Antique American Glass
Antique American Glass
The Native Americans had not made glass before the Spanish conquered Mexico and established a glassworks there. The ingredients of sand, lime, and soda were present in
abundance. The native Americans did make arrow heads and amulets of quartz and obsidian.
The first colonists discovered that the native people liked to use coloured glass beads for their wampum or necklaces. Wampum were made of beads, stones, and shells which were
also used as a form of currency.
The first efforts to make glass in the colonies was therefore directed at making coloured glass beads. The first group of professional glassblowers consisted of eight Dutch and
Polish settlers who were invited by the businessman John Smith to carry on their trade in Jamestown, Virginia and to teach their craft to others. The enterprise was not
successful though and the group split up and spread throughout the colonies. The majority of wealthy citizens imported glass from Europe.
This was essential since the British had banned the establishment of factories in the colonies. When someone finally took the risk in setting up a glass works the market proved
to be too small but many attempts were made. Most failed within a year.
The first successful glassworks was established in 1739 by the German settler Caspar Wistar at Alloway, New Jersey. At first Wistar solely made bottles and green window glass
but later he made household glassware.
After the American War of Independence the economy developed rapidly and the Americans no longer had to obey the English law so that industry grew too.
The census of 1810 counted a mere 22 glassworks, most of which went bankrupt in the war of 1812. In 1820 the number had grown to 40 healthy glassworks.
In that same year America started to put duty on imported glass so that American glass companies were better able to compete with European ones. About 90 new glassworks were
established in the ten years up to 1830. The glass industry was concentrated in Pittsburgh, Ohio, and Virginia. These areas were ideal because there was ample coal and the
rivers could be used for transport.
The glass industry in the east of the country at this time found times harder and harder. In this area wood was mainly used as fuel and this was becoming increasingly scarce.
Many glassworks in that area disappeared. The original glassblowing techniques had been in use for centuries by Italian, German, Dutch, and Bohemian glass-makers.
Two new techniques were developed at the start of the nineteenth century that made glass much cheaper and within everyone’s pocket. The first of these was the blowing of glass
into moulds in the form and decoration of the finished product and the second was the introduction of the pressed glass machine. Craftsmen glassblowers opposed the introduction
of these techniques because
American cake or sandwich dish, circa 1835.
they were afraid of losing their livelihoods.
The authoritarian manager of the famous Sandwich glassworks where glass was first machine pressed was Deming Jarves. He was so threatened by the protesting glass workers that he
remained shut up in his great house for six weeks to avoid coming to harm. The workers eventually gave in and other factories followed suit. For the modern collector it is now
quite a challenge to assemble an entire service of glass from one of these works.
Most glass makers took little account of fashion and the style of furniture in use at a given time had virtually no influence on glass objects.
Renowned glass makers
There are many colourful and talented persons from the American glass industry. The legendary glass maker Henry William Stiegel originated from Germany. Stiegel arrived in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1750, when he was 21.
He quickly found work there in the ironworks of Jacob Huber.
He married his boss’s daughter and in order not to be ungrateful he continued to work for his father-in-law for several more years. In 1863 he set up his first glassworks
alongside the ironworks which in the meantime he now owned.
Within six years Stiegel had enough money through speculating in land to establish his own town in Pennsylvania. This town he called Mannheim.
In Mannheim he set up two glassworks. The inhabitants of Mannheim were expected to call him Baron Stiegel. Baron Stiegel wanted to conduct himself like an old fashioned German
baron. He organised luxurious balls, dinners, concerts, and other festivities in his grand house on the market square of Mannheim. His house had a flat roof on which an
orchestra would play. Guests could drink unlimited wine at his parties from superb Stiegel glasses.
The carafes were often made specially for the occasion. When he went on his travels he had a cannon fired to mark his home coming so that the inhabitants should know their
beloved baron was back.
Stiegel spent far too much money and creditors pursued him but this did nor prevent him from building - a school house for the children of Mannheim. In order to pay off his
debts he started to produce bottles and window glass and was so successful that he was able to extend the works. He employed 150 people, most of whom he had arranged for them to
emigrate from Europe. His accounts show that he produced 66,000 glass items in 1770. They also reveal that he had only sold 5,000 wine carafes, candleholders, dishes, bottles,
and medical items.
The more the baron made the more he spent. His debts became so huge that he put everything on sale except his house and the glass works but there were no takers.
American 19th century vase of blue glass.
He then organised a lottery for a `Manufactory of Public Advantage’ but only $500 was raised. In 1773 his creditors took charge of the Charming Forge ironworks and six months
later they got their hands on his Mannheim property.
The famous glassmaker was arrested and put into prison for debt at the end of 1874. When he was released he had nothing more for himself and his family than some clothes and
bedding. Nothing more is known after this about this eccentric character. Even the year and place of his death is unknown. Ten years after the failure of Stiegel, his countryman
Jon Frederick Amelung set up a glassworks in Maryland. Just like Stiegel he brought over craftsmen from Germany.
The output of this New Bremen Glass Manufactory was renowned for the superior quality of its engraving. The products were engraved with monograms, family coats of arms,
inscriptions and such like. The copper wheel engraving was extremely refined and has become world famous.
In addition to window glass and bottles, the New Bremen works also started to make wine glasses and tableware. This glass is usually blue, green, or purple with a characteristic
smoky tint. Little is known of Deming Jarves, mentioned earlier. Because he was born in a coach travelling through Europe he did not know where he was born in 1790 or 1791. At
age 25, after he had had a number of jobs as salesman, he became agent for a number of glassworks. Together with friends, he bought a poorly performing glassworks in East
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
This business was originally run by an English glass cutter, Richard Fisher. Fisher was smuggled aboard a ship in a barrel because the English law forbade glass cutters from
leaving the country. Jarves reorganised his business significantly and changed the name to New England Glass Company.
The works quickly produced crown glass, which makes good quality window glass. In the following seven years Jarves tried out every aspect of the glass industry and introduced
many innovations. Meanwhile he was also chosen for various political functions but was not successful in Cambridge.
He was not interested in discussing his plans with his colleagues, preferring to do everything himself. He withdrew from New England Glass and moved to Sandwich on Cape Cod in
Massachusetts where he established the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company. This was to become the most famous American glassworks.
In order to transport his goods to the harbour Jarves had his own railway built which was the first private railway in the United States.
Jarves certainly liked to keep every aspect of business under his own control and when the factory was producing too much in 1848 to ship by the sailing vessels used until this
time he contacted the director of the Cape Cod Railway and asked for a discount to ship glass. When this was turned down Jarves angrily informed him that he was going to have a
steam ship built. The railway director
American 19th century Basset glass with Sterling silver decoration.
merely riposted “I think the acorn for the tree from which the timber for your ship will come is not even planted yet.” A few months later Jarves launched his steamship named
Acorn. This ship transported the glass to Boston until the railway gave in to his demands. Although Jarves was somewhat of a potentate it must be added that he was one of the
first to consider the welfare of his workers.
The prices were kept low in the company shop and only low rents had to be paid for worker’s houses. He also gave a pension to the widows of his former workers and he ensured
that the boys who worked for him went to school for a few hours each day. The boys did not like this but Jarves made up for this by giving them fireworks for Independence Day.
Jarves worked in Sandwich for more than 30 years but he suddenly gave it all up on his 68th birthday.
No-one knows the reason but perhaps he had threatened once too often that if he did not get his own way he would give it all up. In no time at all he set up a new glass works at
Sandwich which competed with the original one until his death. When Jarves died the spark went out of the new works and it was never rekindled.The old works eventually got into
difficulty because more modern glassworks could produce glass more cheaply and in larger volume.
The Boston & Sandwich Glass Company could not cope with this and was closed on New Year’s Day 1888.
This was not the only business that went under. William Leighton developed a process in West Virginia that used ordinary non-hydrated lime instead of red lead in order to make
flint glass. Other glassmakers everywhere tried to reproduce the technique but this proved so difficult that it was not done until the patent on the process had elapsed.
Competitors were forced to use a more expensive process for a longer period.
The glassworks in Pennsylvania and West Virginia also had the advantage of being close to the Appalachian mountains where there was coal. This significantly reduced their costs.
The one who survived these troublesome times was the famous glass maker Louis Comfort Tiffany, founder of the famous jewellers. Tiffany study art in Paris where he first wanted
to paint. He became interested in stained glass through European cathedrals.
Tiffany did not lack self confidence and he soon believed he could create far more beautiful windows.
In order to prove this he established a studio in Corona on Long Island in 1893 where he managed to demonstrate that American windows are superior to the best windows of the
Middle Ages.
Apart from being very creative, Tiffany was also a good businessman, for in order to make more profit from his
already successful business he started to make decorative items from the scraps of glass left over from his other activities. He realised that he needed to better understand
chemistry in order to bring about modernisation and indeed he brought together his creativity, craftsmanship, and chemistry in his Favrile iridescent glass that creates a play
with light. Tiffany was also busy in the field of glazed copper, designing of jewellery, earthenware, textiles, landscape architecture, and mosaics. He continued to work until
his death at 85 years of age.