Heavy Metal: The Arrival of English Lead Glass in the Chesapeake

Author(s): Esther Rimer

Year: 2013

Summary

Almost immediately after the perfection of English lead glass in 1676, lead glass appeared on the tables of British colonists, including Chesapeake settlers. The durability and beauty of English lead glass made it a consumer amenity that became a regular sight in upper and middle-class homes and taverns throughout the 18th-century Atlantic World. This paper will compare evidence of lead glass found at pre-1700 and early 18th-century plantations between Maryland and the James River to assess regional differences in trade and tableware consumption. Tracing the presence of lead glass and its early appearances in the colonies informs us about patterns of regional availability and use in colonial society just before glass tableware, like many other material things, became more widely available.

Cite this Record

Heavy Metal: The Arrival of English Lead Glass in the Chesapeake. Esther Rimer. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Leicester, England, U.K. 2013 ( tDAR id: 428434)

Keywords

Temporal Keywords
1675-1740

Spatial Coverage

min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 648