Glassware

“ In France, Germany and the United States it is rare to find a piece of table-ware which has not received its shape in a mould. The old and the new systems of making a wine-glass illustrate almost all the ordinary processes of glass working. Sufficient glass is first “gathered” on the end of a blowing iron to form the bowl of the wine-glass. The mere act of coiling an exact weight of molten glass round the end of a rod 4 ft. in length requires considerable skill. The mass of glass is rolled on a polished slab of iron, the “marvor,” to solidify it, and it is then slightly hollowed by blowing. ”

“ When flint glass is ready for working, the time required to work off a pot of it is much longer than that which is required for a pot of crown or sheet; and it is a matter of considerable importance, that the furnace-man should so manage his fires as to keep the glass in a proper working condition, that is, he should not let it get too cold (therefore too solid) nor too fluid. Flint glass is worked off by the blower into wine-glasses, tumblers, decanters, and other suitable vessels. Let us take a wine-glass as an illustration of the method of working. ”

“ 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 ”

“ In pawnshops and ordinary glass-shop windows a collector sees spiral-stem wine glasses made for modern use and not intended to deceive; they are a kind of tawdrily ornamental hock glass, embodying some modern designer’s idea of what [99] is beautiful; they correspond with no antique shape of bowl, the stems are very thin and fragile, the feet are as small as or smaller than the rim of the bowl, and the spirals are parti-coloured and “tight.” No collector need be taken in by such as these—they were not made to take him in, they are ordinary articles of modern manufacture and daily commerce. ”

“ In quality, tint, feel, and ring the plain blown glass was a beautiful product, and when it was cut or engraved the decoration was done by fine craftsmen and often with excellent taste. Old glass has its own peculiar charm; the dark beauty of the crystal metal, the variety of form, the bell-like ring when flipped, the satiny feeling of the surface, the sparkle of the cut facets, and the combination of gracefulness and usefulness attract a collector: in cabinets it shines, gleams, glows, and sparkles in a reticent, well-bred way. ”

“ The process of pressing glass was introduced to meet the demand for cheap table-ware. Pressed glass, which is necessarily thick and serviceable, has well met this legitimate demand, but it also caters for the less legitimate taste for cheap imitations of hand-cut glass. An American writer has expressed his satisfaction that the day-labourer can now have on his table at a nominal price glass dishes of elaborate design, which only an expert can distinguish from hand-cut crystal. The deceptive effect is in some cases heightened by cutting over and polishing by hand the pressed surface. ”

“ The applications of glass are so exceedingly extensive, that it is inconvenient, if not impossible, to manufacture every species of it at one glass-house or at one establishment. Some, therefore, confine their attention to the production of window glass, and such articles of hollow ware as may be made, with profit, from the same kind of paste. Others make [181] vials and other species of ware, employed by the druggist, apothecary, and chemist. And again, the efforts, at some factories, are confined entirely to the manufacture of flint glass, or to that of plate glass for mirrors. ”

“ Norcross?" Giusippe questioned.
"What we call bottle, or Norman, glass. We get it from England, and strangely enough there is a heavy duty on it in its raw state. One can import a whole window free of duty because it is listed as an art work; but the glass out of which an art work is to be constructed costs a very high price. Odd, isn't it? As soon as I reach the point of using glass I arrange it on a large plate glass easel, using wax in the spaces where the lead is to go. Then I experiment and experiment with my colors. ”

“ The glass to be used for the production of plate is universally melted in pots or crucibles and not in open tank furnaces. When the glass is completely melted and “fine,” i.e. free from bubbles, it is allowed to cool down to a certain extent so as to become viscous or pasty. The whole pot, with its contents of viscous glass, is then removed bodily from the furnace by means of huge tongs and is transported to a crane, which grips the pot, raises it, and ultimately tips it over so as to pour the glass upon the slab of the rolling-table. ”

“ Yet I have known two or three collectors of porcelain who declined to begin collecting old glass because, they said, they would “never dare”—as if an almost miraculous skill were needed to become a connoisseur in old glass! In point of fact, this is the easiest hobby to study and know; glass-collecting requires an eye for the different shades and tints of the metal, a finger-tip for the feel of it, an ear for the ring of it, and not much money as yet, and practically that is all. ”

“ 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:—
{13}
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. ”

“ The relatively neutral chemical behaviour of glass is, in fact, one of its most useful properties, and, next to its transparency, most frequently the governing factor in its employment for various purposes. Thus the entire use of glass for table-ware depends primarily upon the fact that it does not appreciably affect the composition9 and flavour of edible solids or liquids with which it is brought into contact—a property which is only very partially shared even by the noble metals. ”

“ The glass with which windows are generally glazed, is called Crown glass. It is formed of different materials in different manufactories. In some instances the materials consist of fine white sand, carbonate of lime, carbonate of soda, and clippings or waste pieces of old glass; while in other cases they consist of white sand, pearl-ash, saltpetre, borax, and arsenic, in certain proportions. On this point we shall not dwell, for almost every manufacturer has a favourite receipt of his own. Whatever substances are employed, they are intimately mixed before being melted. ”

“ There is a choice collection of fragments of millefiori and banded glass in the British Museum, [25] and a still larger one in the Industrial Museum at Vienna.
52 A broken fragment of glass will indeed often tell us more than a complete vase. We can, for example, see from it whether the pattern passes continuously through the whole thickness of the glass, or whether it has been inlaid, or perhaps pressed into the surface when hot. In one case we have a process that reminds us of mosaic work; in the other there is some approach to a champlevé enamel, only with a base of glass instead of metal. ”

“ Glass is used in every home. It is seen in its ornamental forms, and is necessary in almost every department. In kitchen and pantry there are dishes and tumblers and wine glasses and decanters ready for use. Among these there are often found old glasses—that is, glass vessels which from their rarity or age have attained a curio value; indeed, many housewives are unaware that their kitchen cupboard contains what would be valued as interesting specimens gladly purchased by collectors of glass. ”

“ EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY GLASS THE eighteenth century is the “Golden Age” of the collector of English glass. At the beginning of the century glass manufacture was already a flourishing industry. Vessels of all kinds for ornament, keepsakes, and for domestic use were being produced in great quantities, and there was a strong and growing competition between the native craftsmen and the glass-workers of Venice, Bohemia, Germany, and the Low Countries, a competition which, thanks to the superiority of the new English “flint” glass, was steadily trending in favour of the English product. ”

“ It is indeed noticeable that both in Germany and in England, in the case of the more expensive table-glass that we now see in the shop windows, the decoration, such as it is, has continued to be sought rather in processes of cutting and engraving on the old lines.
Various fantastic methods of surface decoration have indeed found favour at times. An artificial iridescence has been given to the surface by certain chemical agencies—perhaps the most elaborate instance of such decoration may be found in the ‘favrile’ glass of Messrs. ”

“ Both sheet and crown glass owe their origin to the blower's breath. Though they are less brilliant than the plate, their methods of fabrication are much more interesting, since they involve a far greater amount of manual dexterity on the part of the artisans. It is, indeed, difficult to know which to admire the more, the chemistry or the physics of the operation; the nicety with which the glass-maker regulates the proportions of his charge so as to produce this beautifully clear substance, or the skill with which he subsequently handles the finished glass and adapts it to our uses. ”

“ In 1673, the celebrated Duke of Buckingham brought workmen from Italy, and established a manufactory for casting plate glass for mirrors and coach windows. The art, in all its branches, is now extensively practised in great perfection, not only in Great Britain, but in many of the other kingdoms of Europe.
31. Before the commencement of the late war with England, very little, if any, glass was manufactured in the United States, except the most common window glass, and the most ordinary kinds of hollow ware. ”

“ But I must strongly advise that all those who are connected with the making of fluxes in any glass painting establishment, should master sufficient chemical knowledge to enable them to ascertain the behaviour of the materials, with respect to one another, as well as of the nature of the glass upon which they are employed; for very much indeed depends upon a correct knowledge of the character of the glass as to whether it be hard or soft, what it contains, and of the temperature at which the glass becomes sufficiently soft to form a firm and enduring union with the colours fluxed upon it. ”

“ Many fantastic pieces of old glass were made as curiosities or ornaments, but most old glass was made for use. Glass is easily scratched; as the wine glasses and decanters were set down upon the hard, polished mahogany of dinner-tables, after the cloth was drawn, and were moved, the feet of the wine glasses and the bases of the decanters become scratched thereby. Lustre-ornaments, glass candlesticks, or glass vases which stood upon marble or hard wood mantelpieces, being moved when maidservants were dusting, became scratched at the base. ”

“ But it should be borne in mind that the modern is invariably more brilliant, has a whitish look, and is “cleaner” in every detail than the real glass of this period.
It may be mentioned that the centre bowl, although particularly attractive, is by no means so rare as other specimens figured in this chapter. Indeed, pieces of this character and design are frequently to be procured. Still, a genuine piece is well worth the collector’s attention.
The same plate (Fig. 33) illustrates some rare pickle or jam jars, displaying among them all the principal cuttings then in vogue. ”

“ The manufacture of plate glass is confined to very few hands, and great reluctance is manifested by the proprietors to permit visitors to inspect their works. The late Mr. Parkes, however, was permitted to visit the works of the British Plate Glass Company, at Ravenhead, and has recorded his observations in one of his valuable chemical essays, from which the following details are taken.
In the preparation of plate glass the materials are selected with greater care than in any other branch of the glass manufacture. The materials employed are sand of the finest and whitest kind, soda, and lime. ”

“ In a few glasses the bowl is pale sapphire or aquamarine colour, the stem being the tint of plain glass.
“TRAFALGAR” GLASS: RUMMER ON BALUSTER STEM AND RAISED FOOT; EXAMPLE OF ELABORATE ENGRAVING
The glass collector exercises his sight and applies the [17] test; it enables him to detect a counterfeit, though in shape and general appearance it imitates the genuine antique; it is too whitely crystal, too tintless to be old. Curio-shop windows at Brighton, for instance, are full of frauds in glass, chiefly cut-glass, or glass moulded to resemble cut-glass ”

“ The more elaborate patterns found on what is known as “figure rolled plate” are produced in a somewhat different manner; the glass used for this purpose is considerably whiter in colour and much softer than ordinary rolled plate, and instead of being rolled out on a table it is produced by rolling between two moving rollers from which the sheet issues. The pattern is impressed upon the soft sheet by a printing roller which is brought down upon the glass as it leaves the main rolls. This glass shows a pattern in high relief and gives a very brilliant effect. ”