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. [1]
The company was established in 1899 after a merger between the glass companies of Thomas Evans and George A. Macbeth. [1] The company was based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated multiple offices in the region, but the most significant glass works was located in Charleroi, Pennsylvania. [1] It quickly absorbed the American Chimney Lamp Company to gain control of M. J. Owens's patents on the Owens glass-blowing machine, as well as Hogans-Evans Company, becoming at the time the largest lamp glass manufacturer in the world. [2] During World War I, most of the company's production was dedicated to producing glass, particularly reflectors for searchlights, for the army and navy. [1] The company was bought by Corning Glass Works in 1936, [3] but it continued to operate as the "Corning Glass Works Macbeth-Evans Division" and then later as the "Macbeth-Evans Division of Corning Glass Works in Charleroi, Pennsylvania." [4] The plant was sold to World Kitchen in 1998. [5]
Macbeth-Evans first introduced tableware items during the late 1920s and expanded into complete dinnerware lines in 1930. [4] The most popular color used in tableware was pink, and the glass made was thinner than other companies of the time, thus more fragile. No candy jars, candle holders, cookie jars, or butter dishes were made by Macbeth-Evans. Pattern names were referred to by letter. Ruby red and Ritz blue colors were used in the 1930s glassware, beginning with the American Sweetheart pattern.
Some of the patterns Macbeth-Evans created were:
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