Royal of 1876

Provenance: Darrell Plank Collection

The “Royal of 1876” is an extremely rare black glass jar made by the Hemingray Glass Company, most likely to commemorate the United States 1876 Centennial. Many bottle collectors associate Hemingray with glass insulators and a specific blue-green glass color called “Hemingray green.” Our museum specimen could be the only known example of a black glass “Royal of 1876.”

Our specimen jar is embossed ‘ROYAL OF 1876’ in three lines. “Royal” is centered and arched over a horizontal straight line “of” and “1876.” The jar has a ground lip glass insert and a screw band. The insert has a berry and leaf decoration. Half-gallons and quarts are recorded in aqua. There is a half-gallon reported in apple green glass. Other related Hemingray jars are just embossed ‘ROYAL’ as you can see in the illustration below.

Hemingray

Robert Hemingray was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 1820. He started out as a grocer and baker before he moved his family to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh was a glass-making capital before it became known as “Steel City.” In Pittsburgh, Robert Hemingray married the sister of Ralph Gray who would soon become his partner in glassmaking. Gray was also from Johnstown and was the first in the glass business in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1847. In due time, the brothers-in-law were together in Cincinnati and decided on a factory across the river in Covington, Kentucky which would supply their store at the end of the river bridge in Cincinnati.

Ralph Gray died in 1863, and the business name which had been Gray, Hemingray & Bros. became Hemingray Glass Co. In the early years, the company went through numerous and frequent name changes, including Gray, Hemingray & Bros., Gray, Hemingray & Brother, Hemingray Bros. & Company, and R. Hemingray & Company before incorporating into the Hemingray Glass Company, Inc. in 1870.

Initially, Hemingray was established to manufacture flint and green glassware of all types. Their warehouse and retail outlet were in Cincinnati on Main Street between Columbia and Front Streets. Advertising as early as 1857 listed “Perfumers’ Ware, Telegraph Glasses and Lightning Rod Insulators” among many of the products manufactured by their firm in Covington. Later advertising mentioned apothecary items, bottles, fruit jars, pressed glass dishes, tumblers, battery jars, fishbowls, lantern globes, and oil lamps.

Hemingray made several styles of fruit jars. The most famous of them being the Globe Fruit Jar. Some other Hemingray made jars include Patented Nov 30 1858 (with/H.G.CO. Monogram), Patent No. 22,186, Patented Sep 18 1860 – Patent No. 30,063, Patented June 9 1863 – Patent No. 38,820, Patented Feb 16 1860 – Patent No. 41,657, Patented June 27 1865 – Patent No 48,399, Patented May 25, 1886 (GLOBE, On Lid) – No. 342,602, Royal and Royal of 1876. They also made a Push Down Wax Sealer jar and the unmarked Hemingray Melon Ribbed Jar.

Primary Image: The Royal of 1876 jar imaged on location by Alan DeMaison, FOHBC Virtual Museum Midwest Studio.

Support: Reference to Fruit Jar Annual 2020 – The Guide to Collecting Fruit Jars by Jerome J. McCann

Support: Reference to Red Book #11, the Collector’s Guide to Old Fruit Jars by Douglas M. Leybourne, Jr.

Support: Reference to 2015 NIA Hall of Fame Inductee Robert Hemingray

Support: Reference to The Hemingray Glass Firms by Bill Lockhart, Beau Schriever, Bill Lindsey, and Carol Serr with contributions by Bob Stahr and David Whitten

Support Image: Aqua Example #1: ROYAL / OF / 1876. This jar was embossed “ROYAL / OF / 1876” on the side and was made ca. 1876. The lid had the leaves and berry design embossed on the inside. The editors noted that there has been some speculation that the jars were made in honor of the centennial of the founding of the country. An 1876 Hemingray ad noted “‘Royal’ Improved Screw-Top Porcelain144 Figure 30 – Leaf and berry lid Lined Self-Sealing Fruit Jars” – even though none of the lids or jars found were made of “porcelain” (opal or milk glass). A deep aqua quart embossed: ROYAL OF 1876. Seedy glass character with a light whittled effect. Scarce correct original zinc band with two soldered-on wrench lugs. Correct original glass insert in matching deep aqua color, with embossed berry and leaves. There is no damage or stains other than the ground rim having edge flaking. Base: 14. – Greg Spurgeon and North American Glass

Support Image: Aqua Example #2: A deep aqua quart with strongly-raised embossing that reads “ROYAL OF 1876”. Nice glass character and sparkling clean condition with no damage or stains. Comes with a matching color Hemingray-made glass insert and a plain zinc band closure. Ground rim has minimal edge flaking. The base has a large Hemingray-style “8”. – Greg Spurgeon and North American Glass

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