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Tumbler

New England Glass Company, manufacturer, East Cambridge, Massachusetts

1850–60

Pressed glass

3 7/8 × 3 1/2 in. (9.8 × 8.9 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Emily Winthrop Miles, 1946, 46.140.48

This pressed glass tumbler and other innovations on display at the Crystal Palace were examples of America’s commercial prowess. Pressed glass is made by pouring molten glass into a mold. This innovation allowed American manufacturers such as the New England Glass Company to create the appearance of expensive cut or blown glass at a lower price. As dining sets became more popular with the rise of dining culture, middle-class consumers bought sets of matched glasses, silverware, and china in shows of conspicuous consumption.

—Elizabeth Muir

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New York Crystal Palace 1853 Digital Publication

Director’s Foreword Susan Weber
Foreword Ivan Gaskell
Introduction David Jaffee

The digital publication for New York Crystal Palace 1853 is based on a 2017 Focus Gallery exhibition at Bard Graduate Center that emphasizes the experience of those who entered the Crystal Palace through the objects they may have seen.

Essays

Exhibition Objects

  • Official Catalogue of the New-York Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations, 1853

  • Burning of the New York Crystal Palace, 1858

    Currier & Ives
  • Crystal Palace Musical Revue at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, 1939

  • Piece of fused glass, 1858

  • Crystal Palace soda water bottle, 1850–60

    Union Glass Works
  • New York Crystal Palace Polka sheet music composed by Francis Rziha, 1853

    T. Pfleger
  • Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations medal, 1853

  • Souvenir coin for H. B. West’s Famous Trained Dogs, 1853

  • Token for the Fitzgibbon Daguerreotype Gallery, 1853

  • Commemorative medal, 1853

    Anthony C. Paquet
  • Silver award medal, 1853

    Charles C. Wright and J. A. Oertel
  • Commemorative medal, 1853

    G. H. Lovett
  • New York Crystal Palace window shade, 1853

  • “Crystal Palace” shelf clock, 1853

    William L. Gilbert & Co
  • Candlestick, 1853

    United States Pottery
  • Plaque, 1853

    United States Pottery
  • Doorknob and plaque, 1853

    Charles Cartlidge & Co.
  • Coffee pot with lid, cup and saucer, 1850–54

    Tielsch Porzellan-Manufaktur
  • Sugar bowl with cover, 1851–57

    Brooklyn Flint Glass Works
  • Tumbler, 1850–60

    New England Glass Company
  • “Cascade” pitcher, 1852–58

    United States Pottery Co.
  • Presentation pitcher, 1853

    Josiah Jones
  • Pitcher, 1834–51

    John Chandler Moore
  • Hat and hatbox, 1855

    John N. Genin
  • Putto sculptural element from a sideboard, 1853

    Ernst Plassmann
  • Armchair, 1853

    Julius Dessoir
  • View in the East Nave (The Greek Slave, by Power [sic]; from Recollections of the Great Exhibition), London Crystal Palace, 1851

    John Absolon
  • The Greek Slave, 1849

    Hiram Powers
  • Interior View of the South Nave of the Crystal Palace, 1854

  • Number 1 “Standard” sewing machine, 1856

    I. M. Singer & Co
  • The New York Crystal Palace: Exterior View, 1853–54

    Victor Prevost
  • The Moon, 1853–54

    John Adams Whipple
  • Daguerreotype camera, 1853–54

    Charles C. Harrison
  • Colt Model 1851 Navy percussion revolver, serial number 29705, with case and accessories, 1853–54

    Samuel Colt
  • “Cradle of Harmony” hollow-back violin, 1852

    William Sidney Mount
  • The Power of Music!, 1848

    William Sidney Mount
  • Interior view of the New York Crystal Palace for the exhibition of the industry of all nations. Taken on the first of December 1853 . . . Carstensen & Gildemeister architects, 74 Broadway N.Y., 1853

    Nagel & Weingärtner
  • A Panoramic Representation of the Interior of the Crystal Palace, New York, 1854

    Frederick J. Pilliner
  • The World of Science, Art, and Industry Illustrated from Examples in the New-York Exhibition, 1853–54

    Benjamin Silliman and Charles R. Goodman
  • A Day in the New York Crystal Palace and How to Make the Most of It, 1853

    William Carey Richards
  • Official Catalogue of the New-York Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations, 1853

  • Nightstick belonging to George Washington Matsell, Chief of Police, 1850–70

  • Badge belonging to George Washington Matsell, Chief of Police, 1845–57

  • The World’s Industrial Exhibition of 1853: Season Ticket No. 12342, 1853

  • Latting Observatory broadside, 1853

  • New York, 1855. From the Latting Observatory.

    B. F. Smith Jr
  • The New York Crystal Palace and Latting Observatory, 1853

    Capewell & Kimmel
  • Present Appearance of the Crystal Palace, 1853

  • Birds Eye View of the New York Crystal Palace and Environs, 1853

    John Bachmann

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