trapped birds. In 1866 Charles Portlock, a young 
     
     Boston, Massachusetts, gunsmith and wingshot 
     
     enthusiast, saw trouble ahead for the new sport unless 
     
     some sort of alternative target could be found. 
     
     Portlock knew the glass balls being used in England 
     
     had met with only limited success, but he saw them as 
     
     the potential answer to the growing problem. In his 
     
     spare time he worked on further development of the 2 
     
     1/2" glass spheres, and also built a throwing machine 
     
     to launch the targets horizontally, rather than 
     
     straight in the air as in England. The glass ball 
     
     targets were far from perfect, and not too popular 
     
     among trapshooters who had learned the game with live 
     
     birds. However, the growing negative reaction of the 
     
     public to live flyers did a great deal to enhance the 
     
     enthusiasm toward glass balls. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     TYPICAL GLASS TARGET — 1875 VINTAGE_ 
     
     - BLUE GLASS WORKS MODEL. 
     
    
   
   
    
     —-3-—