is often a certain solidity of effect of Irish pieces and classical designs are also typical. This strengthens the fact that in all my years of collecting and admiring glass, the true attribution of any piece of glass is the hardest thing to undertake, and this will continue to be so for all future collectors of fine glass.

The Excise Act of 1746 had another effect on glass being produced in England at that time, in as much as it encouraged the making of pieces of small form and light in weight. This was not conducive to the cutting of glass and hence the Act's adverse effects went through the business of the glassmaker. The Act also forbade the export of glass to Ireland from the English glassmaker, and these two facts coupled together created a host of difficulties for those who were anxious to encourage the production of glass in Ireland. It was in Ireland where the prohibition which affected cutting on Irish glass was first removed which only gave further impetus to its production and to give hope for those English workers setting up glass houses in Ireland.

One of the most favourite cut glass patterns of the time was raised diamonds and this effect was to be found on many pieces being made. The shapes of such items as bowls followed very closely to the English designs and were very decorative. Salad bowls often being made in a canoe shape with a knopped stem mounted on a raised diamond shaped base. This was great period in the production of Irish glass and fine examples of such glass are a treasured prize by any collector. The hobnail design, again a great favourite pattern, was a form of criss-cross cutting and this type of decoration often appeared on bowls of Waterford water jugs and cream jugs. Horizontal prismatic cutting was also a common characteristic on the necks of jugs. Towards the end of the 18th century a favourite form of cutting on water jugs was a scalloped rim with additional scalloping on the shaped foot, as well as vesica cutting encircling the body of the jug in rows. Vesica cutting and splits were usual features on such articles as salad bowls and water jugs of that era and the fashion continued into the early 19th century.

Decanters of Irish ancestry often display glass rings surrounding and protruding from the neck at intervals in varying numbers. It was only to be expected, once the Irish glass houses began production of the articles, which they turned out in vast quantities, included the same wide range of pieces as those made in the parent glass houses in England. The Irish became very clever at exploiting the designs, which could be achieved by cutting, and the type of glass lent to this new age of Irish cut glass. Some of the pieces being produced were cream and water jugs, honey jars, celery glasses, pickle jars, jam jars and sweetmeat dishes as well as bowls of all shapes and sizes. Numerous wineglasses along with sugar bowls, salt and pepper pots were all in the production lines being produced usually all with heavy and elaborate cutting. Some of the smaller pieces such as the pickle and honey jars produced at Waterford intend to have knobs which are more pointed than those made in Bristol and this can help in identifying whether such an item came from the Bristol or Waterford glass house. Many of the preserve jars were complimented by having added bases, but the butter coolers, which were very popular at the time, usually had no such feature but rested flat on the table.

Writhen cutting to be found on such items as salt cellars and condiment sets is also a common feature on fruit dishes, finger and sugar bowls. The writhen decoration is formed by perpendicular ribs, which are impressed on the soft pliable glass in the course of its manufacture. The ribs are twisted diagonally and are closer to each other as they reach the top of the piece. Most writhen effects curve from left to right, but having now made that comment I am sure there were instances when may be a left handed person had them going the other way!

It cannot have been easy times for the English glass worker to witness the extraordinary success of their fellow craftsmen in Ireland. For the best part of 200 years, since Jacopo Verzelini set up his glasshouse at Crutched Friars in London in 1570, they had laboured until their workmanship had approached something near to perfection. Now because of the implementation of the Excise Act and other economic difficulties, over which they had no control, the monopoly had slipped from their grasp. Whilst the name Waterford is synonymous with Irish glass it should be mentioned that flint glass had been made in Dublin as early as 1695 and a glasshouse had been set up in Cork in 1783. This glass house was initially set up by three men who are believed to have come from England, namely Burnett, Howe and Hayes, as had John Hill, and this glass house was in production until 1818. There were also glass houses in Londonderry and the Belfast factory having been established circa 1780 continued to make glass as late as 1829.

With the export restrictions being removed, Irish glass became a sought after item now in the open market place, although less costly and England being a fairly prosperous country, English glass was still widely sought. Irish glass had made its presence felt and still today continues to hold a fascination for collectors world-wide.


Mercury Glass was made as a substitute for silver


Sterling silver is one of the most highly reflective substances of all, for it can be engraved, moulded and shaped into just about any form its artist desires, from punch bowls to candlesticks, goblets to urns. Silver seemed destined to be the star of the show in almost any setting. Unfortunately, good quality silver it is now and always has been very expensive. That was the basic reasons for the creation of mercury glass a delightful impostor that shone in many a home for more than a century.

Silvered glass, known most commonly as Mercury Glass, was born in the mid-1800s in England. It's formed through the rather ingenious method of creating double-walled glass with a hollow centre. Next, a liquid silvering agent, silver nitrate, is poured into the space between the two layers of glass, usually through a hole at the base, then it's swished about until it adheres to the walls and coats them in "silver." The remaining liquid is drained off, the piece is left to dry and a glass plug is used to seal the hole. Early experiments used mercury as a main ingredient in the silvering agent, hence the origin of the name for this type of glass, but it didn't work well and was discarded. Nevertheless, the term "Mercury Glass" is now used to label just about any sort of silvered glass to this day.

British glassmakers Hale Thomson and Edward Varnish took out the first patent on the process in 1849. Some pieces of Mercury glass can be found to bear the mark of Hale Thomson impressed in the plug disk as being patentee. Six years later, Thomas Leighton of the New England Glass Company took out an American patent. Within a decade, glasshouses all over England, America, Bohemia, Belgium and France were producing mercury glass in vast quantities. Finally, the pristine look of pure silver could be had by even those of more modest means and best of all, you don't even have to polish it!

Mercury glass candlesticks, chalices and icons appeared in churches, while it took the shape of everything from doorknobs to vases, salt dishes to plates and lamps in the home. Just about every item that's found in real silver was copied in mercury glass. Plenty of items were quite simple, with just their deceptive silver gleam as decoration.

However, other pieces were lacquered with golden accents, decorated with paint or enamel or frosted. Some of the finer, thicker-walled pieces were sturdy enough for ornamental engraving, though most were too fragile to withstand the process.

Like most fads that catch on too well, poorly made mercury glass began to glut the market as well, popping up in the form of cheap souvenir items. In the early 20th century, fashions changed and former advocates declared it tacky and common. By the 1940s, it had all but disappeared from the market.

It never quite disappeared entirely, however. I was surprised to discover that glass Christmas ornaments are frequently made of mercury glass, along with many of today's collectible figurines like the Coca-Cola polar bears. The most beautiful pieces of all are those that remain from the 1800s and early part of the 20th century, but these are few and far between due to their easy breakability.

This once-cheap item scorned by society now has the last laugh. Collectors today pay hundreds and thousands of dollars for the oldest, most unique pieces. Thankfully, not all mercury glass finds are so dear. You might find a pair of mercury glass candlesticks, a set of doorknobs or other pieces from the '30s and '40s starting at a few pounds. Items from the early 1900's are priced from about 75 dollars and upwards. Look carefully, and you just might find that the piece of silver in the antique store window is actually glass. If you're lucky enough to find one of these rare decorative items, buy it and treasure it like the precious treasure it's now become.



The English Epergne.

To the lover of glass, the word epergne conjures up the beauty of the glassmaker's art in all its splendour. So what is an Epergne? If we look at the description in an English dictionary we find it listed as,"An ornamental centrepiece for a table, a stand with holders for fruit, flowers, nuts, etc., probably from the French Epargne a saving. One can see why it is more than likely this was the word, which was adapted and used, for the epergne is an item, which saves space upon the dining table. The epergne or centrepiece can be traced back to their evolution through the archive pattern books of the Stourbridge firms, illustration in contemporary periodicals and the records of the Patent Office Design Registry.

Possibly the first type of glass epergne made in England was in crystal glass and consisted of a bowl with one central trumpet. From this early design the development was extremely radical and it was not long before hanging baskets from canes were added to the original concept. Although the design changed the single epergne continued to be made in crystal with engraved or etched patterns according to the fashion of the day. The earliest registration for such flower stands is shown to have been made by Dobson & Pearce, London dealers in June 1861. These first epergnes were almost certainly designed by Daniel Pearce, a partner in the firm, who was a few years later in 1867, described in the Art Journal as "unrivalled in England as a designer of works in glass". Prior to him joining Thomas Webb in the 1870's he had also worked for W. P. & G. Phillips. These epergnes by Dobson & Pearce were exhibited at the London International Exhibition of 1862 and James Powell & Sons also exhibited similar ones. Throughout the 1860's other companies, notably, Naylor & Company designers from London and the Stourbridge glassmakers of Richardsons & Pargeter and Boulton, Mills and Hodgetts, were registering various designs.

Many variations on the theme of epergnes continued through out this period of time within the design studios and the glass houses in England. Many examples of epergnes are to be found in the pattern books of Philip Pargeter, Red house Glass Works, Stourbridge, which describes him as a "Manufacturer of registered flower centres, candelabra, vases, specimen tubes and of cut, engraved and etched glass". Many of the designs show elaborate centrepieces with hanging baskets, canes, and applied leaves. It was in the same year as he set up on his own as a glassmaker in 1871 that he registered his designs. Some of his designs being very similar to those of Richardsons which are dated 1867. It is known that Philip Pargeter served his apprenticeship under his uncle, W. B. Richardson, working there as an engraver until 1852. During the period between 1852 and 1863 he had his own engraving shop, but in 1863 returned to his old firm, but this time in partnership with W. B. Richardson and J. W. Hodgetts. The firm was called Hodgetts, Richardson & Pargeter. However by 1871 he was eager to move on, and he set up his own glass works at the Red house Glass Works, where he remained in business until in 1862 he sold the business to Stuart & Sons, who still today have a shop on this site.

From the early days of single stemmed centrepieces, we see the development of more elaborate pieces with hanging baskets which had been evident in the ones exhibited by James Powell at the 1862 International Exhibition. In 1866 the London dealer James Greener registered the first of these hanging basket epergnes. The demand for this style of epergne was very great and in 1867 Hodgetts, Richardson & Pargeter registered similar designs, with crimped edges to the main trumpet.

This development in design continued during the early years of the 1870's, with the introduction of mirror bases as a substitute for the bowl. Boulton & Mills of Stourbridge first registered the mirror base, which was intended to reflect the flowers as if reflected in a pool of water, in 1871. Their design also incorporated curved barley sugar twist canes, which supported baskets in the shape of bell styled flowers. Also during this period we see a Venetian influence, with the introduction of fern styled leaves. The first registration of an epergne, which incorporated fern leaves, was made by Philip Pargeter in 1873, in a design which also included a mirror base and hanging baskets. Until now most epergnes were made in clear crystal glass with etched or engraved patterns, but now the use of coloured glass became more prolific, and the designs took on a more realistic appearance. With the advancement of the epergne, we see a botanical influence emerging with such items as bulrushes being added in threaded glass. The Stevens & Williams "Description Books" for 1875 show many instances where such expertise of the glassmaker is shown to the full.

By the mid 1870's the most popular style of epergne, with a crimped trumpet shaped central vase with matching subsidiary vases or hanging baskets, was firmly established, being modified only by minor changes in shape or added decorative features, and by the increasing use of colour. During the 1880's the only other significant change in design was the raising of the centre of the main supporting bowl into a steep cone, so that the metal socket block was well above the rim of the bowl.

In both the 1870's and 1880's we see the advancement of colour in all types, and shapes of epergnes and the further involvement of most of the major English glassmakers undertaking production of the centrepiece. Ruby, blue and amber and many shades of tinted opalescent colours ranging through pink, citron and turquoise were all used as well as embellishing the pieces with frills and crimped edges. Thomas Webb & Sons renowned for their "Queens Burmese" produced a variety of epergne in this famous finish, and today these command a high price when they become available on the market. With so many variations on a theme, the epergne did not see any further development during the next few years, and it is a mark of the glassmaker art that they continue to be produced today, in reproduction form.

Apart from those firms already mentioned, we find fine examples of many other glassmakers that produced the epergne. Some of the other firms of note included: -
John Walsh, Walsh of Birmingham
Burtles & Tate of Manchester
Smart Brothers of Brierley Hill

During the Victorian era, leading wholesalers and importers such as, Silber & Fleming produced a number of catalogues which illustrated numerous types of epergnes by many different makers, and attribution to a particular manufacturer can be hard as many epergnes were being produced overseas.

Epergnes were not just produced in all glass, many had hanging baskets supported on silver or gilt stands and many fine examples of this style can still be found today. The major concern for this style of centrepiece is the originality of the glass for the metal stand.

An off shoot of the epergne is the emergence of the flower tube. This was usually a flower tube such as a rustic tree-trunk or a cactus stem. Both the rustic tree-trunks and cactus stems were used to support baskets in asymmetrical arrangement, and many makers produced this type of centrepiece. George Davidson of Gateshead produced tree-trunk items in "Pearline" glass, which had been registered to them at an earlier date. Again all the major glassmakers produced this style of centrepiece not only as single stems but also as multiple stems. John Walsh Walsh who produced them to commemorate the Coronation of King Edward and Queen Alexandra used these rustic style decorations with great foresight. The rustic design incorporated the rose, thistle and shamrock together with the letters 'E.R.' and 'A.R.'

The epergne and the rustic stem vases were all mentioned frequently in the Pottery Gazette with glowing attributions to the glassmakers of the time. It was not just the Pottery Gazette which made mention of this tableware, for we find in Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management date 1915, recommending the use of 'rustic' tableware, remarking that they are extremely pretty although rather old-fashioned.

As previously stated the firm of Thomas Webb & Sons produced "Queens Burmese" and the most popular use of this type of glass was for "fairy" lights, as patented by Samuel Clarke. Apart from single "fairy" lights they developed the use of such items into epergnes and many fine examples now command high prices. It seems there was no limit to the ingenuity of glass manufacturers in producing an endless wide range of interpretations of the epergnes. One is left with no doubt that the symmetrical flower stand with a central trumpet shaped vase and subsidiary vases or hanging baskets, developed in the height of the "Victorian" era remained very popular and today are very sort after collectable pieces.

Gabriel Argy-Rousseau Pate de Verre Vase with Salamanders Circa 1925
Gabriel Argy-Rousseau (1885-1953)
Gabriel Argy-Rousseau's virtuosity in a glass making technique called pate de verre or "glass paste," brought him instant acclaim upon his first showing it in 1914. He neither invented the technology for pate de verre nor manufactured it in large quantities for the first time. However, he exemplifies the successful small producer who remained true to the principles of small scale production and hand workmanship over industrial practices. Unlike Lalique and other late decorative artists, Argy-Rousseau never resorted to mass-produced glass.

Full details can be found in the article above on French Glass.