Topic: tavern /pub glass..

[bat20]

Hi all ,always well chuffed to find one of these worked at the coal face soda pub glasses,it's 11.5 high with a shallow curved polished base to nearly the edge with hand fluting,there are more seeds in the metal(see what i did there  ) than i've seen on these before and the shape is new to me as well,any more info gratefully excepted,many thanks.

[Paul S.]

I don't know that this would have been specifically for a pub or tavern - the capacity would be small for beer - although I suppose lemonade is a possibility.             Are you saying soda simply because it doesn't have a lead glass ring??          Soda glass often shows a yellowish tint.           Does the u.v. torch bring up any manganese greenish grey colour?

I've looked through Silber & Fleming, and the book doesn't contain a single example (that I can see) showing this exaggerated flared rim shape, so I might suggest this has its origin outside the U.K., or just possibly it's a regional piece - Scotland maybe  -  I believe they did some waisted shaped tumblers.           Earlier tumblers have features that help to date them a little more accurately - but later pieces are generally so prolific  that they are often defy pinning down.
I don't see this being a whiskey glass, but could be wrong.

This effect of the entire base showing the depression where the pontil scar was ground/polished was a fairly commonplace feature around 1870 - 1890 and perhaps later  -  and appears on drinking glasses from almost anywhere in Europe, so doesn't in itself help with origin, and as you probably know, cut flutes have been around for almost ever.            Georgian fluts tend to have squared off tops, whereas later Victorian examples have rounded arch-shaped ones.

But since I'm a fan of tumblers then I have to say it's a good addition to the collection.                 Perhaps others are able to be more specific about this glass.

P.S.    After 300 odd posts I don't consider that members are entitled to be treated gently.

[bat20]

Thanks Paul,i might need new batteries but i'm not seeing green or grey,comparing it to similar glasses i have it has a softer grey colour to it and more tooling marks perhaps to do with the shape,it's the sort of shiny polished base i see on Czech glass sometimes.It's a nice thing and fits well in the hand,i think Ivo said about the last one a good size for pastis?

       PS,perhaps the quality of the posts should be the gauge rather than the amount

[NMott]

If it was Tavern/Pub glass then surely it would be etched with weights & measures and reigning king/queen crown marks like the pewter and pottery ones?

[bat20]

It may not be,i think you can get tavern rummers and such with no markings though and it looks like it's done some work with a lot of wear to the edges of the fluting towards the base,i would say it's quite old with that soft grey look and seeds and the odd bubble in the metal ,but after Pauls thoughts i'm starting to think there maybe a low lead content.I should also add at first i thought there was a chip on one of the flute edges on closer inspection it looks like it was done during the making with a slight bump in the glass behind it and there's a nice thickness to the glass without being heavy,so kind of looks and feels like Georgian glass but the wrong shape i suspect for the time.

[Paul S.]

glasses earlier than 1840 ish, tend to have specific features that make them more recognizable.             Often short and as wide as they are tall, barrel shaped, waisted, pontil scars, lead glass etc.
I don't have a problem with this being post 1860 ish - but must admit this flared rim doesn't fall easily into a category that I'm familiar with, but then there are always going to be unusual pieces.             I'm sure that the other features we've discussed are universal to glasses from that period.

Does it in fact ring when flicked?          Glass with some lead content usually gives a slight greenish grey response to the u.v. light, I'm sure.

[bat20]

No there is no ring Paul,i thought lead might give the glass that softer look.I was wondering is it the sand that colours the glass and can you indenify glass from the sand used in old glass?You are most likely correct,late 19th and from abroad.

[Lustrousstone]

The grey look is usually the result of exposing glass containing manganese to UV light. We don't have enough UV here to get much sun purpling, so we get grey or the faintest of lilacs.

The manganese is used to remove the green hint (think coke bottle green) when sand containing iron is used (think builder's sand). High-purity silica sand (i.e., no colour) is expensive and relatively scarce. Loch Aline is/was one of the best Scottish sources

[bat20]

Very interesting thanks Christine.