A pictorial analysis of Wistar glass c.1739-78: Simplifying the difficult. In the early years of Glass collecting every other piece of blown glass in the South Jersey tradition was called Wistar. Today nothing is called Wistar! The fact is that Wistar glass has never really been studied. What I'm saying is, there has never been an attempt to work from the ground up, hands on.Wistarburgh was in the buisness of making green glass bottle and window glass. Lets start there, since that was their greatest concern.Wistar green glass was made with local sand.The glass is soda lime and calcium rich. It is laden with iron and natural trace elements. Wistarburgh, down in Salem county, is right off of Alloways creek next to Delaware bay. Authenticating Wistar glass is another thing. It seems to be a job for mystics not scholars. There are no conclusions, just the usual portion of ambiguity, with a side of attitude. No one wants to stick his neck out and get egg on his face. Why not? Egg can be wiped off, can't it? Lets share information, passion, and thought, even a little speculation. Lets try to simplify the difficult, and try to answer a question. Can we identify Wistar glass? With recent years of archaelogical excavation( information will be avilable) and a ten year private study, we have some facts.
Hope you enjoy the photos. John Decaro
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