TYPES OF GLASSWARE:
Glassware can be blown, mold blown, cut, or pressed. The methods used to make these types will give you an appreciation of the materials, methods and equipment necessary to provide you with the beautiful piece of glassware you have collected. It is amazing how our ancestors could take a mixture of sand (silica), and alkalis (potash and carbonate of soda or lime), subject it to extreme heat to create a glass metal using near primative methods and then through talent and harwork to produce beautiful and lasting glassware to adorn our homes and tables.
BLOWN GLASSWARE:
Blown glassware is the oldest form of glassware and dates back almost to the beginning of time. The process required a number of skilled workers to complete the process. This type of glassware required the highest level of talent, artistry, and skill. The glass was free blown, formed by forcing air through a blow pipe into molten glass which was shaped by manual techniques without the use of molds.
MOLD BLOWN GLASSWARE 1815-1830s:
This type of glassware was the U.S. answer to low-cost imitation English cut glass. This was also known as three-mold glass. Itsd popularity lasted until the 1830s. This glass was either partially or entirely blown within a mold.
PRESSED GLASS:
Both the form and the pattern are achieved by pressing molten globs of glass in a mold by a plunger. The art in this glass was largely related to the making of the pressing molds. Glass pressing made mass production possible in any glass factory.
Pressed-Cut GLASS:
This type of glass was not actually cut in the glass. It involved a master pattern cut in the mold. This type of glass flooded the market and the fine cut glass market after 1910 was no longer fashionable.
BLOWN GLASSWARE:
Blown glassware is the oldest form of glassware and dates back almost to the beginning of time. The process required a number of skilled workers to complete the process. This type of glassware required the highest level of talent, artistry, and skill. The glass was free blown, formed by forcing air through a blow pipe into molten glass which was shaped by manual techniques without the use of molds.
MOLD BLOWN GLASSWARE 1815-1830s:
This type of glassware was the U.S. answer to low-cost imitation English cut glass. This was also known as three-mold glass. Itsd popularity lasted until the 1830s. This glass was either partially or entirely blown within a mold.
PRESSED GLASS:
Both the form and the pattern are achieved by pressing molten globs of glass in a mold by a plunger. The art in this glass was largely related to the making of the pressing molds. Glass pressing made mass production possible in any glass factory.
Pressed-Cut GLASS:
This type of glass was not actually cut in the glass. It involved a master pattern cut in the mold. This type of glass flooded the market and the fine cut glass market after 1910 was no longer fashionable.