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Glass Maker History (page 1)
Interesting History and Tidbits about
Glass Makers from both Past and Present
Imperial Glass:
Imperial Glass Company, Bellaire, Ohio was organized in 1901 and
was in continuous production, except for a very brief period, until its closing
in June 1984. It has been a major producer of Carnival Glass earlier in the
last century and also produced other types of glass, including an art glass line
call “Free Hand Ware” during the 1920’s, and its “Jewels” about 1916. Early
Imperial Glass was clear glass in an extensive range of tableware and imitation
cut designs. Imperial owned Heisey and Cambridge Glass during the 1950's,
and continued to produce a large number of Heisey and Cambridge patterns.
During 1970's Imperial was owned by Lenox, and mostly made gift glassware until
it closed in 1984.
Hocking Glass ~ Anchor Hocking:
The individuals who etched the early history of Anchor
Hocking were gritty, persistent, inventive and adventurous. The first was Isaac
J. Collins, a native of Salisbury, Maryland who in 1903 moved to Lancaster, Ohio
In 1905, a firm named the Lancaster Carbon Company went into receivership and
its plant, called the Black Cat from all the carbon dust, was on the market. He
called his company the Hocking Glass Company, named for the Hocking River near
which the plant is located.
During the 1920s Hocking revolutionized tableware production with a machine that
pressed glass automatically. The 1929 stock market crash, which put many
companies out of business, merely sent Hocking Glass engineers back to the
drawing boards. Their challenge: develop a means of producing tumblers so
cheaply that they could be sold in volume.
On October 17, 1977, Anchor Hocking adopted a new symbol and a new logotype to
identify the company to the world. The new symbol, a blue anchor with a modern,
contemporary appearance. The blue anchor replaced the red Anchor-H, which
identified the company since 1937 when the Hocking Glass Company merged with the
Anchor Cap Corporation to become Anchor Hocking. The same blue anchor represents
Anchor Hocking today.
Today, Anchor Hocking enjoys the financial backing and support resources of its
growing parent company, Newell. In March, 1999 Newell completed the acquisition
of Rubbermaid Incorporated. The combined company is now called Newell Rubbermaid
Inc.
Akro Agate:
The Akro Agate Co. was located
in Clarksburg, West Virginia in 1914 and produced many novelty items for over 40
years. They began making marbles for children and expanded the line in the early
1930's to include flower pots, ash trays, urns and lamps. To today's collector
they are best know for their children play set. Their mark was a flying crow
carrying marbles in its claws and beak. The factory closed in 1951.
Popular Child's Sets: Oxblood & Lemonade, Trans
Azure Stacked Disc and Miss America.
Cambridge Glass:
The Cambridge Glass Company began operations in 1901 in
Cambridge, Ohio. Primarily they made crystal dinnerware and well-designed
accessory pieces until the 1920s when they introduced the concept of color that
was to become so popular on the American dinnerware market. Always
maintaining high
standards of quality and elegance, they produced many lines that became
bestsellers, through the ‘20s and ‘30s they were recognized as the larges
manufacturer of this type of glassware in the world. Of the various marks the
company used, the ‘C in triangle’ is the most familiar. Production stopped in
1958 when the company closed and Imperial Glass purchased all of Cambridge’s
molds and equipment. Cambridge patterns continued to be produced by
Imperial Glass until it closed in 1984. Today you can find the Cambridge
molds at the Cambridge Museum in Ohio.
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