April, 1 9 13 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



i35 



a glass of gin, ac- 

 companied by some 

 light cake. 



A beautiful goblet 

 made about this time 

 had the name of a 

 good old E n gl i s h 

 sportsman, Tom 

 Shorter, inscribed 

 upon it. There was 

 also a pictured rep- 

 resentation of him, 

 with horse and 

 hounds, chasing the 

 red deer across the 

 hills. A great deal of 

 fine old English 

 glass, more especial- English glass goblets with ballister stems, 



ly liquer cases, are to be seen 

 in the Atkinson Collection in 

 Salem, Mass. One of these 

 is filled with large square 

 bottles, decorated in gilt, the 

 top of the case showing ex- 

 quisitely cut wine glasses and 

 a glass tray. Wine glasses 

 in the possession of Mrs. 

 William West, also of Salem, 

 are not only handsome but 

 interesting. They originally 

 formed part of a set that 

 was in the possession of 

 Nathaniel West, one of 

 Salem's noted merchants 

 at the time when this 

 historic city was at her 

 height of commercial 

 prosperity. 



Going back to the six- 

 teenth and seventeenth 

 centuries, we find Eng- 

 lish and Elizabethan 

 glasses, one of which, 

 preserved in its leather 

 case, is in the Royal col- 

 lection kept at Windsor 

 Castle. 



There are very few of 

 these examples extant, 



English glasses. Part of a set owned by Mrs. William D. Northend 



although the gentle- 

 men glass makers 

 who set up their 

 houses at that period, 

 employing Venetian 

 workmen, brought 

 out the Royal Oak 

 glass, a square- 

 shaped goblet elab- 

 orately decorated 

 with a diamond point 

 on the bowl. The 

 decorations of these 

 glasses show Charles 

 II. and his Queen, an 

 oak tree which bore a 

 medallion of the kind, 

 Collection of Mrs. William West a scroll on which was 



inscribed "The Royal Oak," 

 and also the time of its 

 make, 1663. Differing from 

 the metal of today, this was 

 a pale greenish brown in 

 color, very thin and delicate, 

 and devoid of brilliancy. 



Very peculiar glass mak- 

 ing ideas were carried out in 

 blown glass, which was 

 shaped very elaborately into 

 ships with widespread sails — 

 floral designs, and many 

 other decorations which 

 were worn by ladies of 

 quality on their heads. 

 These were of course ex- 

 pensive and were consid- 

 dered exceedingly fash- 

 ionable, the combination 

 of powdered hair and 

 glass head-dress being 

 very effective. 



The glasses of that 

 period could well be di- 

 vided into five groups 

 and might be supple- 

 mented by two main 

 groups, including the 

 finer and the coarser ex- 

 amples. The latter were 



Dutch glass tumbler and decanter with Tulip design, and tumbler of English glass 



