Notes on the Glass Galleries

 

Most museums have a small percentage of the items they have actually on show. Usually, due to the lack of display space, the majority of items are 'in storage'. The pieces on display are usually in a rotation of between a few months and a few years, so you never really get to see whole collections. A few museums have databases which are online for all to access but they are not always kept up to date and many have no images which is pointless when you are doing research.

 

I have photographed pieces from my own collection and put them online with snippets of information for all to see.
This database or online museum will allow people to reference, identify and find more information about glass they have found.

 

As can be seen from the galleries apart from a few interesting items, most of the glass is Victorian pressed from the Sowerby factory.

The descriptions may be vague but I have included pattern numbers and approximate sizes for all items. Most Sowerby pieces can be found in the pattern books on the Sowerby Archive page.

 

If you require further information on specific pieces please contact me and I will help where I can. No requests for prices please.

 

Opal and Blanc de Lait

There is some debate as to whether Sowerby white and opalescent glass are Opal or Blanc de Lait. Raymond Slack, in his book, calls the white glass 'Opal' and the opalescent glass 'Blanc de Lait'. I think that this is correct and will go with this.


Malachite

The standard Sowerby malachite colours are purple, blue and green. Page 3 of the Sowerby Pattern Book VIII 1880 mentions brown malachite, this is what Sowerby's call purple malachite. When purple malachite is photographed it does take on a brown colour. I have listed this malachite as Purple Malachite, the name by which it is now commonly known. Slack also refers to Brown when talking about purple malachite.
Under the Malachite section I have listed one piece of 'brown malachite'. This item is a small, shot glass thimble, with 'Just a Thimbleful' caption. This item has a definite 'brown' colour. I have only seen a few of them, and it is the only item I have seen in this colour.

 

Please visit the page 'Sowerby Pressed Glass Colours 1875-1885' for more information.

 

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