Glass Toothpick Holder (Coal Bucket)
Credit LineGift of Millicent Giddens, London, Ontario, 1973
Object number1973.007.380
Label TextLondoner Millicent Giddens bequeathed her extensive glass collection to the museum after her passing in 1941. Since 1905, Giddens and a group of friends known as "The Antiquarians" collected curios from vintage shops around the London area. This toothpick holder is from her collection of pressed glassware. Pressed glass was first patented in 1825 by John P. Bakewell. It is formed by pressing molten glass into a mould with a plunger. It became an inexpensive way to mass-produce patterned glassware. Most pressed glass does not have a maker's mark, as North American companies often shared moulds, making it difficult to identify manufactures. Some companies developed unique patterns, which can be used to determine maker. In Canada, there were four main manufactures: Burlington Glass Works, Nova Scotia Glass Company, Jefferson Glass Company Limited, and Dominion Glass Company.
NameHolder, Toothpick
