Pressed Glass case
Pressed, or molded, glass was invented in the early nineteenth century during the Industrial Revolution in England and brought to the United States by enterprising industrialists. Whereas glass objects created by traditional glassblowing methods were individually made, factory-produced pressed glass was manufactured in multiples that were less expensive and available to a larger audience.
Although the process of pressing glass was used mainly to manufacture utilitarian tabletop objects such as drinking vessels, it was also employed to produce the types of souvenirs and commemorative objects that are displayed here. These objects might convey a religious message, such as “Bless our daily bread,” or a political one, such as “Remember the Maine,” referring to the destruction of a battleship in Havana harbor that ignited the Spanish-American War in 1898. Other objects bear the likenesses of famous historical figures and anticipate our modern notions of fame and the cult of the personality.
Nearly all of the commemorative pressed glass in the Museum was accessioned at one time in 1940 from a single collection formed earlier in the twentieth century. When this glass was made, probably no one thought it was destined for a museum. Eventually, the passionate zeal and discerning eye of the collector, and then those of the curator, transformed these souvenirs into a collection that reflects a great deal about manufacturing, consumerism, and important moments in the history of the United States. Over the ensuing years, curators have added to the original core group of glass, building on one strength of the collection.
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Visible Storage: Case 21, Shelf A (Pressed Glass)
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40.245
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American
Plate (Pittsburgh Exposition)
1875
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40.269
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American
Plate
ca. 1880
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40.270
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American
Plate
late 19th century
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40.273
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American
Plate (U.S. Battleship Maine)
1898
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52.110.1a-b
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American
Bottle, Figure of Pugilist or Boxer
late 19th century
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52.110.14
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American
Bottle, Figure of Uncle Sam
ca. 1915
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52.110.24
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Bottle, Figure of Man with Rifle
late 19th century (possibly)
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52.110.46
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Bottle, Bust of George Washington
ca. 1930-1935
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58.100
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American
Plate (James Garfield)
ca. 1881
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86.127a-b
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American
Punch Bowl with Base
ca. 1900
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87.18
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Anchor Glass Container Corporation
Mug (Statue of Liberty Centennial)
1985
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Visible Storage: Case 21, Shelf B (Pressed Glass)
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40.187
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Unknown
Compote (George Peabody)
late 19th century
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40.188
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Unknown
Mug (George Peabody)
late 19th century
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40.189
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Toothpick Holder (Amerigo Vespucci & Christopher Columbus)
ca. 1892
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40.216
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American
Platter (Liberty Bell)
ca. 1876
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40.219a
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American
Pitcher (George Dewey)
ca. 1899
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40.219b
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American
Tumbler (George Dewey)
ca. 1899
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40.226.1a-b
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James Gillinder & Sons
Compote, "Westward Ho!" Pattern
ca. 1880
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40.241
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American
Plate (St. Louis World's Fair)
1904
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40.249
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American
Flask (Chicago Century of Progress)
1933
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40.254
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American
Platter (Texas Centennial)
1936
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40.257
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American
Mug (Tennessee Centennial)
1897
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40.262
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American
Plate (U.S. Battleship Maine)
ca. 1898
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40.263a-b
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American
Covered Dish (U.S. Battleship Wheeling)
ca. 1899
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40.264a-b
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American
Covered Dish (U.S. Battleship Oregon)
ca. 1898
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40.267
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American
Plate (Roger Williams Monument)
late 19th century
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40.282
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American
Compote (Christopher Columbus & Amerigo Vespucci)
1892
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43.134.1
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American
Glass (William McKinley)
1897-1901
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43.134.2
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American
Glass (Chicago World's Fair)
1893
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44.32.6
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American
Celery Holder
ca. 1858
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52.110.22
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Bottle
early 20th century
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52.110.50
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American
Bottle (Jenny Lind)
ca. 1930
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52.110.70
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Bottle
late 19th century (possibly)
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52.110.122
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Bottle, Bunker Hill Monument
late 19th century
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1998.96.1
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Plate
1875-1885
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1998.96.2a-b
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Finger Bowl and Underplate
1875-1885
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1998.96.3
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Jelly Glass
1875-1885
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1998.96.4
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Pitcher
1875-1885
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1998.96.5
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Pitcher
1875-1885
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1998.96.6
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Pitcher
1875-1885
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1998.96.7
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Pitcher
1875-1885
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1998.96.8a-b
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Cheese Dish with Cover
1875-1885
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1998.96.9
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Pitcher
1875-1885
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1998.96.10
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Glass
1875-1885
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1998.96.11
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Glass
1875-1885
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1998.96.12
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Glass
1875-1885
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1998.96.13
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Glass
1875-1885
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1998.96.14
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Glass
1875-1885
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1998.96.15
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Glass
1875-1885
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1998.96.16
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Glass
1875-1885
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1998.96.17
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Vase or Pitcher
1875-1885
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1998.96.18
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Flower Trough
1875-1885
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1998.96.19
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Flower Trough
1875-1885
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1998.96.20
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Footed Ice Bowl
1875-1885
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1998.96.24
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Finger Bowl
1875-1885
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Visible Storage: Case 21, Shelf C (Pressed Glass)
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40.158
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Tray (Grover Cleveland & Thomas Hendricks)
ca. 1884
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40.166
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Plate (Ulysses S. Grant)
1885
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40.168
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Plate (James Garfield)
ca. 1881
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40.169
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Plate (James Garfield)
ca. 1881
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40.170
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Plate (James Garfield)
ca. 1881
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40.172
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Plate (James Garfield)
ca. 1881
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40.173
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Plate (William McKinley)
ca. 1896
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40.178
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Plate (Nathaniel P. Banks)
ca. 1898
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40.179
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Plate or Saucer (Fitzhugh Lee)
ca. 1898
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40.181
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American
Plate (William McKinley & Theodore Roosevelt)
1901
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40.184
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Goblet (Ulysses S. Grant & Henry Wilson)
ca. 1877
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40.185
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Plate (George Dewey)
ca. 1899
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40.186
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Plate (Henry Ward Beecher)
ca. 1887
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40.192
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Plate (Pope Leo XIII)
ca. 1893
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40.193
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Plate (Sir Moses Montefiore)
ca. 1885
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40.194
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Plate (Kaiser Wilhelm I)
ca. 1888
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40.195
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Plate (Christopher Columbus)
ca. 1892
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40.196
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Plate (Christopher Columbus)
ca. 1892
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40.206
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American
Plate (King George VI & Elizabeth)
1939
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80.248.2
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Boston and Sandwich Glass Company
Salt, Lafayette Boat
ca. 1825
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Pressed Glass case
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, American presidents were often the subject of pressed-glass objects that most typically celebrated them as political candidates and more rarely memorialized them as political heroes and martyrs. Plate 40.159, showing Grover Cleveland (1837-1908), is presumably a souvenir of his presidential campaign of 1884 or 1892. Cleveland and his running mate, Thomas Hendricks (1819-1885), defeated the Republican candidate James G. Blaine (1830-1893) and his running mate, John "Black Jack" Logan (1826-1886), who are illustrated on plate 40.157, also a campaign souvenir. Plate 40.167 was issued as a memorial remembrance on the death of Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), the leading Union general during the Civil War who became president in 1868. It depicts Grant with the slogan "Let Us Have Peace" and his birth and death dates. The mug decorated with busts of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) and James Garfield (1831-1881) and inscribed "Our Country\'s Martyrs" refers to the assassinations of these two national leaders in 1865 and 1881 respectively.
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Visible Storage: Case 21, Shelf D (Pressed Glass)
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40.154
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Plate (George Washington, James Garfield, & Abraham Lincoln)
1881
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40.155
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American
Tray or Plaque (Benjamin Harrison & Levi Morton)
ca. 1889
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40.156
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Tray (James Blaine & John Logan)
ca. 1884
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40.157
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Platter (James Blaine & John Logan)
ca. 1884
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40.159
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Plate (Grover Cleveland)
1884-1889
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40.160
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Plate (James Blaine)
ca. 1884
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40.161
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Plate (Thomas Hendricks)
1884-1889
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40.162
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Plate (John Logan)
ca. 1884
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40.163
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Plate (Grover Cleveland)
ca. 1884
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40.164
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Platter (George Washington)
ca. 1876
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40.165
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Libbey Glass Company
Hatchet with Relief of George Washington
ca. 1893
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40.167
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American
Plate (Ulysses S. Grant)
ca. 1885
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40.174
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American
Plate (William McKinley)
1901
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40.175a-b
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Mug with Lid (William McKinley)
ca. 1896
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40.177
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American
Plate (Theodore Roosevelt)
1904
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40.182
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Mug (Abraham Lincoln & James Garfield)
ca. 1881
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40.247
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American
Vinegar Flask (George Washington)
1932
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40.275
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American
Bottle, Figure of George Washington
late 19th century
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40.276
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American
Bottle, Figure of Theodore Roosevelt
1909
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41.698
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American
Paperweight, Washington Monument
ca. 1885
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45.171
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American
Salt (George Washington and Marquis de Lafayette)
ca. 1827
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Visible Storage: Case 21, Shelf E (Pressed Glass)
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40.190
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American
Goodwill Plane with Charles Lindberg
1928
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40.191
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Challinor, Taylor & Co.
Compote, "Goddess of Liberty" pattern
ca. 1850
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40.207
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American
Platter (Niagara Falls)
ca. 1898
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40.208
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Crystal Glass Company
Platter (Alaskan scene)
1867
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40.209a
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Crystal Glass Company
Pitcher (Alaskan scene)
1867
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40.209b
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Crystal Glass Company
Goblet (Alaskan scene)
1867
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40.209c
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Crystal Glass Company
Goblet (Alaskan scene)
1867
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40.225a-b
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Canton Glass Company
Bowl and Lid, "Jumbo" pattern
1882
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40.227a-b
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American
Sugar Bowl and Cover
1858
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40.228
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James Gillinder & Sons
Paperweight, Figure of a Lion
ca. 1876
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40.230
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American
Paperweight, Plymouth Rock
1876
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40.231
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American
Salt, Lafayette Boat
ca. 1825-1830
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40.235a-b
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American
Butter Dish and Lid
1892
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40.250
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American
Paperweight, Gay Head Lighthouse
late 19th century
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40.259a-b
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American
Covered Dish (Spanish-American War)
1898
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40.260a-b
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American
Covered Dish, Battleship with Admiral George Dewey
1899
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40.261a-b
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American
Covered Dish, Battleship with Uncle Sam
1880
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40.265a-b
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Covered Dish, U.S. Battleship Maine
ca. 1898
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40.266
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American
Bust of Admiral George Dewey
1899
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40.274
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Uncle Sam's Hat
1880
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40.277
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American
Bottle, Figure of Napoleon Bonaparte
late 19th century
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40.279
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American
Bottle, Bust of Henry Ward Beecher
1887
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40.280
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American
Bottle, Figure of French Soldier
late 19th century
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40.281
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American
Bottle, Figure of Carrie Nation
late 19th century
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40.376
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American
Bank (New York World's Fair)
1940
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40.378
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American
Bottle, Figure of Seated Old Man
19th century
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41.697
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American
Figure, Statue of Liberty
late 19th century
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44.32.8a-b
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Canton Glass Company
Butter Dish with Lid, "Jumbo" pattern
ca. 1882
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83.126.2
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Unknown
Highball Glass (Brooklyn Bridge)
1983
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83.126.3
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Unknown
Paperweight (Brooklyn Bridge)
1983
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Visible Storage: Case 21, Shelf F (Pressed Glass)
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40.171
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Pitcher
ca. 1881
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40.210
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American
Platter (Train with Engine #350)
ca. 1885
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40.211
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American
Platter (Bunker Hill Monument)
1876
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40.212
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American
Bread Plate (Continental Hall)
1876
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40.213
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American
Bread Plate (Centennial)
1876
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40.217
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American
Platter (Old State House / Independence Hall)
1876
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40.218
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American
Paperweight (Memorial Hall from Centennial Exhibition)
1876
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40.222
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American
Platter (Grand Army of the Republic)
late 19th century
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40.223
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American
Platter (Knights of Labor)
1869
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40.234a-b
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American
Butter Dish and Lid
ca. 1898
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40.236
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American
Platter (Pacific Fleet with Admirals Charles Sperry and Robley Evans)
1908
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40.237
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American
Plate (Leonardo DaVinci's Last Supper)
late 19th century
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40.238
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American
Platter (McCormack Reaper)
1831
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40.239
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American
Plate (Railroad Crossing scene)
late 19th century
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40.242
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American
Tumbler or Glass (St. Louis World's Fair)
1904
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40.243
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American
Tumbler or Glass (St. Louis World's Fair)
1904
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40.252a-b
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American
Compote (Maggie Mitchell & Fanny Davenport)
ca. 1883
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40.255
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American
Paperweight (Texas Centennial)
ca. 1936
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40.271
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American
Plate (Native American Chief)
late 19th century
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40.377.1
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American
Sugar Bowl
ca. 1898
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46.161.2
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American
Pickle Dish (Centennial)
ca. 1876
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52.110.4a-b
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Bottle, Fish
late 19th century
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2001.53
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Platter (Cleopatra)
late 19th century
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40.377.2
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American
Cream Pitcher or Creamer
ca. 1898
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