Glassblowers living and working in the colony of Jamestown in the early 17th century worked glass in much the same way as artisans today. Glass was heated in furnaces and gathered on blowpipes to be worked. Glassblowers used tools, gravity, and air to form the glass into the desired shape and cooled the glass in an annealing oven. Tools like marvers, puntys, blocks, and jacks were all used by colonial artisans. The process was essentially the same as it is today. When you watch a glassblower work in modern times, what you are really seeing is continuity in the artform that makes glassblowing a part of living history.
workingthelfame.com