Topic: White cased cut-to-clear glass marked Minton. They made glass? When?

[MaterialSpirit]

I have two tumblers that are like cocktail rocks glasses, and they are white cut-to-clear and marked Minton on the bottom. I have searched online but all I find is Minton china. When did they make glassware? And is this glass  or crystal and is the outside really encased glass or is it somehow enameled over the clear glass? I have never seen such a thing. And the design looks modern! Anyone know anything about this? Photo attached.

[chopin-liszt]

Welcome to the board. 
Perhaps Minton is the name given to the pattern, rather than being the maker.
Could we please see the bottom, and the mark on it?
if the mark is difficult to photpgraph, rubbing a little talc over it, or some graphite from a pencil might help to bring it up.
We can often tell a lot from seeing the bottom of something.

[Lustrousstone]

It's likely just a made for Minton item like the Royal Doulton glass

[MaterialSpirit]

Thanks for your speedy replies. Yes, it is too difficult for me to photograph the name; it is etched faintly into the bottom of the glass, but it is MINTON in all caps -- no crest or logo. And the suggestion that it was made by Royal Doulton is clever, and maybe correct (they did indeed merge in the 50's), except Replacements.com does not show it as a Royal Doulton item - or anything like it, and the glasses they make all seem to have their name on them -- not Minton. As for pattern, no -- I know that Minton is a popular pattern made by Tiffin, but this is definitely nothing like that. That Minton pattern is gold old-style trim and this is a kind of modern, clean design. And white cased glass is so rare to find in drinkware. The whole thing seems so odd. Usually white cased glass is in old-world lamps and such. Finding it in glassware is unusual to start with, and then finding the MINTON name on it is even more mysterious.

But maybe you can help me figure out if it is glass or crystal. Is there a sure way to tell the difference?

[Anne]

Welcome to the board. Webb Corbett are known to have made crystalware for Minton. It might be worth exploring them...

[MaterialSpirit]

Yes, people here do seem to know their glassware. But I did check into Webb Corbett because Replacements.com refers you to them when you search for Minton crystal. But I didn't find anything remotely like these glasses. But then, Replacements has almost nothing in stock from Webb Corbett -- just drawings mostly, and it seems like it could be an incomplete listing of designs. Although... again, this is such a modern-looking design, which seems inconsistent with these traditional companies. And I see nothing about white cased glass anywhere related to Webb Corbett. But... I guess it will remain a mystery. I was listing the glasses for sale online and wanted to accurately describe them, and I ended up just describing the features and my confusion and saying I don't know what the decade was or who really made them. But still I am wondering if it is glass or crystal. I think that would help date them. If they are glass and not crystal... I would think that surely Minton didn't actually make them. It's really the white glass that gets me wondering; it's so rare to see white cased glass cut-to-clear in drinkware. It's certainly not something that Replacements.com shows as either Royal Doulton or Webb Corbett. 

[Lustrousstone]

I didn't say your glass was made by Royal Doulton, just that the chinaware and earthernware brands now also seem to have associated glass items. None of the china manufacturers make glass; they outsource their glassware to Poland, China and many other or even multiple countries. In fact most of these tableware names are just brands these days not actual manufacturers.

Is your glass heavy for its size or does it ring when flicked with a fingernail. If so, it may be lead crystal.

[MaterialSpirit]

I am trying to decide if I think it seems extra heavy. It is not light. I just weighed it and it is 10 oz in weight or roughly 275 grams (3.5" tall and 2.75" wide tumbler). Thanks for explaining about the outsourcing. Given that info, I will guess that either Royal Doulton or Webb Corbett manufactured it.

The more I look at it, I realize the white exterior glass is opaque, not translucent, and so it might be some kind of enameled glass that was cut to clear. I have never heard of that before, but I know Minton made enameled china at some point. (I also know that white glass typically has some white enamel in it, but this might be more enamel than glass.)

[Lustrousstone]

Royal Doulton DID NOT and does not make glass. They outsource. Your glass has a layer of white glass over clear and that was how it was blown, with two layers. It was not enamelled after it was made. The white layer is too thick.

Enamel can be be applied to decorate china or glass after the initial manufacture, i.e., to the cold undecorated product and it is glass based, which is why it has to be fired to fix it. This is not what happened to your glass however.

[MaterialSpirit]

Ah... got it. Thanks much for all the detailed info. I appreciate it. I have collected some vintage American glassware, and learned a little about that, but this is expanding my understanding. I collected (and am now in the process of re-selling, years later) early Culver with the textured 22 kt gold, and that story and process I find fascinating. I sort of hate to let them go, but I have too much glassware and gold is no longer my style. And neither is white; I am now into more multi-colored cut-to-clear and also vintage clear hobnail. I think I started collecting the white years ago, just because I appreciated how unique it was, although it never really matched my china. (Oh yeah; I acquired some Moretti stemware with the white interior cased glass - uncut - and was amazed by it.) FYI, I also have another pair of white cut-to-clear tumblers, with round cut-outs -- mod 60's style it seems. They are definitely blown but have no markings or signature whatsoever, and they don't seem as heavy and substantial as the Mintons. (And their white glass is translucent, not opaque.) I am not even getting into trying to figure out their heritage; I just listed them for sale online as-is. The Mintons just captured my curiosity because of how truly unusual they seem, and the Minton name,