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Glass Makers Regions and Companies

Learn more about glass makers of the past.

Glass makers, artisans and craftsmen from the past created their medium with a mixture of organic materials brought to a molten state by large fuel burning furnaces. The molten blob of morphed minerals was then blown, molded, pressed or hand-worked into form by a craftsman of the trade. Glass was made with this method for thousands of years…until the 1980’s.

Stylish ruby glass owl candle lantern by Viking Art Glass, West Virginia USA. Circa 1960's - 1970's.
Stylish ruby glass owl candle lantern by Viking Art Glass, West Virginia USA. Circa 1960’s – 1970’s.

Between 1960 and 1980, the art of creating authentic glass was waning. Mass production, high resource and energy cost, and modern materials such as polymers ushered in a new era of glass making. Furnaces are rarely used today as modern glass ingredients melt at a much lower temperature than organic glass ingredients. Glass craftsmen and the factory workers have, for the most part, been replaced by computers.

The great glass craftsmen and glass producing companies of the past left a story to tell. What was once a burgeoning world-wide industry, today has dwindled to a few surviving companies, most of which import their products from china or other developing countries.

Authentic glass from days gone by is very collectible today. One of the great challenges of collecting glass is identification and documentation.  Where was it made? When was it made? Who designed it?  Which company produced it?  Glass collectors must follow the clues of the glass object to determine its origin, and often it remains undetermined.

There were hundreds of glass companies from all over the world that produced and exported well-made glass.

Use the dark gray navigation bar above to access glass region and maker abridged articles.  The categories and posts will grow over time, so check back often!

Abridged Version 2.1 – Retro Art Glass Copyright 2016 – All Rights Reserved