As recorded in R. J. Charleston's book Masterpieces of Glass, the new English style even attracted the praise of the Venetian ambassador, who wrote of the "extreme beauty of the English drinking glasses". This must have been written with a clenched fist, because to that point Venice had been the world centre of glass manufacture.

English glassware, especially that designed for drinking purposes, has long been a desirable niche in the antiques market, although top-shelf items are hard to find. Many collectors and dealers have moved on to more fashionable areas, which explains why the Paul Hackforth-Jones collection of 18th-century glass is considered so significant.

Hackforth-Jones (see My Collection) has assembled a scholarly collection during the past 40 years and has decided to sell it all. This is a relatively rare event and should bring a few lapsed English glass enthusiasts out of the shadows.

Hackforth-Jones lives in Melbourne but has decided to sell through Shapiro Auctioneers in Queen Street, Woollahra.

The auction is scheduled for December 6 and the collection will be on view the week before (the catalogue is available at http://www.shapiroauctioneers.com).

Hackforth-Jones credits his friend Rex Ebbott with sparking his interest in English glass and guiding him on what to buy and what not. It would be hard to find a better mentor.

Ebbott was glass adviser to the Melbourne Art Gallery and wrote a book on the subject, British Glass of the 17th and 18th Centuries, published in 1971 by Oxford University Press. It's now considered a classic. The fact that he guided Hackforth-Jones only adds to the desirability of this collection.

For those who are collecting with one eye on future investment value, here is a perfect case study.

Hackforth-Jones says he collected primarily for pleasure (which includes the side benefits of using these glasses for their intended purpose) but decided at an early stage to concentrate on his chosen theme of 18th-century English glass, with occasional detours into the early 19th century and other parts of the British Empire. That shamelessly modern punchbowl (circa 1830) had to be included, as did a few rare examples of Irish glass. A carefully edited collection such as this is always worth more at the selling point than a random assortment.

He has carefully recorded the provenance of each item, including when and where he bought them. This makes a fascinating story in itself, charting his travels around the antique shops of Melbourne and Sydney, plus visits to Christie's in London and Somervale Antiques in Somerset, a favoured source. When possible he mentions the previous owners, including Wing Commander Thomas and a Mrs Wright of Wallingford.

Also included are any references to his glasses in print. One was featured in L. M. Bickerton's book 18th-Century English Drinking Glasses, while another was illustrated in the July 1985 edition of The Australian Antique Collector. All this adds character to the collection, as do the poetic descriptions in the catalogue, some worthy of a cryptic crossword clue. For example: "drawn ovoid bowls engraved with vesica, the fluting extending to the feet with a slight twist and extending in a rosette" refers to a pair of small goblets, not 17 down.

The jargon of antique glass can be daunting to the novice, with obtuse references to diamond-stippling or gadrooning. The works of writers such as Ebbott and Charleston are highly recommended for anyone interested in the subject.

There's a similarity here with another Melbourne enthusiast who sold his similarly well-edited collection, this time of vintage corkscrews, through Christie's former Melbourne rooms last year. The fact that this was also a complete collection, and the owner was happy to promote it under his name, helped in achieving better than expected results (about double in his case).

Some collectors prefer to remain well in the background but being able to discuss your lifetime's passion on radio or television is a considerable advantage when it comes to selling.

My collection

Now in his nineties, Melbourne collector Paul Hackforth-Jones has been fascinated by English glass for about 40 years. After bringing up four children he began to collect in earnest in 1977, when he retired from his management position with BP.

"I got a modest pension from my company," he laughs. "That put the jam on the bread and butter."

As he gained more knowledge through Melbourne glass guru Rex Ebbott, he decided to concentrate on 18th-century glass, with an emphasis on drinking vessels. In the early stages some of his collection was snapped up quite cheaply, although prices escalated in the 1980s, when investors moved in.

"Tastes change," he says of his collection's value. "I simply don't know what it's worth these days. What I do know is that I had an awful lot of fun collecting it."

Fortunately, he seems to be having fun selling it as well. In answer to the obvious question, he is indeed the father of the actress Penne Hackforth-Jones, best remembered for her role in the series Cash and Co and more recently in All Saints.