The early 19th century in the United States was a time of burgeoning industry, growing cities, and rising public demand for household and luxury goods. Traditional free-blown glass was labour-intensive, and therefore, expensive. ¹ In the 1820s, the perfection of a hand-operated pressing machine, which pressed molten glass into metal moulds, allowed factories to produce better quality glass at a lower cost and in a single step.

Lacy glass is the earliest form of pressed glass tableware, produced from about 1830 to 1845. Lacy glass pieces were small (salts, furniture knobs, small bowls and cup plates), heavy, and thick and covered with tiny stippling, to hide any defects in the surface. ² Typical decorative motifs were scrolls, shells, flowers, hearts, and classical and gothic architecture.

Improvements in glass content and pressing techniques led to changes in design, size and range of glass produced. With a high lead content, flint glass was heavy, brilliant and resonant when struck. Public taste shifted from the elaborate designs of the Lacy period towards more geometric and simple forms. To satisfy growing demand, companies added more pieces to matching table settings, including compotes, pitchers, creamers, sugar bowls, and a large assortment of goblets, tumblers, and wine glasses. ³

In 1864 William Leighton of Hobbs, Brockunier and Company developed a new formula for making glass, using soda lime as a substitute for lead. ⁴ By 1870, companies had abandoned flint in favour of this formula. It was a fraction of the cost, rivalled flint in clarity, and could be pressed thinner, allowing for even larger table sets. ⁵ Over the next two decades, surging demand enabled factories to create hundreds of new pressed glass table sets in innovative and complex patterns. There was glass to suit all tastes and budgets: classical, animal, geometric, and flower patterns were produced alongside novelty forms such as shoes, toy tableware, and animal-shaped dishes. ⁶ Milk and coloured glass saw a rise in popularity, as did such decorative techniques as acid etching and engraving.

Economic and labour problems of the early 1890s closed many factories, while others joined to form the giant United States Glass Company. By the turn of the century, taste moved away from naturalistic and classical patterns towards expensive Rich Cut glass. In response, factories abandoned these patterns and focused on producing imitation Rich Cut glass. ⁷ By 1920, custard, carnival and art glass were fashionable and little interest remained in the old pressed glass of the Victorian era.
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1. Kyle Husfloen, Collector's Guide to American Pressed Glass, 1825–1915 , (Radnor, PA: Wallace-Homestead Book Company, 1992) 10.

2. Ibid ., 12.

3. Ibid ., 55.

4. Neila and Tom Bredehoft, Hobbs, Brockunier & Co., Glass: Identification and Value Guide , (Paducah, KY: Collector Books, 1997), 10.

5. Jane Shadel Spillman, American and European Pressed Glass in The Corning Museum of Glass , (Corning, N.Y: The Corning Museum of Glass, 1981), 18.

6. Kenneth M. Wilson, The Toledo Museum of Art: American Glass, 1760-1930, Vol. 1 & 2, (New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1994), 463.

7. John and Elizabeth Welker, Pressed Glass in America: Encyclopaedia of the First Hundred Years, 1825-1925, (Ivyland, PA: Antique Acres Press, 1985), 9-10.