Amber Glass Toothpick Holder (Bird Basket)
Dimensions6.5 × 4.9 × 8 cm (2 9/16 × 1 15/16 × 3 1/8 in.)
Credit LineGift of Millicent Giddens, London, Ontario, 1973
Object number1973.007.377
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. Pressed glass also comes in a variety of colours, made by adding iron, copper, and gold oxides to molten glass. The variations of colours available make glassware popular for collectors.
NameHolder, Toothpick
