DOI issue:
No. 58 (December, 1901)
DOI article:Bate, Percy H.: Historic English drinking glasses
DOI Page / Citation link: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.22772#0146
Historic English Drinking Glasses
21 22 23
GLASSES WITH PERSONAL INSCRIPTIONS
objects escape destruction. The sweet little
specimen figured as No. 22 was made for a grand-
father of a friend of the writer, and bears his
cypher, associated with the figure of Mercury, and
various emblems, together with the motto, “ As
we travel through life may we live well on the
road,” a silent toast that few will quarrel with.
I have left to the last the three choicest pieces
in my cabinet, for they form a fitting pendant to
the example last described. Nos. 24, 25, and 26
are very early specimens, and may possibly belong
circa 1730.
They are of
s ingularly
fine metal,
and the en-
graving is
excellent.
Each has a
motto asso-
ciated with
the emblem
in the panel;
to the repre-
sentation of
bees hover-
ing over
flowers is
a p pend ed
the line,
“ Hence we
gather our
sweets”; “ I
elevate what
I consume ”
relates to a heart tried by fire; while the
palm tree growing on a rugged rock
seems to say, “ I rise by difficulties.”
Each is what old Quarles called a moral
emblem, the sentiment of all is unim-
peachable ; but the man for whom these
glasses were made had the brain of a
subtle humorist under his periwig, for
the mottoes not only refer to the pictured
symbols, but also bear a less obvious
relation to the glass, the wine, and the
drinker. The first may be taken as the
wine-lover’s allusion to the sweets to be
imbibed from the glass; the second to
the action of raising the glass in a toast;
the third might surely be understood,
without undue straining, as referring
to the condition of the drinker after
numerous libations, and be read, “ I
rise with difficulty ! ”
One word in conclusion. This article cannot
be taken as in any way exhaustive of the interest
and charm of the historic drinking glasses of the
eighteenth century, or as in any sense a complete
resume of the subject. It simply illustrates some
of the specimens which have been acquired at
various times by the author, with a view to acting
as a pointer to would-be collectors, showing what
they may expect if they embark on the gathering
of a very fascinating group of historic relics. But
25 26
GLASSES WITH MOTTOES
III
21 22 23
GLASSES WITH PERSONAL INSCRIPTIONS
objects escape destruction. The sweet little
specimen figured as No. 22 was made for a grand-
father of a friend of the writer, and bears his
cypher, associated with the figure of Mercury, and
various emblems, together with the motto, “ As
we travel through life may we live well on the
road,” a silent toast that few will quarrel with.
I have left to the last the three choicest pieces
in my cabinet, for they form a fitting pendant to
the example last described. Nos. 24, 25, and 26
are very early specimens, and may possibly belong
circa 1730.
They are of
s ingularly
fine metal,
and the en-
graving is
excellent.
Each has a
motto asso-
ciated with
the emblem
in the panel;
to the repre-
sentation of
bees hover-
ing over
flowers is
a p pend ed
the line,
“ Hence we
gather our
sweets”; “ I
elevate what
I consume ”
relates to a heart tried by fire; while the
palm tree growing on a rugged rock
seems to say, “ I rise by difficulties.”
Each is what old Quarles called a moral
emblem, the sentiment of all is unim-
peachable ; but the man for whom these
glasses were made had the brain of a
subtle humorist under his periwig, for
the mottoes not only refer to the pictured
symbols, but also bear a less obvious
relation to the glass, the wine, and the
drinker. The first may be taken as the
wine-lover’s allusion to the sweets to be
imbibed from the glass; the second to
the action of raising the glass in a toast;
the third might surely be understood,
without undue straining, as referring
to the condition of the drinker after
numerous libations, and be read, “ I
rise with difficulty ! ”
One word in conclusion. This article cannot
be taken as in any way exhaustive of the interest
and charm of the historic drinking glasses of the
eighteenth century, or as in any sense a complete
resume of the subject. It simply illustrates some
of the specimens which have been acquired at
various times by the author, with a view to acting
as a pointer to would-be collectors, showing what
they may expect if they embark on the gathering
of a very fascinating group of historic relics. But
25 26
GLASSES WITH MOTTOES
III