Glass has been made for millennia, and its makeup has remained essentially the same:  sand, soda ash and lime. These 3 decanters are typical of 19th century mold-blown glass made in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Wheeling, West Virginia. Glassmaking was a young America’s first industry. Workshops were established in Virginia and NJ early in our history. Glass had mainly been imported before pressed glass, an American invention of the 1820s, made quality tableware available to a growing middle class, when import tariffs became prohibitive. 
 
From a private collection of 31 in similar style. They are somewhat unique in that they have their original stoppers, made specifically for each vessel. They have the characteristics of leaded glass, with notable weight, resonance when pinged, and brilliant refracted light. Two are suited to hard liquor, one for port or similar.