The rummer is a characteristic Old English public-house glass, and is of various types. It was, of course, as the name implies, used for making punch. Among the types are the ogee-shaped bowls—either plain or pressed—barrel-shaped bowls, and trumpet-shaped bowls. All have short, thick stems, often with a collar, sometimes baluster-shaped. The base is strong and generally flat. Some specimens have heavy, square bases, evidently designed to secure their stability.
Cut Glass.—The introduction of the so-called flint glass—which was, in effect, glass containing a greater quantity of lead than had previously been used—created something of a revolution in the art of English glass manufacture. M. Peligot, a leading French authority, remarks: “To the English should really be attributed the honour of having created, in their flint glass, a new product which by the quality and selection of the materials used in its fabrication has become without doubt the most beautiful glassy substance which we know and which, in my opinion, it may be possible to produce.” But in addition to the beauty of the metal was the fact that it had a greater refractive and dispersive action on
ENGLISH “RUMMER” AND DRINKING GLASSES. 18th CENTURY.
A BALLUSTER STEM GLASS SHEWING A COIN BLOWN IN THE STEM.
EARLY ENGLISH BALLUSTER STEM GLASS.
FIG. 13.