wine glass

This wineglass is one of three known pieces with inscriptions referring to the political contest involving Sir James Lowther and John Upton in the Westmorland parliamentary election in 1761. (The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, houses an almost identical wineglass and a decanter with the same inscription: C.322-1931 and C.323-1931.) The two men stood jointly against a third candidate, Edward Wilson, who had served as a member of Parliament from 1747 to 1754. In 1761, Lowther, who became part of a dynasty of politicians that provided members of Parliament from the late 17th to 19th centuries, and Upton won the election. Two years later, Lowther was succeeded by his brother Robert, who served with Upton until 1764. Electioneering glasses were handed out on behalf of various candidates in 18th-century elections, but because they cost so much to make, they were probably distributed to a small number of supporters. After an appointment had been made or renewed, these glasses became souvenirs of the campaign, and they usually did not last until the next election. This wineglass originally belonged to John Upton, and it descended in his family, suggesting that there was an enduring sense of pride in the seven years he served in Parliament. For more on glasses used in political contests, see John Shuckburgh Risley, “Georgian Electioneering Glasses,” The Burlington Magazine, v. 37, no. 212, November 1920, pp. 220–233; and Percy H. Bate, English Table Glass, London: B. T. Batsford, 1913, pp. 109–111, figs. 225–230.