Starting to Collect Sandwich Glass

Randall Decoteau

In 1826, Deming Jarves incorporated the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company, little knowing that its products would become some of the most collectible antiques of today. “Sandwich Glass” has become a household word, at least for lovers of antiques. Best known for innovative techniques in pressing glass, Sandwich produced an enormous variety of forms in a dazzling array of colors. Collectors have been in awe of the factory’s wares ever since.
Table glass of the eighteenth century was predominantly free blown. Because of its expense, glass was a luxury item available only to the gentry and merchant class. However, in the first quarter of the nineteenth century the machine age came to glass and transformed it.

Glass in the machine age
The development of machinery for making pressed glass was well known in England and on the Continent, but the process was perfected in American factories, particularly Sandwich, Massachusetts. Machine pressed glass could be made quickly and in great quantities. What had previously been a luxury item was suddenly within the reach of the average consumer, and by the early 1850s, the demand for machine made glass was enormous.
The concept for the production of pattern glass was brilliant. The consumer could purchase a single piece or an entire table service, and could be certain that every item would match perfectly because of the precise nature of the pressing process. Pattern glass is just as popular today, and can be readily found by collectors. The beginner must be warned, however, that it will take many years to collect an entire service in any pattern. Piece by piece, the collection will take shape, and the joys of assembling a set will make it all worthwhile.
Some items like goblets and compotes were formed in molds. The earliest molds were made of wood, but quickly gave way to those in brass or iron. Most were hinged in three sections. Molten glass was poured in, allowed to set, and when cool, the article was removed. The scars, seams, and rough spots on the article was polished, and the finished product was a combination of machine and handwork that was elegant, utilitarian, and exactly what the mid-nineteenth-century customer wanted.
Large pieces were made in two molds and the two pieces were joined with a small wafer of molten glass. This process was developed primarily because molten glass cools quickly, and if the mold was too large, the quality of the piece suffered. This technique became one of the trademarks of the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company.

Collecting lacy glass
Sandwich’s earliest attempts at pressing glass resulted in lacy glass. The “lacy period,” as it has come to be known, lasted from c. 1830 to the early 1840s. The most common products were cup plates, master salts, lamps and tea plates, all of which can still be easily found in today’s marketplace. The technique of producing lacy glass quickly gave way to pattern glass as early as the mid-1840s.
Both design and manufacturing techniques were at their peak during the lacy period. Backgrounds are beautifully stippled, objects are lighter in weight and thinner than later examples, and imperfections are not as apparent. Colors were more widely used, though they are quite scarce in today’s market.
Collectors should look for lacy glass in good condition. Scalloped edges should be complete, but the brittle nature of this glass often results in the loss of tiny flakes from the edges of scallops. Cup plates are plentiful, and tea plates should be easy enough to find. However, lacy goblets, compotes, sugar bowls, lamps and celery vases are less common than they were even 20 years ago. Watch for examples of lacy glass in color. Hexagonal gothic sugar bowls were produced in many colors and are sometimes seen in cobalt, amethyst or opalescent. Several tea places are frequently seen in dark amber or pale yellow, and cup plates are often found in many colors ranging from amethyst to medium blue to pale green.

Candlesticks, lamps and vases
Some of the greatest prizes for collectors of Sandwich glass are candlesticks, lamps, colognes and vases. Over the course of the factory’s years of production, its luxury glass was among the finest in the industry. Gorgeous whale oil lamps were produced in clear glass and a wide variety of colors. Later, they were made using overlays of color that were cut to reveal the layers of glass; today these are highly collectible.
Candlesticks and other items were made in two pieces that were joined by a wafer of molten glass. Collectors quickly learn to examine pieces for this phenomenon and identify it as a Sandwich trademark. This is not to say that Sandwich was the only factory using this technique. Learn to identify sockets and bases associated with the Sandwich factory and know that these can be assembled in different combinations. For example a petal socket can be found on a columnar base as well as on the more common loop base, and so forth.
It’s important to note that most Sandwich glass was produced with a very high lead content that makes pattern details sparkle. Make sure that your hollow table articles ring when tapped. Examples in color tend to be very expensive. They are much scarcer than those produced in clear. Canary color is more common than cobalt or amethyst glass, and emerald-colored pieces are even harder to find. Recognize price differentials between a clear hexagonal tulip vase and one found in amethyst.

Pattern glass for
today’s collector
The earliest pattern glass was produced in crystal glass with very high lead content, and the designs were bold and somewhat simple. These include Ashburton, Loop, Diamond Thumbprint, Sawtooth and Argus. They were at the height of their popularity in the 1850s, and they remained in fashion for more than 20 years. Most of these patterns were made in a large variety of shapes and forms that included goblets, wine glasses, celery vases, egg cups, decanters, sugar bowls, creamers, pitchers, tumblers, compotes and more. Rare forms include cruets, candlesticks, covered eggcups, carafes with tumble-up glasses, cordials and champagne flutes. Both creamers and pitchers of this period had handles that were handmade and applied. Most of these are beautiful as well as functional, and include an artful curl at the base of the handle.
As mold makers became more proficient, more intricate patterns emerged. By the mid-1850s, the ribbed patterns came into fashion. These included Ribbed Bellflower, Ivy, Palm and Inverted Fern. There was also Ribbed Grape, Acorn and Fine Rib to round out the selections available within this group. Diamond Point and New England Pineapple also come into fashion during this period and remain as popular today as they were when first produced.
The 1860s brought even more elaborate patterns such as Lincoln Drape, Lincoln Drape with Tassel, Bull’s Eye with Fleur de Lis, Cable, Cable with Ring, Horn of Plenty and Comet. Patterns of this period continued to be produced in lead glass and are bright and shiny with a lot of depth and strong detail. Most of these patterns are more difficult to find and can tend to be more expensive than the earliest patterns. They represent some of the best designs that Sandwich ever produced.
The great majority of pattern glass was produced in clear glass, though some examples can be found in color. Colored examples tend to be expensive, but are interesting to advanced collectors. Some categories, however, like whiskey tasters (shot glasses) are more common in color.
When beginning to collect Sandwich glass, as with anything else, it is important to do your homework before you spend any money. If you have the true collecting spirit, the homework will be as interesting as the glass itself.

Photographs courtesy of the Sandwich Glass Museum except where noted.