A Beer Glass Collector

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Welcome to A Beer Glass Collector

Hello, welcome to my site where you will find out why the CROWN has disappeared from our beer glasses, how beer glasses are verified, view my historic collection and learn about the stamps which appear on UK beer glasses.

I guess this could be said to be a long time in gestation but two things have induced the birth. The first is, of course, digital photography and the Internet and the second was a visit to
The Pig’s Nose in South Devon in the summer of 2007
(see ‘Memoirs of a collector’ | Glass Nine).

Over the last forty odd years I have collected a number of mass produced, moulded beer glasses* verified and stamped for the licensed trade.

Here, I want to celebrate these survivors of a hard life. We’ve all heard the crash of broken glass in pubs and a pub make-over generally means out goes anything old fashioned and in comes sparkling new stock.

Beer glasses in houses or found in junk or charity shops were once liberated from someone’s local as a sentimental souvenir or simply for drinking at home before beer glasses were sold in shops and supermarkets. This is, of course, in spite of the sign I remember years ago:

This is the wreckage of an Inspector’s #2043 pint glass spotted near the front door of the Royal Portland pub in Portland, Dorset in March ‘09. (after a heavy night?)

You can still find 2043 glasses in our pubs although they are being replaced by the new EU versions!

TIP: Hover over images to enlarge details

This glass came from Hoskings junk shop, in the Narrows, Totnes (sadly no longer there!) A tad cynical but true!

IF YOU NEED GLASSES GO TO AN OPTICIAN. DON’T TAKE OURS.

These glasses were purchased from the landlord of The Prospect Inn, Exeter, who was raising money for charity. I wonder if he has any Crown stamped glasses left?

I had to have this glass for 2 reasons:
1) it is the only 2043 glass I have &
2) it bears one of the oldest trademarks in the world.

Checkout the bar in Edouard Manet’s Un Bar aux Folies-Bergère
where you will see bottles of Bass next to the champagne!

Inspector’s #523 Westminster

2043 (Verrerie Cristallerie D’Arques J G Durand & CIE) Cancelled on 29/10/06

For sentimental reasons I chose the 1967 stamp as the first
t-shirt because that’s when we got together.. ahhh

I’m Peter Burton, I live in Torquay,

Devon, UK with my wife Julia.

New for 2012 - T shirts bearing historical beer glass stamps.
The Crown might have gone from our beer glasses but you can restore it with a quality T shirt for only £15 + pp!

478 glasses were manufactured at Ravenhead glassworks St. Helens Lancashire

2043 glasses were manufactured by Verrerie Cristallerie D’Arques J G Durand & CIE

GET STAMP AWARENESS - Hold your glass up to the light, is there a Crown and a number? Click http://www.nwml.gov.uk/ to see where the glass was verified.
Is it the new EU style? Keep looking for the old ‘uns!
* For more info on moulded & pressed glass visit www.inchicore-pressedglass-museum.org

Between 1964 to 1969 dates were used and the royal initial had gone.

From 1969 until 2006 only the crown.

From 1952 the new Queen Elizabeth has a proper ornamental crown.

Stylised crown is found on glasses from George V & VI

Art-Deco style crown begun during George V’s time.

301 glasses were manufactured at United Glass of Castleford, Yorkshire

For more information click on ‘Stamp Collecting’

But let’s congratulate the liberators because without them these jewels in the crown of our pub history would have gone into landfills or into the recycling skips.