Definitions of:   overlay - overshot glass - oxblood glass - Peachblow glass

GLOSSARY OF GLASS TERMS

Ov - Pe

A - B       Ca - Cz       D - E        F - L       M - Op      Pi - Pz      Q - R       Sa - Ste      Str - Z

Glossary Table of Contents

   

The purpose of this guide is to help buyers understand terms
commonly used by E-Bay sellers to describe old American glass (1850-1925).
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Many thanks to all the E-Bayers who
have contributed photos to this glossary!

The mouth of a cased glass vase:
the vase is also an example of overlay.

Overlay:  this term describes a glass-making technique.  The Corning Museum of Glass defines "overlay" as "a layer of glass that covers a layer of a different color, often as the result of casing or flashing".   The term "overlay" is sometimes used in a narrower sense, as a synonym for "casing".  The cased-glass vase shown above is pink glass with a white overlay.  The outer white layer or casing was made by blowing a gather of white glass, knocking off one end, and opening the piece to form a cup-like shell; the shell was then placed in a metal mould and a second  pink gather of glass was glown into it.  The combined piece was then taken from the mold and reheated so that the two inner layers fused together.   (Compare definitions of "cased glass" and "flashing" in this this glossary.)

    

An overshot vase made by Dugan Glass Co., circa 1905,
with details of the vase's surface texture.

photos courtesy of skidstuff

Overshot:  This term describes a glass-making technique.   Overshot is a kind of finish applied to the surface of a glass piece.  While still hot, a partially or fully inflated gob (or "gather") of blown glass is rolled over broken glass shards on a "marver" -- a flat surface made of steel or marble.  The glass gob is then reheated so that the sharp edges of the shards melt and the shards meld with the glass surface, resulting in a surface texture that looks like broken ice.  Overshot glass is similar in appearance to crackle glass.  The two forms of glass, however, are distinct, and made by different methods:  unlike overshot, crackle glass is made by dipping hot glass in water; the sudden temperature change causes the glass to crack.  Overshot glass was popular in England and the United States from the 1860's through the 1920's.  During this period in America, the glass was made by such companies as Boston & Sandwich, Dugan Glass, Reading Artistic Glass Works and Hobbs, Brockunier.  As the story goes, Boston & Sandwich first developed overshot techniques as a way of hiding defects in glass pieces.  The process, however, eventually developed into a refined decorative method in American glassmaking.  According to Stan & Arlene Weitman, authors of an article on overshot glass published in the April/May, 2001 Glass Collector's Digest, very little early American overshot glass has survived; most pieces were made in utilitarian shapes such as vases, decanters, cruets, bowls, pitchers, lights and lamps.  Dugan's overshot pieces like that shown here are thus a wonderful find.  According to Carl O. Burns, author of Dugan & Diamond Carnival Glass 1909-1931,  p. 13, Dugan experimented in 1904-1905 with rolling molten glass in "frit" (finely crushed or powdered glass); reheating the glass produced a delicate surface silver/gold iridescence.  The vase shown above can be found in William Heacock's  Dugan/Diamond: The Story of Indiana, Pennsylvania, Glass (1993), pp. 51, 82; it first appeared in 1906 Butler Brothers and Sommers & Co. wholesale catalog pages.  The vase is an extraordinary example of overshot glass, because the piece has such a remarkable and complex surface texture.  According to Heacock (p. 52), this effect resulted from using glass shards or grit of different sizes and colors, and from adding innovative steps to the overshot process:  after the glass gather was rolled in light-blue frit, the glassmaker blew the gather into a spot mold that imprinted vertical ribs on the surface; next, the gather was removed form the spot mold and rolled in amber frit that adhered to the vertical ribs; the glass was then blown into its final shape in another mold.  The ribs imparted an interior optic effect to the final shape.  Such overshot vases appeared in Dugan's "Venetian," "Japanese" and "Pompeian" lines.  The 1905 Sommers catalog heralded the vases as "exquisite Tiffany pattern glass," and Butler Brothers catalogs praised them as "Domestic glass, exact reproductions of the expensive imported vases".  Heacock notes that the vases "may represent the Dugan firm's desire to imitate the art glass being imported from such firms as Webb and Loetz as well as the wares being made in the United States by Tiffany and Carder" (p. 52).  If you would like to view additional photographs of Dugan's early glass, we recommend the website of the renown carnival glass authority, David Doty (ddoty.com/duganartglass.html).  If you would like to learn more about overshot glass generally, we recommend the website of The Glass Museum of New Zealand (glass.co.nz/overshot.htm). 

   

A Victorian art glass Jack-in-the-pulpit vase,
with deep red oxblood coloring that shades to black.

photo by papabearantiques

Oxblood:  a color of glass.  "Oxblood" is defined by Websters and The American Heritage Dictionary as "reddish brown," and as "a dark or deep red to medium reddish brown".  "Oxblood" is familiar to most of us as a term applied to reddish brown shoe leather, and the color is used in many other contexts as well --  "oxblood" porcelain is dark red to brick red; "oxblood" coral used in jewelry is a brownish carnelian red;  and in the world of marble collectors, the term has a very specific meaning denoting an opaque brick red.  In the world of glassware, "oxblood" can be used interchangeably with "pigeon blood," to convey that a piece is a brilliant red with a brownish tint.  The term "oxblood" is seen most commonly in descriptions of Victorian blown art glass like that shown above --  in which white glass or cased canary glass is edged with a deep red that shades to brown or black.  Such pieces, often in the Jack-in-the-pulpit shape, were made in the 1880's and 1890's in England, and in America by such companies as Boston & Sandwich.  "Oxblood" also has a second meaning when applied to glass.  As noted by Carl O. Burns in Dugan & Diamond Carnival Glass 1909-1931, p. 16, carnival glass collectors use the term to describe Dugan glass that is "an exceptionally deep purple with a strong red tone".  Dugan issued this color, shown below, in its effort to produce the shade otherwise known in the carnival glass world as "black amethyst," which is ordinarily described as a deep and nearly opaque purple.  Dugan's oxblood-colored glass is found in such carnival patterns as Wreathed Cherry, Heavy Iris, Three Fruits and Many Fruits.  Compare "pigeon blood" in this glossary.

A carnival glass Three Fruits plate in Dugan's oxblood shade:
Dugan's oxblood is a deep purple with a strong red tone.

photo courtesy of a_great_piece_of_glass

Peachblow:  a variety of Victorian glassware, also spelled "Peach Blow".  Peachblow is a type of Victorian art glass intended to resemble the peach-bloom glaze on the famous 15th Century Chinese Morgan Vase, which caused a stir upon the vase's arrival in Victorian England.  Generally, Peachblow glass is opaque and characterized by gentle shading from pink or red to a lighter color.  Much of the literature on American Peachblow is dedicated to hairsplitting discussions of what is and is not Peachblow.  An Illustrated Dictionary of Glass defines the term "Peachblow" as including at least three kinds of Victorian glass first made in 1886 by three glassworks:  (1) Mt Washington;  (2) New England Glass;  (3) and Hobbs, Brockunier.  These are described in the glossary entries below.   Special Note:  Please note that listings that appear advertised in the right-hand margin of this glossary under the heading "Items from E-Bay Sellers" are posted automatically by E-Bay, are not necessarily endorsed by this glossary and may or may not offer genuine Peachblow.

A rare decorated Mt. Washington Peachblow vase.
featured in Kenneth M. Wilson's volume on Mt. Washington Glass

          (1) Mt. Washington Peachblow:   According to An Illustrated Dictionary of Glass, Mt. Washington Glass of Bedford, Massachusetts obtained a patent for Peachblow in 1886, and issued the glass from 1886 to 1888.  Mt. Washington Peachblow shaded from rose-pink at the top to a very pale blue at the bottom.  Peachblow is a heat sensitive-glass:  its pink coloration was achieved by adding gold chloride to the glass when it was in molten form; the glass was allowed to cool, and upon reheating, the gold chloride content caused it to turn pink.  Mt Washington produced its Peachblow's pale blue by adding cobalt and copper oxide to the glass formula.  Mt. Washington Peachblow pieces are made of solid glass; the company did not use cased glass in Peachblow, and thus buyers should assume that any Peachblow with a cased lining sold as Mt. Washington glass has been mislabeled.  Mt. Washington Peachblow was sometimes decorated, as shown in the above photograph.  The company issued Peachblow in both matte and shiny finishes in such shapes as rose bowls, toothpick holders, vases, creamers, salt and pepper shakers and cups and saucers.  Nevertheless, William Marcoux notes in an April 2005 article on Mt Washington glass that the company's Peachblow was a commercial failure and its production short lived; thus, today, "Mount Washington Peachblow is the rarest of all heat sensitive glass."  It is very hard to find and can be quite pricey.  Buyers should be aware that much glassware offered on E-Bay as "Mt. Washington Peachblow" is misidentified Victorian British glass, or contemporary American, Italian or Bohemian glass imitative of original Peachblow.  Burmese glass:  Mt. Washington's Burmese Glass, which shades from pink to pale yellow, is sometimes confused with the company's Peachblow.  Burmese, however, is easily distinguished by its yellow shading which, unlike Peachblow's pale blue, fluoresces under a black light.  To compare the two kinds of glass, see "Burmese glass" in this glossary.  Recommended Resources:  If you're interested in learning more about Mt. Washington Peachblow, we recommend Marcoux's article, "Mt. Washington Glass,"  which can be found on line in The Journal of Antiques and Collectibles (journalofantiques.com/Apr05/featureapr05.htm).  An excellent reference on Mt. Washington Peachblow (and Burmese) glass is Kenneth M. Wilson's phenomenal and voluminous work, Mt. Washington and Pairpoint Glass, shown above (published by Antique Collectors Club, 2005); Wilson is a former curator at the Corning Museum of Glass and an exhaustive researcher of glass history.  The rare decorated Peachblow vase featured on the cover of his book (shown above) can be found at the website of the Corning Museum of Glass (cmog.org/index.asp?pageId=635). 

A New England Peachblow or "Wild Rose" bowl
photo courtesy of *treasurehunter*

          (2) New England Peachblow or "Wild Rose":   An Illustrated Dictionary of Glass relates that John Locke created a formula for a second kind of Peachblow, which was patented by Edward Libbey in 1886.  New England Glass, while located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, produced this Peachblow from 1886 to 1888 in shapes such as vases, bowls, pitchers, finger bowls and whimseys.  New England's Peachblow was made in matte and shiny finishes, with glass that shaded from deep rose at the rim to opaque cream at the bottom (shown above).  Mount Washington sued New England, and New England thereafter was forced to drop the name "Peachblow" and use "Wild Rose" instead.  Nevertheless, over time, the name "New England Peachblow" stuck.  Like Mt. Washington, New England did not use cased glass in its Peachblow.  Buyers should assume that any cased glass sold as New England Glass Peachblow has been misdentified.   Libbey souvenir glass.  Libbey leased the New England Glass Company in 1878.  Notwithstanding its lawsuit against New England glass, Mt. Washington contracted with Libbey in 1893 to use New England Glass's Wild Rose formula to produce an inexpensive Libbey souvenir line of glassware for the Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893.  According to William Marcoux, such glass shades from white to pink, like original Wild Rose; is usually ribbed; and often bears enameled flowers or enameled verses or inscriptions such as "World's Fair 1893".  Although similar in appearance to New England's original Wild Rose, this souvenir ware was less refined and can be distinguished by its open (rough) pontils.  See "pontil" in this glossary.  Photographs of original Wild Rose and of Libbey souvenir glass can be found at the Peachblow page (written by author Johanna S. Billings) of The New Zealand Museum of Glass (glass.co.nz/peachblow.htm).   
 

A "Wheeling Peachblow"  mustard pot from Hobbs, Brockunier
photo courtesy of hotinphoenixaz

         (3) Wheeling Peachblow:   An Illustrated Dictionary of Glass describes a third kind of Peachblow, also known as "Wheeling Peachblow," which was produced by Hobbs, Brockunier, of Wheeling, West Virginia beginning in 1886.  Hobbs' Peachblow shaded from deep brick red at the top to golden yellow at the bottom  (shown above).  Made with silky, matte and glossy finishes, all Wheeling Peachblow pieces had a cased-glass creamy-white lining.  Wheeling Peachblow was originally marketed under the name "Coral," although glass dealers referred to it as Peachblow.  Hobbs issued its Peachblow in a variety of shapes, such as tumblers, pitchers, mustard pots, cruets and vases.  If you're seeking further information on Wheeling Peachblow, a good reference is Hobbs, Brockunier & Co. Glass:  Identification and Value Guide, by Neila and Tom Bredehoft.

Muranese ware, also known as "New Martinsville Peachblow"
photo by *treasurehunter*

       Other glass sometimes called "Peachblow":   Boston & Sandwich Peachblow:  Both The Illustrated Dictionary of Glass and John Shuman's The Collector's Encyclopedia of American Art Glass note that Boston & Sandwich Glass of Cape Cod issued Peachblow glassware made through a heat-sensitive process that produced pink coloring; such glassware had delicate pink shading, was uncased, was often made in a molded swirl pattern and sometimes bore a handle resembling a thorny branch.  Although not originally marketed as "Peachblow," the glassware's coloring has earned it this name among collectors. Glass authorities disagree over whether such ware should be deemed true original Peachblow.  Little reliable information is available on the date of manufacture of Sandwich's shaded pink glass, but it would have been issued no later than 1888, the year the company closed.  New Martinsville Peachblow:   Shuman also notes that beginning in 1902, the New Martinsville glass company of West Virginia issued a line it called "Muranese," which is now sometimes called "New Martinsville Peachblow."  Shown above, Muranese is uncased glass, comes in a variety of orangish to pink shades and sometimes features iridescent finishes. Its nickname aside, Muranese looks very different from and is not easily confused with original Victorian Peachblow made by Hobbs, New England and Mount Washington.  Most Peachblow authorities concur that New Martinsville 20th-century Muranese ware is not true Peachblow.  English Victorian Glass:  English glassware similar to Peachblow was made in the late 19th Century by Stevens & Williams (who called their glass "Peach Bloom") and Thomas Webb (who called theirs "Peach Glass").   According to An Illustrated Dictionary of Glass, both of these English firms produced cased glass that shaded "from pink up to deep red," and which appeared in satin and glossy finishes and occasionally had gold decoration.  Contemporary Peachblow:  Shuman notes that in the 1950's, Gundersen, a successor to Mount Washington, issued a line of Peachblow glass; such glass somewhat resembles Mt. Washington Peachblow, although the Gundersen pieces tend to be thicker and heavier.  Margaret & Kenn Whitmyers' Fenton Art Glass Patterns 1939-1980 records that Fenton Art Glass produced a line of pink-and-white cased glass marketed as "Peachblow" in 1939, and as "Peach Blo" from 1952 to 1956.  Fenton also isssued a 's "Blue Burmese" line from 1983-1985 that shaded from pink to pale blue like Mt. Washington Peachblow; Blue Burmese is featured in Mark Moran's Warman's Fenton Glass.  In the latter half of the 20th Century, glass resembling Peachblow also was produced by such companies as Gibson and L.G. Wright.  In addition, contemporary imitations of Peachblow have been made in Italy and Bohemia.  Such imitations tend to have rough or partially ground rather than smooth pontils.   (See "pontil" in this glossary).  For information on distinguishing Victorian from contemporary Peachblow, we recommend the Peachblow page (written by author Johanna S. Billings) of The New Zealand Museum of Glass (glass.co.nz/peachblow.htm). 

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Many thanks to E-Bayers  a_great_piece_of_glass,  hotinphoenixaz,  papabearantiques,  skidstuff  and  *treasurehunter* for generously contributing their expertise and photographs to this page of the glossary.  Rights to all photos belong to the photographers, and pictures should not be used without their permission.  Text is (c) 2007 curculiosglass, all rights reserved.  To locate any E-Bay seller mentioned here,  just click on "Site Map" at the bottom of your E-Bay screen, and then click on "Feedback Forum" at the right top corner of the large menu that pops up.  Type or copy the seller's name into the Feedback Forum's search blank.  

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