The Decanter

This exciting new book, the result of five years' research and writing is the first-ever in-depth study of the leading vessel in the European glassmakers' repertoire between 1650 -1950. In presenting the subject on a wide stage, The Decanter provides the reader with a history of European and American glassmaking from 'a decanter perspective'. Illustrated by photographs and patterns and drawings of thousands of examples drawn from numerous public and private collections, the text encompasses the stylistic and technical evolution of fine glassmaking and its influences and social uses. Few who have handled antique glass can have failed to muse over its former uses and what it contained in previous lives. This fascinating book provides many of the answers. Drawing from hundreds of documentary sources and benifitting from the knowledge and experience of scores of expert proof-readers in Britain, Europe and the United States, The Decanter is the most comprehensive and current history of fine glassmaking ever published. It provides a glossary of the names of all familiar shapes, for the first time, and dispells the innumerable myths surrounding the subject.
Written by a former journalist and glass dealer with twenty-five years experience, The Decanter is readable and accessible, and provides an indespensable guide to social historians and lovers of antique glass and wine.