Spoon Holder 1850 - 1870

This pressed glass spoon holder was produced by Bakewell, Pears and Company sometime around the mid-19th century. Mass-produced glassware like this reflected a growing industrialization and a shift in social norms around dining. The rise of pressed glass manufacturing in the United States made previously expensive and luxurious items affordable to a wider segment of the population, indicating a democratizing influence on taste. Pressed glass was a distinctly American industry, where labor costs were high, this technology allowed manufacturers to hire less skilled workers, increasing their production capacity and allowing for higher profits. To fully appreciate an object like this we look at the advertising catalogues, trade publications, and business records from the period. These sources, combined with a careful examination of the object itself, can give us insight into the social and economic changes during the early years of mass production.