Topic: GLASS IN 1860

[Pat]

Interesting article in this months professional builder magazine. One snippet says that in 1860 Pilkingtons and Chance glass were making 75% of all glass produced in this country.

[Ivo]

In volume flat glass always represents the largest quantity, followed by bottles and containers. Blown glass, household items and decoration only take up a very small portion of total glass production.

[David E]

I'd say that figure was a little out, but I could check. The other major flat glass producer in England was Hartleys in the north-east and I think together the three companies controlled about 75%.

The collaborative practices of the three companies also demonstrated a very early example of price control on a national scale.

[Bernard C]

Ivo — I'm amazed!   Perhaps it's different in the Netherlands.   Have you ever seen a Victorian English village dump, even one at a quite tiny village?   They are huge and full of bottles and jars.   Even those that were picked over regularly for deposit glass and stoneware, like Hamiltons, Codds, crown corks, GBs, and, around here, Taylor's mustard pots (the Newport Pagell and Olney area was the other centre of the mustard industry in England, rather smaller than Norwich, but far superior in quality).

Even allowing for increases in the use of flat glass for horticultural purposes, I would have thought that bottles and jars must have accounted for 90% or more by weight (volume?) of all finished glass produced here in Britain.

Bernard C. 

[Ivo]

http://www.cpivglass.be/statistics/statistics3.html

you're correct, twice as much packaging now as architectural glass - but this has not always been the case. The fact that Belgium was world leader in glass production before WW1 was due to cast and cylinder glass - this was in the days before float. Glass packaging has greatly increased since recycling. 

[David E]

Glass production in the UK rose dramatically after 1851 when the Excise Duty was relaxed and, more importantly, the Window Tax was abolished.

Although I don't have figures for container glass, I think architectural glass would have represented a significant part of the country's glass output. Wouldn't pottery items have still been used for larger vessels?

From 1904, M. Fourcault (Belgium) had also developed the drawn sheet process and this revamped the flat glass industry considerably until about 1930.

[Frank]

Red Star glassworks, Belgium, c1900

Its monthly production is 2,250,000 english square feet.

In order to convince themselves, those interested, who have not yet entered into business relations with the Society, are strongly advised to entrust it with a small trial order, provided that the weight of this be at least 1000 Kgs.

data courtesy Glass-Study.com

[David E]

The best I can find for Pilkingtons is 1910-1913:

Edit: this is thousands, of square feet!

Type---	Home---	Exports---
Plate	5,741	6,740
Sheet	43,957	33,206

Source: The Glassmakers, T.C. Barker

I've missed off Rolled and Cathedral. Will try and find their production records for 1900 and 1860.

[Adam]

I would hazard a guess that a builders' magazine referring to "glass" would mean flat glass, forgetting all the other sorts!

Adam D.

[Pat]

Yes it was referring to flat glass But it was interesting because it also talked about when glass objects started to be made in more substantial amounts etc.