Posted 11 years ago
lovedecant…
(237 items)
These are decanters produced in the 1830s-40s. All with applied neck rings, blown mushroom stoppers, panel cut shoulders, and vertical cuts to the body.
These types of decanters are deeply out of fashion, and in the UK can be bought quite cheaply. In general they sell for £20-40, and this is in clean condition with original stoppers.
What is so sad about this, is that they are cheaper than a new decanter, yet they are so practical to use, and have 150 years of history in them. Even now I have one flying to me in the post, the same as the 2nd one along, that I got for £4.99 in eBay. If I am lucky it will make a pair.
I love decanters as well. I have only 5 or 6. Are they safe to use? I am concerned about the lead content. Thx
Some of my glass is 250 years old and there appears to be absolutely no deterioration in it's fabric. If any kind of chemical were leaching out of the glass, after 250 years you would have expected it to have taken it's toll on the on it in someway. So if there is any leaching of lead out of the glass I expect it is in such small quantities that it would take several lifetimes of heavy drinking to take effect on you. The very earliest lead glass from the 1680s used to do something called crizzling where the glass used to deteriorate back to sand. I am also aware that some of the early Venetian glass used to do it too. I think it had something to with too much alkaline in the mix or something such. This problem was supposed to have been resolved by the inventor of lead glass, George Ravenscroft. In summary, I think it's safe. just don't put your old stuff in the dishwasher, as that will etch the surface of it.