enameled chick & birds on rich blue, 4 1/2" diameter, 19thcentury, excellent....Mary Gregory glass is easily recognised by its simplicity and naïve charm. There is a myth that Mary Gregory (Miss) was an old lady who painted the children she longed for but never had. This probably is not true. We know that Mary Gregory was an American woman who lived from 1856-1908 and from about 1885 she and her sister worked for the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company ‘till the late 1880’s. Even if they had both worked everyday of their lives and were still alive now they could not have produced all the work bearing the ‘Mary Gregory’ name! We can all recognise Mary Gregory glass, the painted and enamelled decoration consists of children (and very rarely babies, see below) in silhouette, typically Victorian and quite similar to the illustrations by Britain’s Kate Greenaway. These children could be flying kites, bowling hoops, blowing bubbles or simply playing, usually surrounded by grass, foliage or fern. They are dressed in typical Victorian ‘Sunday Best’ clothes, usually knickerbockers, sailor suits or crinolines. These figures are usually found on a variety of coloured glass. The values are affected by the colour of the glass, which I shall list from the least valuable upwards, clear, clear with amethyst, dark green, light green, amber, light blue, turquoise, cobalt blue, ruby and finally cranberry. Some examples can be found where the children’s faces have flesh coloured tints. These seriously detract from the value and could even be reproduction. After all if they are in silhouette why pick out the face? Almost all of the Mary Gregory glass that we see in Europe was made at the Hahn Factory at Gablonz, which was in Bohemia but today is known as the Czech republic. Other factories in Bohemia also produced ‘Mary Gregory’ glass, even the highly regarded factory of Moser at Karlsbad. I have found no evidence of any ‘Mary Gregory’ glass originating in the UK. Many shapes with the above colour combinations were produced but then, as now a pair of any items, with children facing each other is particularly sought after. However, the most desirable type of decoration is of 'babies' crawling in Victorian nursery-ware.