OLD ENGLISH GLASS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19676, 30 June 1927, Page 5

OLD ENGLISH GLASS.

"There is a great demand for old ale glasses to use as flower vases, said a dealer in England, who is an expert in old glass. " Here is a complete set of a dozen, which is unusual," and he pointed out a group of the slender, taperinr glasses, that, filled vitb. roses, were ranged on a long narrow dining-table. Another old piece that is being sold for flowers was a charming old punch goblet. " Then the old syllabub glasses, or, as soma people call them, jelly glasses, are used for the small spring flowers. They date from about 1780 to 1815, and this' is a very early set and rare with their curved-over rims." The old Georgian goblets and old sugar basins out of the tea caddies are also delightful for flowers and are much sought after, as well as the two-lipped finger glasses known to Americans as " rinsers." The latter are so wide that they need a glass block to support the flowers. The cut-glass preserve jars on stems, that, filled with home-made preserves, graced the tables of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers, are also requisitioned as receptacles for shortstemmed roses. And some people are buving the cut-glass water bottles with narrow necks and having theru cut down to make small bowls, an act of vandalism that almost brings tears to the eyes of the genuine lover of old glass,, though one which is excusable where thr neck is badly broken. If only the lip is chipped this can easily be remedied by having it ground down all round to make it level. ~ln fact, many people do not know that old glass can be mended. A lovely old ale glass that had been broken off at the foot was very strongly and almost invisibly mended with a little metal plate underneath.