Moran, Anna (2011) From factory floor to fine dining : making, selling and using glass in Ireland, c. 1730 - c. 1830. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

Glass is one of the world’s oldest artificial materials. Nonetheless new developments
in the late seventeenth century turned this very ancient material into a modern one.
With the successful introduction of lead came clarity, lustre and strength. From sand,
lead and ash, therefore, came a material which could be blown, moulded, left plain,
cut or engraved. It was encountered by virtually all sectors of society, by some in
taverns, public houses and on the streets, and by others in ballrooms, dining rooms,
parlours and elegant bedrooms.
Using extensive primary research - drawing on designs used in the glass
industry, newspapers, Parliamentary Papers, letters, diaries and household inventories
- this study investigates the socio-political, economic, cultural, technological and
legislative factors which shaped the experience of producing, selling, buying and
using glass in Ireland. It takes as its focus the century long time span between c. 1730
and c. 1830, thereby capturing the rise and decline of the glass industry in Ireland,
and investigates the role of the State, the entrepreneur and the consumer in
determining the nature of the market.
The ways in which molten glass was worked and transformed into the
transparent conveniences and pleasures of everyday life were crucial to the appeal of
glass. Once manufactured, skills of a different nature were used by retailers to market
and sell the various glass products available, whilst another set of skills again was
drawn upon in polite society in knowing what glass to buy, the appropriate way to
hold a drinking glass, its correct use while dining, and the significance of raising one’s
glass in a toast. Addressing these and other issues, this thesis presents for the first
time, an integrated study which deepens our understanding of the production, retail
and consumption of this important material. In so doing, a rich and layered story of
the Irish glass industry is presented, providing a cultural, social and political
framework within which to consider the making, selling and use of glass in
eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Ireland.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Glass manufacture -- Ireland -- History -- 18th century, Glass manufacture -- Ireland -- History -- 19th century, Glass trade -- Ireland -- History -- 18th century, Glass trade -- Ireland -- History -- 19th century, Glass -- Ireland -- History -- 18th century, Glass -- Ireland -- History -- 19th century
Official Date:	April 2011
Dates:	Date Event April 2011 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of History
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Berg, Maxine, 1950- ; Clifford, Helen
Sponsors:	Irish Georgian Society ; Thomas Dammann Memorial Trust ; Friends of the Hunt Museum
Extent:	xxiii, 339 leaves : ill.
Language:	eng

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