Vintage glass reflects politics today!

Part of a collection of vintage glasses sold at a recent Chilcotts sale shows that the fascinating political situation faced today is nothing new.

The collection came via two independent collectors from East Devon; one put together during 1950s and the other through the ‘60s – with both kept intact for well over 50 years.

Amongst the wide range of glasses were two politically charged examples. One, a Georgian Liberty & Wilkes glass was engraved with a bird flying out of a cage. The story that goes with it bears more than a passing resemblance to current affairs. In 1757, John Wilkes was elected as MP for Aylesbury. Five years’ later, in 1762, George III arranged for his friend the Earl of Bute to become Prime Minister.

Bute was widely held to be incompetent and Wilkes emerged as his leading critic in the House of Commons. He published a newspaper, The North Briton, which attacked the King and his Prime Minister. After one particular article, the King and his ministers decided to prosecute Wilkes for libel. He was arrested but the Lord Chief Justice ruled that as an MP he was protected by privilege from arrest. His discharge was greeted with popular acclaim and Wilkes left the court as a champion of liberty, hence the bird flying from the cage.

The second glass with clear political intimations was one bearing the engraving of a rose and buds, a secret symbol of the Jacobite movement that attempted to return the throne to the Stuarts. Such symbols were used in place of the image of ‘The Old Pretender’ James Francis Edward Stuart, after a terrible defeat at the battle of Culloden that made such images too dangerous. To those in the know, the open rose represented King James VIII, the open bud Prince Charles (Bonnie Prince Charlie) and his right to the throne and closed bud, Henry Stuart who had renounced his right to the throne. Apparently, supporters would often throw these glasses into the fire if a raid took place!

Both glasses serve as a reminder that politics and the monarchy are a hive of intrigue, even to this day. At the Chilcotts auction, the Liberty and Wilkes glass sold for £500 whilst the Georgian wine glass fetched £700. The sale of the whole collection came to £5,700 including Buyers Premium.

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