Expert: Martin G Roberts - 1/21/2009

Question
Hi, I was just wondering if you could give me a little information on glass bottomed pewter mugs.  I have heard some about using the clear bottom to see into the mug to look for a shilling to avoid recruitment, but I'm not too sure as to what the proper story is, as I have heard a few.  Also any other brief historical info about English pewter mugs would be appreciated, such as what may distinguish it from pewterware from other countries and why some makers produced steins and others tankards.  Don't want to burden you with spending too large an amount of time replying, but all information would be appreciated.

Thanks so much...

Answer
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Hello Mike,

That is a heck of a question, requiring an entire book as response! I shall try to keep it brief and point you to an actual book for more information.

Firstly, on glass-bottomed mugs, see this previous question and answer: http://en.allexperts.com/q/Collectibles-General-Antiques-682/2008/4/glass-bottom...

On English pewter mugs, here are a few pointers:

A mug is a lidless drinking vessel, sometimes confused with measures, and often erroneously refered to as tankards. Tankards are lidded drinking vessels. Stein is a German word with no relevance to British pewter.

The earliest English pewter mugs date from the third quarter of the 17th Century. Any example from before 1750 is very scarce, and any English mug from the 17th Century is rare. Examples from the 2nd half of the 18th Century are scarce, and mugs from 1800-1825 are fairly hard to find too.

Scottish and Irish pewterers made distinct forms in different capacities series from English makers and are a study in themselves.

In 1826, Imperial standard was introduced in Britain, superceding all previous capacity systems, and making some older mugs illegal, hence the scarcity.

Mugs from the mid to late 19th Century are common, especially those made in Birmingham, Manchester and London. The late Birmingham form is still in production.

For further information, I recommend you get a copy of Peal: British Pewter and Britannia Metal. It is a bit old now, and has a few errors, but it is a good general introduction to British pewter with a useful survey of mug forms, and has the merit of being easy to find and cheap as a secondhand book.

Hope that helps

Martin
www.antique-metalware.co.uk