Cut Glass

History And Facts About Libby Glass

Libby glass has been in business under various different names since 1818. Now known as one of the largest manufacturers in the United States, it was originally named New England Glass Company and operated out of East Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1873 they dealt with a sharp decline in sales due to the depression. It was later purchased in 1878 by William Libby and renamed to New England Glass Works.

10 years later it was relocated to Toledo, Ohio and once again renamed. This time to the name we know it by today. In 1882, Joseph Locke began to work at this company. He created some of the most beautiful and unique glassware that this company is known for including Amberina, Maize, Pomona, and Peach Blow such as water pitchers.

All of these were made by hand and most were made with materials that were expensive. For example, the beautiful amber to red color in the Amberina was made by the addition of gold. The brilliant cut glass that Libby is famous for was reported to contain as much as 60 percent lead.

Michael Owens was an inventor that was hired in 1916. His greatest creation at that time was a machine that could automatically mass produce bottles, tumblers, and chimneys. With this automatic machine, the company could earn my money by cutting back on their workforce and saving money on the costs of manufacturing. Even with fewer employees, they were able to produce larger quantities of their items than ever before.

Libby gained in popularity in the early part of the twentieth century, just as the popularity of automobiles was increasing. Not only was this company credited for being the first ones to produce machine-made stemware or glassware that is heat-treated for use in hotels or restaurants, but they were also noted for being able to mass produce the windshields for the new automobiles. Thanks to this, Toledo, Ohio became known as the world’s glass capital. With this increase in business and profit, they were able to open more production plants in California and Louisiana in theUSA and a plant in the Netherlands.

In the 1920′s, during World War I, Libby began to manufacture items that did not require as much labor. One of the products that they introduced was glassware known as Safedge. This product was produced in large quantities for use in hotels and restaurants. During 1935 Owens-Illinois and Libby combined forces and worked doing research and creating innovative new products.

During World War II, the company spent time focusing on what life would be like after the war. During 1945, they began to introduce sets of glassware that are known today as sets of tumblers. These would become very popular in 1945.

Libbey glass became a public company during 1993. This was a good move for them as it allowed them to become active in trading in the New York Stock Exchange. Since then they have combined with other reputable companies including Royal Leerdam, Traex, Crisa, and Crisal. In 1995 they merged with Syracuse China and became an international company. Their product line has expanded to include food service utensils, tabletop products,water pitchers, home decor, and serve, beverage and bake ware.