Glass in America

The Warner House is closed for the 2020 season because of the pandemic but we have new things to show you -- outdoors!

For centuries, the highly malleable nature of glass has lent itself to an endless variety of shapes and decoration to delight the eye. Drawn from regional private and museum collections, this exhibition of glass focuses on the 18 th century through the first half of the 19th century. During the 17th and 18th centuries English glassmakers perfected a lead glass formula that resulted in a clarity and brilliance in glass never before achieved. British wine/utility bottles, decanters, and drinking glasses will be chronologically grouped to demonstrate their development from the late 17th century to 1800. Samples of American glass from 1750 to 1850 include examples from New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Ohio—the latter demonstrating an array of subtle coloring and brilliance. Architectural window glass, domestic mirrors, and reverse painted glass will also be featured.

Introduction

As part of the museum’s public outreach during the summer of 2020, every week a new exhibition panel was placed on the public side of the museum’s Daniel Street fence. Twenty- three panels were created to provide Portsmouth residents and visitors with an ongoing public exhibition. Support for this project was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities and New Hampshire Humanities. The table of contents provides a title to each panel, which also serves as a link to that panel.

Glass in America

Introduction

Table of Contents