Mt. Washington & Pairpoint Glass

The Mt. Washington Glass Works and the companies that succeeded it constitute America's second-oldest glass manufacturer. The first Mt. Washington factory opened for business in South Boston in about 1837, and a descendant firm, the Pairpoint Glass Company, continues to make fine glass in Sagamore, Massachusetts. In the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-centuries, Mt. Washington was celebrated for its Art Glass and Rich Cut glass, which are highly prized by collectors today. However, until now, virtually nothing has been known of the company's history or its many other products. This book, long and eagerly awaited by glass collectors, corrects the situation. It offers a comprehensive history of the firm and begins a survey of the many types of glass manufactured by Mt. Washington, including fine-quality pressed and blown wares, lamp chimneys, lanterns, and attractive lamps and chandeliers. Other products discussed and illustrated in this volume are the first Art Glasses (Iridescent and Sicilian), Rose Amber, Burmese, Peach Blow and Pearl Satin Ware, cameo and Coraline glass, and novelties, salts, and toothpicks. Volume 2 will complete the survey, presenting chapters on Royal Flemish, Albertine, Crown Milano, Crown Pairpoint (Pairpoint Limoges), Napoli (Neapolitan), Verona, the Rich Cut glass of the Brilliant period, and the cut, engraved, and colored glasses that have been made by Mt. Washington and its successors up to the present day. The descriptions and colour illustrations of these glasses and silver-plated wares will be of considerable interest to scholars and collectors, as well as to those who are interested in design, technology, and expert craftsmanship. The illustrations also include catalogue pages, advertisements, patents, production records, and related material, most of which are being published for the first time. Readers who are interested in business and socioeconomics will find here a wealth of information about business practices in the glass industry.