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No! This is Not a Christmas Ornament

Our last article discussed the use of the punt guns in commercial duck hunting. Boastfully, these commercial hunters would let the world know (at the local pub) the largest quantity of ducks they had killed in one day. And so the competition began to see who could shoot the most consecutive “live birds” with smaller gauge shotguns. The net result was the first shooting range in the 1830’s. Initially animate targets were pigeons, purple martins, blackbirds and bats. As time passed, along with the number of extant birds, the focus centered on the pigeons, however there was always a complaint as the flight path of each bird generally didn’t provide each shootist the same degree of difficulty per shot. Such was the case for the development of glass target balls in 1866 by Charles Portlock of Boston. Interestingly, however, a serious trap, invented by C.A. Bogardus, for their delivery was not developed until ten years later. In this time frame the hazard created by flying glass and shards left on the ground, forced the invention of concrete with pitch and even the use of wooden balls. This all ended with the construction of the ecologically friendly clays by George Legowsky in 1880. Hence the name “clay pigeons” after their live counterparts.

As stated previously it was necessary to provide some uniformity to the competition so glass target balls were developed to accommodate this need. While every effort was made to make each round ball uniform in thickness, the glassblowers, who produced these balls, could never achieve this. Over the years many people mistakenly used the glass target balls for Christmas ornaments. Even more interesting is the fact that the hoarding of target balls for their use at Christmas time has helped with much of the information we know about them today.

Target balls were in use from the 1860’s to the 1920’s. Even though clays were around in the 1880’s the effect of a glass target ball filled with sawdust, powder, feathers or whatever made for a real site when shot. This dramatic effect was great for Buffalo Bill’s Wild West shows as streamers were placed in the target balls shot by Annie Oakley. Shooting galleries in the 1920’s Chicago amusement parks also used the glass balls for the dramatic effect that was displayed when shot.

These little orbs can be identified by their short, rough, open neck where the ball was removed from the glass blowers pipe. They were made essentially in two different forms. Ranging in sizes of 2¼”-5”, the completely smooth ball was the least expensive to produce. The patterned ball was the most popular as the theory had it, that a single pellet would glance off of the smooth ball, but get caught in the edges of a patterned ball thus breaking it. Costing $1.00 per hundred and up, millions were blown from standard two, three or higher piece glass molds.

Each glassmaker had his own artisans that made these small glass works of art. And, no, they weren’t just made in the good ol’ US of A. Because we know that most of the least expensive and highly produced balls were round and smooth with no makers mark, we are stuck with the hope of finding a sawdust filled and marked wooden case with contents so we can identify the maker. Sometime the patterned balls had the patentee’s name, or for promotional purposes the name of a wholesale gun manufacturer or gun maker, but not a makers mark. As of this writing, we aren’t certain as to all of the manufacturers. What we do know is that Hagerty Bros., Bohemian Glass Works and Whitall, Tatum and Co. were among the American producers and North British Glassworks of Perth, Scotland was a major foreign producer.

So if the above information doesn’t make your head spin let’s talk about the pricing which adds another twist. Glass balls needed to be colored for visual purposes. Please be advised that amber can come in many different shades along with the blue, purple, clear and green colors, which were also used. Again condition plays a part as a cracked ball with a broken neck will sell for less than a perfect specimen regardless of color. Most targets sell for less than $200 but prices have soared well above $10,000 for the rare examples. Recently a deep amber marked Western Gun Works ball with a cracked neck sold for over $8,000. An amber Bogardus patent 1877 diamond pattern ball in excellent condition recently sold at auction for $575 excluding commissions.

So the moral to this story is don’t be fooled by those little glass balls that hang from your grannies Christmas tree. She may not know, but now you don’t have an excuse.

If you want more information about target balls visit www.acp-web.com. The web site has over 40,000 photos and is dedicated to the description, authentication and pricing of all antiques and collectibles based on condition.