Here’s my 5 minute or less look at a pressed glass Davidson sugar and cream jug from the North-East of England in jet glass.
This pattern is number 126 in the Davidson catalogue of about 1885 so although it is unmarked we can attribute it to this glassworks.
The pattern was a popular one and is found on a large number of articles from this time. It consists of patriotic symbols of the United Kingdom: the rose of England, the ostrich feathers of the Prince of Wales and the thistles of Scotland. Whether the Kingdom will stay United is not yet clear this 9th September 2014.
The colour is a deep black jet glass, named after the gemstone found commonly in the North-East of England. The moulding is crisp, especially on the jug which feels sharp in places.
This Davidson sugar and cream would have been affordable for many people in later Victorian times who would have been unable to afford any glass objects in the first half of the 19th Century. The coming of machine pressed glass allowed a man to make many hundreds of the same item every day which dramatically reduced the costs to the customers.
Three major glasshouses dominated production in the north-east of England and the north-east dominated production in the whole of the UK. Products of all these glass manufacturers are avidly collected today – George Davidson, Henry Greener and John Sowerby.
Pressed glass manufacturers produced a large range of ordinary items such as lamps for gas lights and light covers for trains. They also made normal day to day domestic objects and in some cases more artistic pieces.
A very large number of people were able to buy useful and in some cases beautiful domestic wares such as this Davidson sugar and cream.
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