Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! These three glass target balls represent a vanished chapter in American shooting sports—the era when marksmen shattered airborne glass spheres before crowds of amazed spectators. Invented in the mid-1800s, these hollow glass orbs became the standard for aerial shooting competitions and exhibition performances until clay pigeons displaced them in the 1880s. What made glass balls superior to earlier targets was their perfect combination of fragility and spectacle. Weighing just enough to maintain trajectory when launched from spring traps, they exploded into brilliant shards when struck, creating visual drama that captivated audiences. Exhibition shooters often filled them with feathers, confetti, or colored powder to enhance the theatrical effect. The lighter blue example bears markings from N.B. Glass Works of Perth, Scotland, demonstrating the international market for these targets. The darker blue and clear examples appear to be products of the famous Bogardus Glass Works, named after Captain Adam Bogardus—one of America’s premier exhibition shooters who popularized glass ball shooting in the 1870s.
Bogardus himself could break glass balls thrown simultaneously from multiple traps, sometimes hitting six targets in the air at once. His performances helped establish shooting exhibitions as major entertainment events, drawing crowds comparable to modern sporting events. The irony of these survivors is obvious—as consumable targets literally designed for destruction, intact examples are exceptionally rare today. Most of the millions produced met their intended fate in spectacular airborne explosions. These three represent not just target shooting history but the broader story of Victorian-era entertainment, when live shooting exhibitions rivaled circuses and theater for popular appeal. Their survival transforms them from disposable sporting goods into precious artifacts of America’s marksmanship heritage.
“Collector’s Lot of Three Bogardus Type Glass Target Balls.” Rock Island Auction Company, https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/4094/3084/collectors-lot-of-three-bogardus-type-glass-target-balls. Accessed 27 May 2025.
Writer | TheFirearmBlog
Writer | AllOutdoor.com Instagram | sfsgunsmith Old soul, certified gunsmith, published author, avid firearm history learner, and appreciator of old and unique guns.
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