Odds and quads

She was a leading glass artist and engraver. He was the chemist who had established the University of Sheffield's pioneering department of glass technology in 1915.

The dress was made in their honour by Glass Fibres Ltd, a Glasgow-based company.

On the day of the wedding, the glass fibres in the heel of one of the shoes cracked, so wearing them was a painful experience for the bride.

The outfit is one of the highlights of Sheffield's Turner Museum of Glass, which Professor Turner established in 1943 to encourage students to appreciate the aesthetic as well as the technical properties of the material they worked with.

The 380 items on display include 18th-century drinking glasses, green doorstops, a contemporary engraved window, rare pieces of ruby, Venetian and Bohemian glass, and a mosaic map showing the major glass-making centres of the world.

Many were gifts from the companies that consulted Professor Turner.

Send suggestions for this series on the treasures, oddities and curiosities owned by universities across the world to: matthew.reisz@tsleducation.com.