Posted by Dan White on October 08, 2015 at 16:04:46:
Hello,
I posted a message a couple years ago asking about the oldest shot glasses and since then I've been able to learn a lot more about them and have found a few that are around 150 years old to over 200 years old. Just recently I found two at an antique show that were recovered from a 200 year old shipwreck in Virginia. I now have more than 5 different ones that are late 1700's to early 1800's and half have applied handles. Back then they were hand blown with pontil scars on the bottom that were often but not always ground and polished off. They were made of "flint" glass and they have a ring to them when you strike them. The very first ones made in a mold also have rough or pontiled bottoms and are from the 1840's-1860's as far as I can tell. These are called EAPG for Early American Pressed Glass. I have more than 20 of them. These early shot glasses were also known as "whiskey tasters". I can take photos of them if anyone is interested is seeing them. I've included a link to a Bourbon Enthusiast message board post with a couple photos....