Old Glass and How to Collect it

s and curious objects made of glass by our forefathers, and these have a special fascination for lovers of the antique. In some cases they appeal becau

handle of the bellows by which it might be suspended from a nail in the wall. It was probably employed by some ancient apothecary or alchemist to hold drugs. I sh

visible when viewed laterally and disappears on a vertical view, when the observer sees nothing but clear glass. I have seen man

tice has now been obsolete for many years. To a casual eye these ale bottles appear black, but if held up to a strong light a greenish tinge is plainly marked. They are very stout and amazingly tough, so that they may even be dropped upon the ground without fear of breaking or chipping. This, by the way, is ofte

rthy of note-knife-rests, rolling-pins, walking-sticks,

extended, and the body coloured to nature. Salt-cellars, too, were made, like the paper weights before mentioned, with sprays of flowers ins

and beads decorated (sic) with faces, names, dates, initials, etc., are oth

lifter." At first sight this bears a distinct resemblance to a tiny decanter; o

the bowl, the contents being retained in it by atmospheric pressure until the finger was removed from the top, when the contents were discharged into the consumer's glass. One would imagine that a ladle would prove equally useful and more convenient. Possibly, however, the fact

lly fine specimens. By fine I do not, of course, mean rare or exceptional pieces, but specimens of sterling merit of which the collector may be proud

e furnished a direct clue to their identity. One particularly fine specimen was used as the lid of an old glass ink-pot. Its owner readily parted with it as a thing of no value, for a few pence. But it may inter

, frog glasses, and trick glasses designed to send their contents any

bridge ale-yards, and the other trick glasses which had the knack when partially emptied of suddenly expelling the remainder of their contents with a splash into th

ntly damaged that specimens of ale-yards are very difficult to obtain. It will be noticed that in our illustration (Fig. 37) the specimen is cracked near i

o better than quote from Mr Hartshorne, an old fri

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knob' or 'knot,' the difficulty of emptying the vessel was greatly increased, because when this feat was nearly accomplish

in wayside inns of the seventeenth century,

on of a member included the drinking of a yard of port, while the freeman of

Eton is also an accomplishm

rtlock of Cambridge; but it is rare to find them undamaged, the involuntary jerk of the vi

hoose from which side he would drink, and, prompted by loyalty, vanity, or pure folly, he was almost certain to drink with the king rather than the tinker. But artfully concealed in the band

a wayside inn, the landlord brought out his tray with the glasses inverted upon it. They were filled from the bottle and emptied at once-the idea being that as the drink would have to be consumed at once,

rked, "made an echo to the voice, but were so thin that the very breath broke them." The fact is, of course, that the glass broke through the intensity of its own vibration, just as a pane of glass in a church window will sometimes break when the organ is used. The note played having the same period of vibration as the pane of glass, the latter vibrates in unison with it, and

oduce a musical note when the bowl is thrown into vibration by the finger or a violin bow. By filling such

ass is intended, but all associated with some idea, family crest, or particular superstition. There are glasses from which, though apparently full, it is impossible to drink; there are others, with tiny electric bulbs in the base, which light up on the pressure of a button, irradiating the contents with a glow of light and adding I know not what meretricious attraction to the contents. These, I n

with its ghastly fruit, and the grim legend "The last drop." Whether the maker was a humorist or

he production of freak glasses was only limited by the imagination of the time that produced them, and by its capacity for amusement, and had no relation to taste. They