English and Irish glass.(Design Notes)(William Yeoward Crystal makes glass reproductions from the 18th and 19th centuries.)

The pioneering and prolific glass scholar Robert J. Charleston distilled his chosen subject to its essence when he wrote: "To take sand and ashes and, by submitting them to the transmuting agency of fire, to produce an infinity of forms, colours and textures, is the magic of the glass-maker's art." With these simple ingredients many types of glass have been made since ancient times. By the thirteenth century glass of good quality was being created in southeastern Europe, and elegant long-stemmed wineglasses, although rare, survive from this period. In England high-quality lead glass was not available until George Ravenscroft introduced it in the third quarter of the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, glass-makers in Britain were decorating glass by various techniques including engraving, cutting, gilding, and enameling. Finally, in the early nineteenth century, when so many technological advances were made in this industry, English glassmakers led the way.

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Collectors of English and Irish glass realize that finding glassware in large sets is extremely difficult, and, even if successful, rarity and fragility would preclude one from using them. This problem was addressed and remedied in 1993 when the English designer William Yeoward met Timothy Jenkins, who was working in his family-owned glass business, John Jenkins and Sons, which had been founded by his grandfather in 1901. Jenkins was formerly the ...