Topic: ID or RFI on footed trumpet shaped glasses with hobnail base

[Verreify]

I have a set of these glasses. I have very little idea of their age but believe they could be fairly old. They come from a family's collection of stuff which bridges 3 generations, the younger member being in her 80s. They have no seams and I think there's a pontil on the bottom of the bowl where it attaches to the foot. The "hobnails" vary in size as they move inwards. They're about 5 1/4" tall by 3 1/2" diameter at the top of the bowl and the base is about 2 1/4" in diameter. The glass has a lemony tint but it doesn't fluoresce under black light.

[Verreify]

Unfortunately I uploaded two of the same pics, so I'm going to try to get another one up: excuse my errors....I'm just learning this board...

[Paul S.]

Hi and welcome to the GMB         don't worry about making mistakes, we all have to start somewhere.

first comment would be that when we speak of a 'pontil' we are referring to the pontil rod  -  this is the metal rod attached to the underside of the foot to allow some final work on the glass, for example fire polishing the rim.         When this is snapped away from the glass, it leaves a sharp scar, which nowadays is ground/polished, thus leaving a circular depression  -  an indication, usually, of a quality item, but it is on the underneath of the foot, not between bowl and foot.
The underside of your glasses are probably quite smooth, I suspect.
Any lumps/bumps etc. which are found between bowl and foot, are usually decribed as knops  - those round things found more often on very old drinking glasses.

Know what you mean by 'hobnails', but regret to say (as a lot of your countrymen will tell us) that a hobnail is something quite different.    They occur on both pressed and cut glass, and are usually a six sided piece of decoration that is formed as a result of three sets of parallel lines   -   a diamond if you like, with six sides.       Some more intricate hobnails have eight sides.

The fact that you can't see any mould seams doesn't mean these glasses aren't press moulded  -  glassmakers are clever when it comes to fire polishing, and seams can be removed.
I'd suggest these pieces are produced by moulding in some way  -  which is how your 'hobnails' have been created.

Colour wise, it's often the case that less lead makes for yellow tints, and an increase in lead gives a slightly greyer tone  -  if you flick these they will probably give a very short dull sound  -  unlike lead glass which will ring for some seconds.

Can't really help with age, other than to say most probably post 1950.          It's a common mistake that people make to think that because their glasses have come from a great aunt then some equally great age is involved.......memory plays tricks and our possessions are often not as old as we'd like them to be.

As to use, I'm really not sure, but might suggest for lemonade or water.

Hope you won't be offended by these rather basic comments, and hopefully someone from your side of the pond will be able to give more useful information - and thanks for posting by the way.

[Verreify]

Thank you for your input. I am open to any and all suggestions.  It's ok to be frank...I can take it, and I do understand that we all want our stuff to be old and valuable. But the items that come from this particular family are all over the place in time so I want to be sure.
I called them hobnails because I didn't know what else to call them and it was a way to start. I think it looks like the  pontil has been polished and is where it should be: on the outside of the base of the bowl.   The knop and foot (if those are the correct terms) appear to have been attached afterwards.
Duncan Miller, LE Smith, Boyd, or Indiana have all been suggested and IMHO these pieces do not look like any of those.

 

[Ohio]

Paul I read you comment with interest regarding the term Hobnail & the comment “as a lot of your countrymen will tell us”. I have idea where the notion came from where we in the U.S. believe that a Hobnail that occurs on both pressed and cut glass were usually a six decoration formed as a result of three sets of parallel lines a diamond with six or eight sides, but I can tell you that the vast, vast majority of U.S. glass collectors (I would venture to say 95%) do not use that definition & I am afraid you have received some inaccurate views when it comes to what we in the U.S. consider to be correct.

On pressed glass we consider a Hobnail to be a pattern with raised bumps in an overall pattern & the hobbs can be pointed or simply domed shape, simple as that.

Now there is a hobnail cutting on cut glass which is a hexagon or octagon button that resembles the point of a nail in a cut pattern, Harvard, Russian & Cane patterns are examples, but that applies only to cut glass not pressed glass.

The OP is correct in U.S. terms using Hobnail in his description. 

[Paul S.]

Well, I'm glad at least Ken that you read my words with interest........I'm sure that so often people don't take the slightest notice of what I say.

I don't want to hijack this thread with my drivel, but just to say thanks for up-dating me on your countrymen's thoughts about hobnails.
I'd recently wanted to start learning about ABP, since cut is one of my favourite areas, and I took a look on the internet, and settled on this link..........   http://www.brilliantglass.com/about_abcg/motifs_2.html .....   which seemed to offer some reliable information.                Perhaps you know this source.

You'll know I'm sure if designs with this sort of decoration are more common your side of the pond than here.

In the U.K. there have been C19 patterns incorporating straight sided lumps from some of the big pressed glass factories, and these were called hobnails  -  I don't think we've had simple bumps being called hobnails.         Do you know the origin of the word - in relation to glass?

It's an interesting thought.........originally, the method of making nails (similar to screws) was by hand, and in effect they were 'cut' to the size required - the head having an irregular shape rather than the perfectly round form that we now know.

So, my apologies to Verreify for confusing the matter and misleading the poster, and my thanks for your notes.

[Ohio]

Paul your link is specific to cut glass & that does correctly state the defination for cut glass Hobnail, however does not apply to pressed glass. The pressed glass moniker (slang) of Hobnail in the U.S. is credited to William Leighton Jr. & William F. Russell of Hobbs, Brockunier & co. in 1886 when they developed a pattern called Dew-Drop & people simply started using the term Hobnail which applies to variations of an overall pattern of raised protrusions, pointed & dome shaped. The Oxford dictionary gives the following for Hobnail:

noun
    a short heavy-headed nail used to reinforce the soles of boots.
    a blunt projection, especially in cut or moulded glassware.
    [mass noun] glass decorated with blunt projections.

[Paul S.]

thanks Ken  -  well, I'm with the Oxford Dictionary then - it does say cut or moulded.         Appreciate your help.

[Verreify]

I thought I'd try another shot just to see if anyone has any more ideas...

[Ohio]

Since you are from the U.S. I might suggest you try
http://chataboutdg.com/
You will have to join (its free) & this site is dedicated to primarily glass produced in the U.S. We have a large membership that includes glass reference authors, museum curators & members who have literally decades of experience as well as a rather large photo gallery that covers probably 95%+ of all U.S. manufacturers from the 19-teens to present. Not saying anyone can offer more than this board, however if its of U.S. manufacture you may stand a decent chance of attribution.