10/05/2026
A Scottish "HODGE PODGE"...
Not very often does one encounter an 18th-century Scottish Drinking Club glass with detailed surviving records preserved within the Glasgow City Archives and accessible through the Mitchell Library — The Hodge Podge Club is one of those rare exceptions.
An outstanding and historically important Scottish engraved glass from the Dr Rigby Collection, the piece offers not only exceptional rarity and craftsmanship, but also a direct and traceable connection to the social and mercantile drinking culture of 18th-century Glasgow.
It has a drawn trumpet bowl, finely engraved within a continuous laurel wreath enclosing two opposing cartouches. One is inscribed “HODGE PODGE”, the other “5th MAY 1752”. The lettering is confidently executed, with distinctive feathered strokes and polished detailing.
Historical Context
The inscription almost certainly relates to the convivial drinking society known as the Hodge Podge Club, active in Glasgow during the mid-18th century. Formed amongst the city’s mercantile community at a time of considerable commercial prosperity, the club reflects the informal yet structured culture of dining and drinking that characterised the period.
Surviving records of the club are held within the Glasgow City Archives, accessible through the Mitchell Library, where minute books and later historical accounts document its activities. These sources describe a society built around regular meetings, shared dining, and regulated conviviality, with a tone that was both disciplined and deliberately light-hearted.
The earliest surviving minutes of the club begin on 5th May 1752, the date engraved on the glass. This should be understood not as the precise moment of formation, but rather as the point at which formal record-keeping began. The club was almost certainly in existence prior to this date.
Of particular relevance is the recorded purchase, in 1761, of sixty Hodge Podge glasses ordered from London. Although no pictorial records of these glasses survive, this reference confirms that glasses associated with the club were being specifically commissioned during the period.
The present glass, both in its engraving and construction, sits comfortably within this documented phase of activity.
Alex Smillie
In mid-18th century Scotland, drinking and dining clubs formed a well-established part of social life. These ranged from structured societies in Edinburgh to more informal tavern-based groups in Glasgow.
Notable examples include the Cape Club and the Poker Club, alongside the more private and indulgent Beggar’s Benison. Alongside these were numerous smaller, largely unrecorded merchant clubs, particularly in Glasgow, where groups met regularly for dining, drinking, and fellowship.
The Hodge Podge Club belongs firmly within this latter tradition; informal, convivial, and rooted in the everyday social culture of the city’s mercantile community.
We cannot say if this glass is one of the original sixty ordered in 1761, but to our knowledge its the only surviving glass that references the club from that period.
You can find out more about the glass by using our web site link below -
https://www.exhibitantiques.com/item/6474/exhibitantiques/Rare-Georgian-Engraved-Scottish-Drinking-Club-Glass-c1760---Hodge-Podge-Club.html
