Images(3)

Pitcher

Date1825-1835

Maker Boston and Sandwich Glass Company (1825 - 1888)

OriginAmerica, Massachusetts, Sandwich

MediumLeaded Glass

DimensionsOH: 7" OW: 4 7/8" (body); 6 7/8" (handle to spout)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, Albert and Fran Skutans in memory of their son, Stephen A. Skutans

Object number2015-203

DescriptionPitcher: Colorless, mold-blown glass pitcher. The body of the pitcher was formed using three molds. There are two convex bands at the middle of the body. Above and below the bands, the glass surface is decorated with a pattern of arches and fern leaves. The base of the pitcher has a rayed design. The pulled handle is ribbed and the lower terminal attaches with a scroll decoration.

"GIN" in panel at one side; handle applied over "GIN".
Label TextBy the 1820s American glass manufacturers were beginning to play a larger role in producing fashionable, high-quality table ware. Technology, such as the three-part mold that this pitcher was blown into creating both its pattern and shape, mimicked English and Irish cut glass patterns, but did so more easily and less expensively.

The Boston and Sandwich Glass Company was founded in 1825 as part of this growing industry. Deming Jarves, principal founder and manager, chose the location of Sandwich on the north side of Cape Cod because of its proximity to a shallow harbor and the possibility easy shipment of his product. Jarves seems to have been successful in the distribution of glass outside of Massachusetts because this pitcher matches fragments of a Boston and Sandwich Glass Company pitcher that were recovered from Poplar Forrest, a plantation just west of Lynchburg, Virginia, which was once owned by Thomas Jefferson.

InscribedNo
MarkingsNo