Opaque white glass attained its greatest popularity at the end of the 19th century. American glass manufacturers made opaque white tablewares as a substitute for costly European china and glass. Other opaque colours, e.g., blue and green, also were made. Production of milk-glass novelties came in with the Edwardian era. (more…)

Mercury glass is a light-bodied, double-walled glass that was ’silvered’ by applying a solution of silver nitrate to the inside of the object through a hole in its base. (more…)

The McKee Glass Co. was established in 1843 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1852, it opened a factory to produce pattern glass. In 1888, the factory was relocated to Jeannette, Pennsylvania, and began to produce many types of glass kitchenware, including several patterns of Depression glass. The factory continued until 1951, when it was sold to the Thatcher Manufacturing Co. (more…)

Edward Libbey established the Libbey Glass Company in Toledo, Ohio, in 1888 after the New England Glass Works of W.L. Libbey and Son closed in East Cambridge, Massachusetts. The new Libbey Company produced quality cut glass, which today is considered to belong to the brilliant period. (more…)

Imperial Glass Co., Bellaire, Ohio, was organized in 1901. Its primary product was pattern glass. Soon other lines were added, including carnival glass, Nuart, Nucut, and Near Cut. In 1916, the company introduced Free-Hand, a lustred art glass line, and Imperial Jewels, an iridescent stretch glass that carried the Imperial cross trademark. In the 1930s, the company was reorganized into the Imperial Glass Corporation. The firm was sold to Lenox in 1976, and ceased all operations by 1984. (more…)

The A.H. Heisey Glass Co. began producing glasswares in April 1896, in Newark, Ohio, Heisey, the firm’s founder was not a newcomer to the field, having been associated with the craft since his youth. (more…)