Commemorative Pieces
Pressed glass was a great way of producing cheap commemorative items for important people (such as Greener's Gladstone for the Million range) or royal events (Queen Victoria's Jubilee). This glass was not only sold in the UK, but throughout the Empire and even Europe.
Moulds were initially made using postage stamps as a guide, with Davidson making moulds for King George V and Queen Mary, Edward VIII, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II. Davidson also created a beaker in flint and amber of Tsar Nicholas II although these were discontinued after the assassination of the royal family. There are also sought after items commemorating the coronation of King Edward VIII which never happened.
George the Sixth Coronation plate,
Bagley 1937
Queen's
Jubilee Oval plate and butter dish, possibly Davidson
Prince and Princess of Wales' Silver
Wedding plate 1863 - 1888 with a spelling mistake (Wales's) rubbed out. With
lion registration mark and registration number 91449 - 11th January 1888
Basket and plate commemorating George the
Sixth Coronation in 1937
Throughout the 1870's to 1880's Greener made the majority commemorative items, with the extensive Gladstone for the Million suite being the most popular. This was commemorating the landslide victory of Gladstone as Prime Minister under Queen Victoria. Gladstone changed the role of government in England. The phrase "for the million" refers to the 1867 (Second) Reform Act which meant that 1 in 3 male adults were now entitled to a vote, increasing the electorate to 1.12million.
Greener also made items in memoriam of George Peabody, a wealthy American philanthropist (Rd No. 236921) and other worthy people.
Gladstone for the Million plate with registration lozenge 31 July 1869
Mistakes, especially with wording, are common on commemorative items, this was not surprising as many of the workers had a very limited education . In Greener's Gladstone for the Million suite, there are two different designs of jugs, with one that is back to front with mirror image writing, like the one on the left, where the mould maker made the mould inside out.
Prince and Princess of Wales' Silver Wedding plate with registration number 91449 - 11 January 1888
Greener was also responsible for another glaring mistake in their commemorative ware. In their 1888 plate for the Sliver Wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales, the mould maker put an extra s making it "Wales's". The mistake was soon discovered and rectified, but unfortunately the correction was done in such a haphazard way that the S can still be seen as a scratchy shadow on the corrected plates.
Sowerby made commemorative glass, although the range consisted of tumblers engraved with dates and inscriptions surrounded by foliage. One of the ways that their items differ from the other manufacturers is that they used gilding on the portraits. They also recycled their moulds using the one for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887 for King George VI's Coronation in 1937 and Queen Elizabeth's Coronation in 1953!
With the growing popularity of photography Davidson developed a way of creating photographic souvenir with a photo on the back of the glass. This was not only used with flint glass in the form of plates, paperweights, and ashtrays, but also with the Pearline glass, which created an eerie blue or yellow shadow on the photo.
As well as souvenir ware, there were also figures and busts of popular people like the reformist Gladstone and royalty. Abroad, busts can be found of Lenin, Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler.
In the 1920's Egyptology captured the imagination of the nation, with both Molineaux and Webb and John Derbyshire producing matt black sphinxes which looked very much like Wedgwood porcelain. Between 1922 and 1923, Davidson produced the Tutankhamun bulb bowl made in matt black as seen below and jade decorated with a lion and sphinx to commemorate the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb.
The Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977, was a last ditch attempt for the pressed glass manufacturers to try and re-capture the market with their products. Unfortunately this was not successful and was the last time this commemorative ware was made.
FAQ -What
is Pressed Glass
Colours
Registration
Marks
Manufacturers
Sowerby
Davidson
Greener
Molineaux&Webb
Derbyshire
Bagley
Minor Players
What
was it used for?
Tableware
Flowers
Commemorative