Reproduction of the Month

All items featured on this page are reproductions of various designs made by the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company during their early years of production c. 1825-1840 using a glass press. In this process, molten glass is placed in a mold, and on pulling a lever a plunger forced the glass to the edges of the mold, rapidly producing nearly identical glassware in a fraction of the time required to produce similar items using traditional glassblowing techniques. Hand presses existed for small items such as chandelier lusters, and a furniture knob glass press was patented in 1825. Despite a glass pressing patent being awarded to Deming Jarves on December 1st, 1828, the designs produced at the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company were widely copied by competitors.  

 

  • January

    The Oak Leaf and Acorn motif on this Cup Plate was very popular with glassmakers in the 1800s. The Boston & Sandwich Glass Company even named one of its freight vessels,The Acorn, after this motif.

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  • February

    The Heart Diamond Cup Plate has a stylized heart and diamond border with a pin-wheel design in the center.

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  • March

    Diamond Quilted Sunburst Cup and Pitcher feature a central design consisting of alternating sunburst and a diamond quilted design with vertical ribbing.

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  • April

    April is our Groundbreaking Reenactment! The Sloop Polly Cup Plate features The Polly, the glass factory's first freight sloop.

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  • May

    In honor of the 1 year anniversary of the re-opening of the Sandwich boardwalk, May's featured historical reproduction is the "The Beach Walk" cup plate.

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  • June

    June is Sea Fair! This hexagonal base dolphin is a reproduction of the dolphin candlestick design made by the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company, c. 1855-1870.

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  • July

    The Glass Gathering is in July! Celery vases were popular from the 1830s to the early 1900s, as celery was a luxury food and a status symbol in the Victorian era.

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  • August

    The Steamer Acorn Cup Plate features the steamship Acorn, which carried the B&SG company freight in the mid to late 1850s. 

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  • September

    Ribbed Cruet and Pitcher are reproductions of the Ribbed design made by the B&SG Company c. 1825-1840. Simple vertical ribs enhance the beauty of this elegant piece.

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  • October

    October is spooky season, so the historical reproduction of the month is the Witch Ball, used for centuries on Cape Cod to keep evil spirits away.

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  • November

    The Compote Square Base. Blown or pressed glass compotes provided a culinary presentation method suitable to 19th-century middle-class households.

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  • December

    The Leaf and Scroll Cup Plate features four oak leaves arranged around a central floral emblem, with ornate scrollwork around the rim.

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McDermott Studios

All our reproduction glassware is made by David McDermott here in Sandwich at McDermott Studio, using a glass press very much like the ones used in the 1800s by the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company.