Jenny Thompson 1989
Pressed glass collecting is both a rewarding and a frustrating hobby. This book is one of the bibles of the pressed glass collector and I am sure we have all thanked the author for publishing this very useful and now indispensable book.
There is no discussion about the history and progression of the various glassmaking houses and this has been covered in various other books. It concentrates on the registration numbers, the dates and the pattern or design specified.
The first quarter of the book details each of the pressed glass firms and the designs they registered. There are fascinating examples of advertising posters and pages from pattern books which were used for marketing. The second quarter consists of pictures of a large range of pressed glass articles. The colour pictures are well done but the black and white pictures are of relatively poor quality.
The second half of the book is taken up with a chronological list of the glass design registrations, with the early ones from 1842 to 1883 being a copy of the handwritten records from the past. The later ones are typed out and so easier to read but with less atmosphere of time gone past.
Overall this is a very valuable book to get a copy of if you have any interest in the pressed glass of England’s Industrial Revolution.