Lancaster Glass Company

Last updated March 03, 2023

The Lancaster Glass Company was a producer of manufactured glassware in Lancaster, Ohio that ran from 1908 to 1937.^[1] They are a producer of depression glass and were known as an early innovator of color in depression-era glassware.^[2]

History

The company was founded by Lucien B. Martin and his son L. Phillip Martin in early July 1908. Following the creation of the company, a plant was built in Lancaster, Ohio, with plans to begin operations in November of that year. By the end of 1908, about 200 people were employed at the plant.

During the company's operating years, many patterns and colors were produced, and they were known mainly for their tableware and kitchen items. The glass made by Lancaster Glass Company can also be considered elegant glass, as it went through several finishing processes before being sold.^[3]

In 1924, the company was acquired by Anchor Hocking, who continued to produce glass under the Lancaster Glass Company name until 1937. After 1937, the Lancaster plant was known as Plant #2, which is still used today.^[4]

Patterns and colors

Lancaster Glass Company had many popular patterns during its working years. Some of their lines were No. 906 Open Work, Jody, Marguerite, Morning Glory, and Sunshine. These patterns were more often found in decorative pieces rather than tableware.^[2] The company’s most popular tableware lines were No. 1200 Jubilee and No. 203 Patrick.

During the early years of the company, they produced mainly pressed single-color crystal glass, in shades such as rose, topaz, green, and turquoise, among others.^[2] However, once the 1920s came around the company moved into producing more color options, often with multiple colors in the form of designs and etchings.^[1]

The rarest pieces today are the Sphinx pattern, and almost any colored piece of Lancaster's Cable or Petal with the Corn Flower etching done by the W. J. Hughes Corn Flower Company.^[3]

Even after the official dissolution of the company in 1937, Lancaster Glass patterns continued to be released under the Anchor Hocking name.

List of patterns

Cable
Cane Landrum
Debbra
Deco Brocade
Jody
Lana
Marguerite
Mermaid
Morning Glory
No. 1200 Jubilee
No. 203 Patrick
No. 906 Open Work
Petal
Sunshine
Sphinx

Related Research Articles

Fire-King is an Anchor Hocking brand of glassware similar to Pyrex. It was formerly made of low expansion borosilicate glass and ideal for oven use. Currently it is made of tempered soda-lime-silicate glass.

The Hazel-Atlas Glass Company was a large producer of machine-molded glass containers headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia. It was founded in 1902 in Washington, Pennsylvania, as the merger of four companies:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Depression glass</span> American and Canadian pressed glassware made in the 1930s

Depression glass is glassware made in the period 1929–1939, often clear or colored translucent machine-made glassware that was distributed free, or at low cost, in the United States and Canada around the time of the Great Depression. Depression glass is so called because collectors generally associate mass-produced glassware in pink, yellow, crystal, green, and blue with the Great Depression in America.

Cambridge Glass was a manufacturer of glassware formed in 1873 in Cambridge, Ohio. The company produced a range of coloured glassware in the 1920s, initially with opaque shades, but moving on to transparent shades by the end of the decade. Unable to compete with mass-produced glassware, the company closed briefly in 1954, but was reopened in 1955. However, financial difficulties persisted, and, after several ownership changes, the factory closed for good in 1958. Imperial Glass Company purchased the Cambridge Glass molds two years later, and would use them for another three decades until that company went bankrupt in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anchor Hocking</span> Manufacturer of glassware

Anchor Hocking Company is a manufacturer of glassware. The Hocking Glass Company was founded in 1905 by Isaac Jacob (Ike) Collins in Lancaster, Ohio, and named after the Hocking River.

The A.H. Heisey Company was formed in Newark, Ohio, in 1895 by A.H. Heisey. The factory provided fine quality glass tableware and decorative glass figurines. Both pressed and blown glassware were made in a wide variety of patterns and colors. The company also made glass automobile headlights and Holophane Glassware lighting fixtures. The company was operated by Heisey and his sons until 1957, when the factory closed.

The Westmoreland Glass Company was a company that produced glass in Grapeville, Pennsylvania.

The Fostoria Glass Company was a manufacturer of pressed, blown and hand-molded glassware and tableware. It began operations in Fostoria, Ohio, on December 15, 1887, on land donated by the townspeople. The new company was formed by men from West Virginia who were experienced in the glassmaking business. They started their company in northwest Ohio to take advantage of newly discovered natural gas that was an ideal fuel for glassmaking. Numerous other businesses were also started in the area, and collectively they depleted the natural gas supply. Fuel shortages caused the company to move to Moundsville, West Virginia in 1891.

The United States Glass Company was a trust formed by the combination of numerous glass companies. The factories were located from western Pennsylvania to Indiana.

The Macbeth-Evans Glass Company was an American glass company that created "almost every kind of glass for illuminating, industrial and scientific purposes," but is today famous for making depression glass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elegant glass</span>

Elegant glass is high quality glassware created in the United States during the Depression Era. It was sold for high prices in department stores and given as wedding gifts. When new, Elegant glass would cost more than its oft-confused counterpart, Depression glass, because it was at least partially handmade, had a cleaner finish, and more vibrant colors. From the 1920s through the 1950s, Elegant glass was an alternative to fine china. Most of the Elegant glassware manufacturers closed by the end of the 1950s, and cheap glassware and imported china took its place.

Glass art refers to individual works of art that are substantially or wholly made of glass. It ranges in size from monumental works and installation pieces to wall hangings and windows, to works of art made in studios and factories, including glass jewelry and tableware.

The New Martinsville Glass Company was an American manufacturer of decorative glass products. It opened in 1901 in New Martinsville, West Virginia. The company was renowned for the use of color in their glassware. They initially made tableware but quickly expanded into vanities, bare ware, lamps, and more. They promoted liquor sets even through prohibition. The company was renamed Viking Glass in 1944.

Franciscan Ceramics are ceramic tableware and tile products produced by Gladding, McBean & Co. in Los Angeles, California, US from 1934 to 1962, International Pipe and Ceramics (Interpace) from 1962 to 1979, and Wedgwood from 1979 to 1983. Wedgwood closed the Los Angeles plant, and moved the production of dinnerware to England in 1983. Waterford Glass Group plc purchased Wedgwood in 1986, becoming Waterford Wedgwood. KPS Capital Partners acquired all of the holdings of Waterford Wedgwood in 2009. The Franciscan brand became part of a group of companies known as WWRD, an acronym for "Wedgwood Waterford Royal Doulton." WWRD continues to produce the Franciscan patterns Desert Rose and Apple.

Jadeite, “Jadite” or “Jade-ite” is a type of table and kitchenware made of Jade-green opaque milk glass, popular in the United States in the early to mid-20th century. Similar blue variations called “Delphite” and "Azur-ite" was also produced for several years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Restaurant ware</span>

Restaurant ware, or most commonly hotelware is vitrified, ceramic tableware which exhibits high mechanical strength and is produced for use in hotels and restaurants. Tableware used in railway dining cars, passenger ships and airlines are also included in this category.

Seneca Glass Company used to be the largest manufacturer of tumblers in the United States. The company was also known for its high-quality lead stemware, which was hand-made for nearly a century. Customers included Eleanor Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, the president of Liberia, the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Tiffany's, and Neiman-Marcus.

The Northwood glass company was a manufacturer of art glass in various locations in the United States from 1887 to 1925.

Pairpoint Glass Company is an American glass manufacturer based in Sagamore, Massachusetts. It is currently the oldest operating glass company in the United States.

Indiana Glass Company was an American company that manufactured pressed, blown and hand-molded glassware and tableware for almost 100 years. Predecessors to the company began operations in Dunkirk, Indiana, in 1896 and 1904, when East Central Indiana experienced the Indiana gas boom. The company started in 1907, when a group of investors led by Frank W. Merry formed a company to buy the Dunkirk glass plant that belonged to the bankrupt National Glass Company. National Glass was a trust for glass tableware that originally owned 19 glass factories including the plant in Dunkirk. National Glass went bankrupt in 1907, and its assets were sold in late 1908.

References

1 2 Zastowney, John P. “Lancaster Glass Co., 1908-1937.” National Depression Glass Association, November 16, 2011. http://www.ndga.net/articles/zastowneylancaster.php
1 2 3 K & M Antiques. “Lancaster Glass Company,” https://kandmantiques.com/items-for-sale/glassware/depression-glass/lancaster-glass-company.html
1 2 "The Lancaster Glass Co., 1908-1937". www.go-star.com. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
↑ "Anchor Hocking Glass Museum - History of Anchor Hocking". www.anchorhockingmuseum.com. Retrieved 2021-03-30.