Oh I'll go and try and find that letter again! and attach the reference to my thread this time - I found that whilst researching the QV bowl. A good refresh. Thank you.
The Uranium glass carafes are on page 72 and 73 - They're dated c.1850 and 'Probably East Cambridge or possibly Sandwich'
Magoun being a machinist is relevant and interesting - his interest in precision and design. I always quietly marvel at the incredible technical skills of that period, and earlier obviously, but then have to remind myself that, despite it being centuries past, they were just like us in requiring precision designs for specific purposes, and also in their thought processes. So why shouldn't they be amazing? I think I marvel because it was all done with logs and books and measuring tools and no computers and yet is still so utterly precise. I'm not that old but my dad was an engineer and I remember as a small child him trying to show me how to use a slide rule calculator! It was an extension of him,always on hand, bit like an iphone now!