Firing Glasses and Drams

Georgian firing glasses and Georgian dram glasses are highly collectable, these are the miniatures of the 18th century glass genre. A dram is a measure of whisky, the water of life. Before the unwelcome European metric system a measure of one dram in an Edinburgh Inn was a quarter of a gill, a gill being a quarter pint, or 5 fluid ounces if you prefer. Thus a dram was 1/16th of a pint or one and a quarter fluid ounces. In England where the more temperate roamed, a dram was one fifth of a gill, a little less than in Scotland where it is wrongfully claimed people are mean - quite the opposite when it comes to dispensing measures of whisky, it woud appear ! Nowadays a metric dram is just 25ml, smaller than even the old English measure of 28.5ml. An excellent reason to vote for Independence from Europe will be the promise of "return to the full dram", but I digress...

18th century firing glasses, dram and gin glasses are delightful. My favourite Georgian drinking glass of all is a Jacobite engraved dram glass that may be slipped into a pocket. The firing glass should really be called a firing foot glass. The bowls have a small capacity and were used for toasting and still are today amongst the "Freres Macon". When the latter day "shot glass" had been consumed it would be slammed into the table, thus requiring a thickened foot to avoid unseemly breakages. It is said that when the assembled throng at a Jacobite Society meeting or the notorious anti-catholic Hell Fire Club did this in unison the sound was reminiscent of a volley of muskets, hence the name firing glass. There are many stem types, opaque twist, colour twists, plain and baluster. The engraved examples with drinking club and society names and those with masonic engraving are widely collected.

Firing feet are not restricted to small drams and the like, and may be found on larger glasses such as short cordials, gins and ale glasses, these though are very much in the minority. One of the absolute rarest must be the Georgian opaque twist "captains glasses" standing around ten inches tall and normally having a terraced firing foot. You should not assume that the name relates in anyway to a nautical theme - the captain in this instance would have been the nominated head of the table at society meeting clubs and the like, and he would have sued his glass to rap on the table to call for order. The most readily available example to view of these particularly rare glasses is illustrated in A Wine Lovers Glasses - the A.C.Hubbard Jr Collection, a must have book for those who aspire to owning a fine collection of glass. You may also like to take a look at https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/19675/lot/119/

Please don't try slamming 18th century firing glasses on tables in your local bar, unless on very good terms with the proprietor, and you can afford the period replacement - some rare examples with baluster stems have been known to fetch four figure sums, more than the equivalent taller Georgian wine glasses

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Four Dram Glasses With Lemon Squeezer Feet c1825

Four Dram Glasses With Lemon Squeezer Feet c1825

A Set Of Four Cut and Polished Shot Glasses With Lemon Squeezer Feet c1930

£150.00

Georgian Petal Cut Dram Glass with Lemon Squeezer Foot c1810

Georgian Petal Cut Dram Glass with Lemon Squeezer Foot c1810

Georgian Petal Cut Dram Glass with Lemon Squeezer Foot c1810

£45.00

Double Ogee Bowl Folded Foot Dram Glass c1750

Double Ogee Bowl Folded Foot Dram Glass c1750

A very fine Georgian gin glass from c1750 in excellent condition. For more antique glassware, including a wide range of drinking glasses, please visit Scottish Antiques online store.

£60.00

Rib Moulded Oversewn Foot Schnapps Glass c1770

Rib Moulded Oversewn Foot Schnapps Glass c1770

A very fine and rare rib moulded oversewn foot dram glass c1770 in excellent condition. For more antique glassware, including a wide range of Georgian table glass, please visit Scottish Antiques online store.

£80.00

18th Century Air Beaded Dram Glass on Domed Foot 1750

18th Century Air Beaded Dram Glass on Domed Foot 1750

A Georgian Air Beaded Dram Glass on Domed Foot

£120.00

Georgian Air Beaded Dram Glass on Domed Foot c1750

Georgian Air Beaded Dram Glass on Domed Foot c1750

Georgian Air Beaded Dram Glass on Domed Foot c1750

£120.00

Petal Cut Deceptive Toastmasters Glass c1835

Petal Cut Deceptive Toastmasters Glass c1835

A very fine petal cut deceptive toastmasters glass from c1835 in excellent condition. For more antique glassware, including a wide range of Georgian drinking glasses, please visit Scottish Antiques online store.

£45.00

Petal Cut Deceptive Toastmasters Glass c1835

Petal Cut Deceptive Toastmasters Glass c1835

A very fine petal cut deceptive toastmaster glass from c1835 in excellent condition. For more antique glassware, including a wide range of Georgian drinking glasses, please visit Scottish Antiques online store.

£25.00

Georgian Plain Stem Dram Glass c1745

Georgian Plain Stem Dram Glass c1745

A very fine Georgian plain stem dram from c1745 in excellent condition. For more antique glassware, including a wide range of Georgian drinking glasses, please visit Scottish Antiques online store.

£90.00

A Bucket Bowl Dram Glass c1840

A Bucket Bowl Dram Glass c1840

A Bucket Bowl Dram Glass c1840

£35.00

A Pair Of Deceptive Dram Glasses c1840

A Pair Of Deceptive Dram Glasses c1840

A Pair Of Deceptive Dram Glasses c1840

£65.00

Early 19th Century Opaque Twist Wine Glass Firing Foot c1820

Early 19th Century Opaque Twist Wine Glass Firing Foot c1820

A very fine opaque twist Victorian wine glass from c1880 in excellent condition. For more antique glassware, including a wide range of Georgian wine glasses, please visit Scottish Antiques online store.

£175.00

Early Slice and Scallop Cut Wine Glass With Firing Foot c1765

Early Slice and Scallop Cut Wine Glass With Firing Foot c1765

A very fine and early slice and scallop cut Georgian wine glass from c1775 in excellent condition. For more antique glassware, including a wide range of Georgian facet cut stem wine glasses, please visit Scottish Antiques online store.

£175.00

A Large Georgian Novelty Stirrup Cup Boot Glass c1820 - Charity Item

A Large Georgian Novelty Stirrup Cup Boot Glass c1820 - Charity Item

A Large Georgian Novelty Stirrup Cup Boot Glass c1820

£110.00

Georgian Novelty Stirrup Cup Boot Glass c1800-Charity Item

Georgian Novelty Stirrup Cup Boot Glass c1800-Charity Item

Georgian Novelty Stirrup Cup Boot Glass c1800, children in need

£70.00

Late 18th Or Early 19th Century Novelty Boot Stirrup Glass

Late 18th Or Early 19th Century Novelty Boot Stirrup Glass

A stirrup glass from the 19th century. Available from Scottish Antiques online store.

£55.00

A Georgian Novelty Stirrup Cup c1800

A Georgian Novelty Stirrup Cup c1800

A Georgian novelty stirrup glass from c1800. Available from Scottish Antiques online store.

£60.00

A Davenport Patent Dram Glass c1820

A Davenport Patent Dram Glass c1820

A Davenport Patent Dram Glass c1820

£120.00

A Boot Shaped Coaching Glass c1800

A Boot Shaped Coaching Glass c1800

A Boot Shaped Coaching Glass c1800

£55.00

A Large 19th Century Novelty Glass Boot

A Large 19th Century Novelty Glass Boot

A novelty boot stirrup glass . Available from Scottish Antiques online store. 19th century drinking glasses

£60.00

A 19th Century Drinking Glass Boot

A 19th Century Drinking Glass Boot

A 19th Century Drinking Glass Boot, 19th century drinking glasses

£35.00

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