Stacey & Co – London E Gallery Ball

Stacey & Co – London E.

GaLLERY Ball

London, England

Deep Sapphire Almost Cobalt Blue

Provenance: Ex: Ralph Finch Collection, American Glass Gallery

Here is an interesting ball from London. One that we would consider extremely rare. Note this is a “Gallery Ball” instead of a “Target Ball.” A minor difference because this ball was meant to be targeted and broken at a shooting gallery, so really a target ball too. It was popular at circuses, carnivals and shooting galleries to throw and shoot at targets, including glass bottles and balls, along with the typical tin and steel target animals and birds like the “Pig Playing a Flute” target pictured in the slide carousel above.

See the museum example of an Unembossed Gallery Ball.

In the United States, Capt. Adam Henry Bogardus had a glass ball shooting gallery in Chicago. The gallery apparently handed out souvenir glass balls to the shooters and carried the following inscription on the base of the ball, “From Bogardus and Co. Shooting Gallery, 158 So. Clark St., Chicago.” Read Bogardus’ Glass Ball.

Our example is embossed ‘STACEY & Co – LONDON E’ and was probably made somewhere between 1880 and 1900. The 2-piece mold ball is in a beautiful deep sapphire blue glass color that is almost cobalt blue. There is a small block pattern above and below the center band with a rough, sheared mouth. There is a long neck with a ring. The diameter is 2-1/8 inches. It is reported that there are only a half dozen or so examples known. We have a second “Stacey & Co. London E” target ball from the same collection in light to medium sapphire blue.

The American Glass Gallery auction catalog for the Finch Collection lists the following information for Stacey & Co. balls:

• Quilted pattern. “STACEY & CO, LONDON E” on a center band of this gallery-size ball. A slightly raised ring at midpoint around the neck of this 2-inch diameter ball. Medium blue (a half-dozen-plus?) There’s a medium cobalt blue ball that looks exactly like the one above, except there are no words embossed.

• STACEY SETTLES ST LONDON, E. is embossed in a circle on the base of this aqua standard-size ball, covered in a cross-hatch design.

Benjamin John Stacey

Benjamin John Stacey was born around 1849 in Hoxton, Middlesex, England. In 1880, he was listed as a Master Gunsmith living at 19 Settles Street. The Settles name is actually embossed on a variant of this ball. He started Stacey & Company, who were listed as Gunmakers at 17 & 19 Settles Street in 1900. They also made and sold naphtha and paraffin lamps.

We see advertising for the company saying that they sold guns and ammunition for Shooting Saloons and sold goods for Throwing Games.

SHOWMAN AND TRAVELLERS’ Requirements, Guns and Ammunition for Shooting Saloons, good lines in ‘Throwing Games’. Lists free they said at Stacey & Co., “Star Works,” Settles Street, London, E., This appeared in The Showman: An Illustrated Journal for Showmen and All Entertainers, Volumes 3-4, 1901

Another advertisement in The Illustrated Weekly Journal for Mechanics in 1900 stated:

Glass bottles suitable for shooting galleries can be obtained from Stacey & Co. Settles Street, Whitechapel, London.

Primary Image: The Stacey & Co. gallery ball imaged on location by the FOHBC Virtual Museum midwest studio led by Alan DeMaison.

Support Primary Image: Auction Lot 687: “STACEY & Co – LONDON E” Gallery Ball, England, 1880-1900. Deep sapphire, almost a cobalt blue, small block pattern above and below center band, 2-piece mold, long neck with ring, rough sheared mouth, dia. 2 1/8”; (a dug ball with a bit of minor exterior wear and light surface scratches; a couple of chips from the rough sheared mouth, likely in-making). A very rare gallery ball, perhaps a half dozen, or so, examples known. – American Glass Gallery, The Ralph Finch Collection of Target Balls, Traps and Shooting Ephemera, An Absentee Auction in Six Parts – 2017-2019

Support Secondary Image: Auction Lot 742: “STACEY & Co – LONDON E” Gallery Ball, England, 1880 – 1900.  Light-to-medium sap-phire, small block pattern above and below center band, 2-piece mold, long neck with ring, rough sheared mouth, dia. 2 1/8”; (a dug ball with only a small area of minor interior haze, and a couple of small open surface bubbles).  A very rare gallery ball.  This ex-ample is believed to be the best the handful of examples known. – American Glass Gallery, The Ralph Finch Collection of Target Balls, Traps and Shooting Ephemera, An Absentee Auction in Six Parts – 2017-2019

Support Images: Stacey target ball and bottle picture, bottle shards and top “Wanted” ad courtesy John Ault.

Support: Reference to What are target balls? I’m glad you asked! by Ralph Finch

Support: Reference to the American Glass Gallery, The Ralph Finch Collection of Target Balls, Traps and Shooting Ephemera, An Absentee Auction in Six Parts – 2017-2019

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