A rare pre-civil war pressed glass jar from the early factory of Gray, Hemingray & Bros.

According to the research of Hemingray historian Bob Stahr:

"Peter Smith is listed in the 1861 Cincinnati city directory as Importer and Dealer in Dauguerreotype, Ambrotype and Melainotype materials (photographic materials). There are a number of patents of the era mentioning photographic bath vessels being made of glass and other types of materials."

Bob also notes that the logo "Gray, Hemingray & Bros" indicates the period of 1857-1860.

An extremely rare, possibly singular, example of great importance as perhaps the only known piece of glass in existence being embossed "Gray, Hemingray & Bros".

This early pressed glass manufacturing technique also demonstrates an early stage in the evolution of methods that this company would move on to use for more than half a century of glass insulator production.