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Waterford brilliant idea for collectors

Very little fine glassware was marketed in Ireland until the 1780sbecause the English government prohibited Irish glass exports. Thisprohibition was designed to protect the English glassmakingindustry. In 1783, just after the export ban was lifted, brothersGeorge and William Penrose opened the Waterford Flint GlassManufactory (later called the Waterford Glass House) in Waterford,which was then one of Ireland's busiest ports. The brothers, bothof whom were Quakers, were determined to take the lead glasstechnology of the time to a higher level. They developed formulasfor mingling molten glass with various minerals to create glasswarethat, while still strong and durable, also showed a uniquebrilliance and felt soft to the touch. This Waterford glass evenhad the feature of giving a certain unusual ring when tapped.

The Penrose brothers decorated their Waterford glass with deeplycut ornamentation that enhanced the natural sparkle of the wares.Typical products included decanters, jugs, fruit bowls, fingerbowls, honey jars and other glassware serving accessories.

In the earliest years, Waterford glass (like all Irish glassgenerally) copied English glass, but soon developed some distinctstyles of its own. Bowls, for example, began to be made withturnover rims and heavy square feet.

At it's height, the Penrose firm had around 70 employees -- managedby another Quaker, John Hill, who was a famous glassmaker in hisown right -- and was one of the most important businesses inWaterford. The market for Waterford glass made by Penrose existedthroughout Europe and America. King George III even ordered someWaterford crystal and it became fashionable in high society todisplay Waterford wares.

The Penrose brothers wisely decided in the early 19th century tosell their interests in the business to several local citizensnamed Ramsey, Gatchell and Barcroft. These new owners keptmanufacturing high quality cut glass, but also expanded theirmarket to the middle class. In 1851, the firm was even awardedseveral gold medals at the Great Exhibition in London.

Even as the firm was gathering these achievements, however, itsdemise was imminent. Earlier, in the 1820s, the British parliamentbegan to levy excise taxes on many Irish exports including glassproducts. By the early 1850s, these excessive taxes were causingmany Irish glassmaking companies to fold. In 1851, the same year inwhich it received the Great Exhibition awards, the Waterford firmfounded by the Penrose brothers was forced to close because of thetax burden imposed by Parliament.

For almost a century, no company manufactured glass under aWaterford name. This changed in 1947, when a small group of mainlyimmigrant workers from war-ravaged Europe set up a small glassfactory less than two miles from the original Penrose site. Thebusiness was a huge success and the operation, which eventuallysettled upon the name of Waterford Crystal, soon moved to itspresent 40-acre site.

The quality of modern Waterford Crystal is (like its predecessor)known throughout the world. The firm has had, for example, samplesof its glassware presented to every American President fromEisenhower to Reagan by the Irish government. Although techniqueshave been refined since the 1950s, the basic glassmaking process isstill the same. The melted crystal, containing alloys of silicasand, lead oxide and potassium carbonate, is poured into a mold. Anexact amount of air is introduced (by artisans who blow by mouthinto tubes reaching inside the mold) at specific points in the moldto shape the piece as perfectly as possible. Once the mold stage isdone, the piece is allowed to cool very slowly in a specialannealing oven that controls the temperature. This cooling takesapproximately three hours.

Once the glass item is cooled, it is then hand-cut withdiamond-tipped wheels. The basic technique requires that thecutting be done at precisely defined and sharp angles so that lightfalling on these angles will be portrayed with a diamond-likebrilliance. The people doing the cutting serve a five-yearapprenticeship before being allowed to cut the glass on their own.

The result is glassware that is unrivaled for its clarity,durability and appearance. Although Waterford crystal appears inplaces like Buckingham Palace and the White House, the single mostpublic Waterford item is arguably the Waterford Crystal Ball usedin each New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square. With theWaterford name having such famous associations, it is likely thistradition of Irish glassmaking will carry far into the future.

Joe Devanney, an attorney who lives in Paoli, is a longtimeantiques enthusiast. He may be reached at dlnantiques@cs.com.