Clear heavy glass with bubbles in cover and dark greyish-green tinge; free blown, tooled and engraved; straight sided body increasing in diameter towards rim, concave base with rough pontil mark; set-in cover with large baluster finial surmounted by a knop and with applied ring to hold cover on flip. On the body Tobias guided by the Angel framed by conventional leaf scrolls, flowers and small leaves, on the left of the Angel a dog, above the scene an inscription forming an arch: "Happy is he who is blessed with virtuous children. Carolina Lucia Amelung. 1788". On the front of the cover two floral scrolls flanking a daisy.

One year after the American Revolution ended, John Frederick Amelung opened a large glasshouse in Maryland. Like Stiegel, Amelung remained in business for only 11 years, but in that time he invested more money in glassmaking than anyone in America before him. His factory turned out large quantities of table glass, much of which was engraved. Some of these pieces are signed and dated. One of them is this tumbler, which bears a scene from the Book of Tobit: an angel leads Tobias, the son of Tobit, on his journey to cure his father’s blindness. The inscription, “Happy is he who is blessed with Virtuous Children,” indicates that Amelung considered his life a happy one. Amelung made this goblet in 1788 for his wife, Carolina Lucia.