Glassmaking was one of America's First Industries:
Although the first glassmaking factory in the U.S. was founded in Jamestown, VA in 1608, the glass industry was not successful until the early 19th century. Until companies started making pressed glass shortly after 1825 glass was referred to as "liquid gold" because most people could not afford it. Pewter and wood were used as drinking ware.
During the first two decades of the 1800s glassmaking was a tedious process because glasswares were solely blown glass. The process was costly since a number of workers were required to complete the process and the work was hard. Early window glass was actually blown glass. Window glass was the primary demand of the times. Glassmakers blew a bubble of glass, then spun it until it was flat. However, the process left a sheet of glass with a lump in the center called a crown. The process was far from perfect. Plate glass was not developed until the 1850s.
Sometime around 1825 America's glassmaking was revolutionized when the mechanized method for pressing molten glass into a mold with a metal plunger was patented by Pears & Bakewell in Pittsburg. The new method replaced the need for hand-made glass. Numerous others soon patented their own methods. Pressed glass was made by forcing melted glass into iron molds which had various patterns cut into them.
Hundreds of patterns of pressed glass were made into complete table settings. Some table settings had as many as 100 different pieces ranging from salt dishes to decanters, plates, etc. These early pieces contained high amounts of flint (lead crystal). Glass tableware became abuntant and affordable. The number of glass factories increased rapidly between 1830 and 1900 when pressed glass reached its greatest popularity.
During the first two decades of the 1800s glassmaking was a tedious process because glasswares were solely blown glass. The process was costly since a number of workers were required to complete the process and the work was hard. Early window glass was actually blown glass. Window glass was the primary demand of the times. Glassmakers blew a bubble of glass, then spun it until it was flat. However, the process left a sheet of glass with a lump in the center called a crown. The process was far from perfect. Plate glass was not developed until the 1850s.
Sometime around 1825 America's glassmaking was revolutionized when the mechanized method for pressing molten glass into a mold with a metal plunger was patented by Pears & Bakewell in Pittsburg. The new method replaced the need for hand-made glass. Numerous others soon patented their own methods. Pressed glass was made by forcing melted glass into iron molds which had various patterns cut into them.
Hundreds of patterns of pressed glass were made into complete table settings. Some table settings had as many as 100 different pieces ranging from salt dishes to decanters, plates, etc. These early pieces contained high amounts of flint (lead crystal). Glass tableware became abuntant and affordable. The number of glass factories increased rapidly between 1830 and 1900 when pressed glass reached its greatest popularity.