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In the early 1800s glass manufacturers tried to produce affordable silvered glassware by using tin, lead, and other compounds. Mercury amalgams, similar to methods used for silvering mirrors, were tried as well, but the results were unsatisfactory. Finally in 1849, Hale Thomson and Edward Varnish of England developed and patented a procedure for manufacturing silvered glassware, more commonly known as mercury glass.

Mercury glass is double-walled glassware with an interior silver coating. This unique glass was an inexpensive alternative to the silverware used by the wealthy, and gained fame as an affordable luxury of the middle class. As the demand for mercury glass blossomed, glass production extended beyond England to Germany, France, Belgium, and Bohemia. In 1855, Thomas Leighton of the New England Glass Company took out a patent in the United States.

To enhance the opulent appearance of the hollow silvered glassware, a gold wash coated the inside and copper-wheel engraving was used on more valuable pieces. Mercury glass was commonly decorated with hand-painted or etched foliage, vines, ferns, grapes, and bird motifs.

The first mercury glass products were silvered doorknobs. Later came religious items such as crucifixes, statuary, and candlesticks found primarily in poorer church communities. Mercury glass' affordability led to the production of plates, goblets, compotes, salts, figurines, match holders, globes, vases, and lamps.

Around the turn of the 20th century mercury glass was synonymous with bad taste and mass-produced kitsch. Production declined and mercury glass soon became obsolete. Although it was produced in enormous quantities, relatively few pieces survived due to the fragility of the double-walled, extremely light glass. Now, nearly a century later, collectors seek out this rare and beautiful glassware.

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Reference: A Pictorial Guide to Silvered Mercury Glass by Diane Lytwyn