Friggers/End-of-Day

The origins

Common friggers produced in earlier times were novelty items such as boots, hats, walking sticks and pipes, and were deemed as such to have an impractical use; hence decorative or ornamental purposes only. These were supposedly created at the 'end-of-day' to use up left-over glass and allowed the glassmakers some creative freedom; such items were normally very well made and could often be exquisitively detailed. This freedom of expression also allowed real experimentation with colours or effects and it is possible this provided the basis for many production items seen today.

In reality, however, most friggers were probably made by the glassblowers to sell off down the pub at the end of the shift to subsidise their wages!

Other modern examples of friggers can take on very abstract forms, further emphasising their impracticality. Often these are produced commercially: Mdina, Mtarfa and Isle of Wight Glass are all known for this.

End-of-Day

Modern day end-of-day glass items could easily be practically used – some Murano 'splatter' glass items for example probably should not be categorised as friggers as they are commonly seen listed on eBay.

The term 'end-of-day' has been overtaken by events. This apparently meant the glass left after when the worker had finished his shift but with most furnaces operating on a 24-hour basis it does become a little more obscure and probably just refers to the style of glass used: 'splatter' for example.

Collecting tips

Items that are purely decorative are not immediately friggers – purpose made sculptures could never fall into this category, for example. The term 'frigger' is rather specific and should really be applied to glass that never reaches production and was produced in small quantities, or as one-offs. Whimsical pieces could be construed as friggers.

But what happens when a frigger is adopted for production? Is it then a production item or an ex-frigger...?

Nailsea workers were known to produce friggers and these items are sought-after.

End-of-Day Glass

Commonly used term for glass that has a base colour and multiple coloured inclusions — supposedly where coloured glass left-overs were mixed into the base colour. Murano items such as the fishes are typical examples. However, Czech 'splatter glass' items are true production items.