The Pittsburgh region, while well known for steelmaking, was
likewise an important glass manufacturing center in this country's
history. This book provides detailed accounts of the region's
glassmakers from the first factory dating to 1795 through 1910.
Glassmaking started out modestly with small glasshouses in
Pittsburgh and up the Monongahela River in New Geneva during the
final few years of the 18th century. By the close of the 19th
century, the Pittsburgh region was producing more than half of all
domestic window glass and the lion's share of most other forms of
glass in the United States.
The original purpose of this manuscript was to assemble and
record as accurately as possible the history of all of the
glassworks and the glass manufacturers that operated them in
Pittsburgh and the immediate surrounding region. This book was
designed to be a reference guide for anyone who is interested in
the history of glass in western Pennsylvania. The years companies
were operating, where the glassworks were located, what types of
glass and specific glass items did they make, and what marks did
they use is just some of the information that can be found in this
book. There are hundreds of individual companies and name changes
listed in this volume. It contains as much information about each
company that could practically be included. Even the most minor
name or address change was recorded exactly as noted by
contemporary sources.
As much as possible, contemporary reference sources, such as
city directories, early newspapers, maps, and journals were used to
provide accurate and complete histories of the glasshouses.
Generally, the better-known companies will have much more of their
history available. However, every known glassmaker and glasshouse
was included, regardless of how little information about them could
be found. This book is intended to aid researchers in the
determination of the age and the origin of marked pieces as well as
narrowing down potential manufacturers of unmarked objects. The
liberal reproduction of original advertisements and maps as well as
the photographs of glass marks were included to complement and
augment the narrative. The format of this book was established to
facilitate its use as a reference guide.
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