The History Of The Libby Glass Company    by Ben Pate

in Shopping    (submitted 2011-02-08)

The Libbey glass Company, one of the largest manufacturers the United States, has been in business since 1818. It was originally named the New England Glass Company and was located in East Cambridge, Massachusetts. During 1873, the company experienced a period of slumping sales due to the depression. William Libbey purchased the company in 1878 and it was renamed to the New England Glass Works.

Ten years after relocating to Toledo, Ohio, it was renamed again. This time it was given the name it still uses today. In 1882, Joseph Locke was hired to create new styles of glassware. He is the one that has been credited with the creation of beautiful styles such as Pomona, Amberina, Peach Bow, and Maize 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.

During World War I in the 1920's, Libby looked to manufacture products that were less labor intensive. During this period they created a new product known as Safedge Glassware. This item was mass produced for restaurants and hotels. In 1935, they merged with a larger company that was known worldwide as Owens-Illinois. The two companies worked together to do extensive research and to develop new products.

During the period of World War II, the company was focused on what the needs of the country might be in the years following the war. In 1945 glassware that is now known as tumblers were introduced. This new style of glassware became very popular that year.

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In 1993, Libbey glass turned into a public business, allowing them to trade in the NY Stock Exchange. Since then they have continued to merge with other companies including Royal Leerdam, Crisa, Traex, and Crisal. They have also expanded their line and now produce food service utensils, tabletop products, and other consumer products. They also manufacture bake ware, pantry ware, water pitchers,home decor, beverage ware, and serve ware. After the purchase of Syracuse China in 1995, they became an international company.