Block of uranium glass in a cloth bag. This uranium glass comes from a 15-drawer cabinet found in the Herschel family home in the 1950s. The contents of this and a similar cabinet seems to suggest that they were used by successive generations of the family to store specimens, material and apparatus for carrying out experiments. Uranium glass (sometimes called vaseline glass) was a popular novelty material in the late 19th century. It contains a very small amount of uranium and this makes it glow in UV light. For a time it was used to make all kinds of glassware including drinking glasses.