Glass Myths

 
The place to debunk myths about glass!

I've been a glass collector for many years and have heard some amazingly creative stories about glass during that time. These I've nicknamed "glass myths", and whilst chatting with other glass collectors I found that they too had heard similar claims.

I thought it would be an idea to have a place where we could debunk some of these odd stories and try and set the record straight.

If you have heard a glass myth which I don't have noted on the list please drop me a line about it and I'll add it. Do also please say if you want it adding anonymously or crediting to you, and if so under what name.

Meanwhile, please browse and enjoy the Glass Myths!

 
Myths List

"All glass with a polished pontil is Whitefriars"

No it isn't! A polished pontil mark is the sign that an item was blown using a pontil rod and then the base has been finished off cleanly and polished to a neat finish. It is not an indicator of any one maker, as many glassmakers around the world make glass with pontil marks.

"Straw marks are marks which were produced in glass when it was allowed to cool on top of straw."

Nope, this isn't true either. I suspect that hot glass on straw would set it alight! The real reason for straw marks on glass is a temperature differential. I'll point you towards a well-written piece by Dave Peterson about how they really happen: http://www.patternglass.com/School/Lessons/Straw.htm

"All glass is marked by the maker"

Oh how I, and many other collectors, wish this were true as it would answer so many questions about glass we cannot identify!  Even glassmakers who "normally" mark their glass sometimes let unmarked pieces slip through, perhaps as an error, or more likely because the buyer doesn't want them marked. If you think about the purchasing power of the big retailers, if they want unmarked glass so they can rebadge it with their own identity then that's what the glassmaker will supply. They would be financially foolish not to! 

"A ground base dates a piece to the 1930s"

Nope, this isn't true either. Ground bases can be found on many glass items, but so can polished bases, bases with pontil scars, and so on.  There are no hard and fast rules that all glassworks follow about how there bases are finished. It will depend on the thickness of the glass, the value of the item, the time it takes to finish a base in a certain way etc.  The Glass Message Board has a short topic about this here: https://www.glassmessages.com/index.php?topic=26136.0