I recently bought an album of photographs of a collection of Georgian electioneering glasses for the museum library. I was intrigued by who Sir John Shuckburgh Risley was and did some research. There is no Wikipedia article for him, but a few hours research turned up information about his life, family, education, and career, but very little about his private interests except his passion for Georgian glass.
The twinlock album contains 52 black and white photographs, with typed, detailed descriptions of all the pieces. The majority are described as wine glasses but there are also tumblers, goblets, a cordial glass, a champagne glass, ale glasses, a tankard, and a cream jug. The introductory page says "a Collection of Georgian Electioneering Glasses formerly the property of Sir John Shuckburgh Risley, C. B."
The photos are 12cm x 16.6cm except for 3 which are "double" size - 16.4cm x 21cm. They appear professionally taken as they are all crisp and in focus with the lighting set to show the details, engravings, twist stems etc.
I found six articles on glass written by Sir John, as follows, which illustrate his particular interests:
A Wine-glass Commemorating a Famous Eighteenth-century Election. (September-December 1918) The Connoisseur, Vol. 52 pp. 160-162.
Old English Glasses with White Spiral Stems. (June 1919) The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 34 No. 195 pp. 219-221 + 224-227 + 231.
Sea-Power under George III, Illustrated on Contemporary Glass. (November 1919) The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 35 No. 200 pp. 202-205 + 208-210.
Jacobite Wine Glasses. Some Rare Examples. (June 1920) The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 36 No. 207 pp. 276-277 + 280-283 + 286-287.
Georgian Electioneering Glasses. (November 1920) The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs Vol. 37 No. 212 pp. 220-233, incl. 12 plates.
Georgian Rummers. (June 1921) The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 38 No. 219 pp. 270-273 + 276-278.Sir John Shuckburgh Risley died on 22nd February 1957. Since the album states "formerly the property of Sir John" I wonder if the catalogue was produced either for probate purposes or for an auction. His wife Elizabeth had died on 3rd May 1950, but was survived by a daughter, also called Elizabeth.
I have attached several images from the album for your perusal. Given the specialisation of the collection and rarity of examples Sir John must have been extremely dedicated to the hunt. His papers, some of which I have read, are full of detailed research. He was definitely a true connoisseur. It's likely that he was in contact with Arthur Churchill Ltd. in London. We have their
Catalogue of Old English Glass published in 1937 and several editions of the
Glass Notes. It's possible that pieces in Sir John's collection came from that company. I will have to check.
I hope readers here can add more information, especially about what happened to the collection after Sir John's death.
Anton
Topic: 18th Century English glass collected by Sir John Shuckburgh Risley (Read 905 times)
