Mary Gregory Glass is a variety of glass produced in the United States toward the end of the 19th century in imitation of the then popular English cameo glass.
Although “Mary Gregory” glassware was primarily a Czech product, it was not entirely limited to the Bor Region of Czechoslovakia. Switzerland, Holland and Germany also produced glassware of this type.
Both transparent and colored, the glass is decorated with white enamel designs that are painted on the surface instead of being carved, as the genuine cameo glass was.
The distinctive feature of this style of glass are scenes of Victorian children in silhouette, dressed in their best clothes, playing games and having fun.
The term ‘Mary Gregory’ indicates a style of glass rather than a manufacturer.
It originates from the myth that a lady in USA named Mary Gregory painted scenes of children on thousands of items of glassware.
Miss Mary Gregory (1856-1908) was an enameller working in the 1870s and 1880s who decorated glass for the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company in Sandwich, Mass., but it is believed she painted landscapes, not children.
Regardless of the truth that is now known, the name has stuck, and this style of glassware is still defined as Mary Gregory Glass.
More of Mary Gregory Glass can be found at 20th Century Glass and World Collector.
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