glassware manufacturers: A to B

Alt Lucialternative (formerly Vetreria Alt)
Murano, Venice, Italy (1963 to present)
Originally all kinds of glassware, including paperweights & ornaments, nowadays lighting glass. Since 2002, a part of FDV Group
website

Alsterfors
Sweden (c 1950s - ?)
Hand-blown studio glass

Amadi, Bruno
Murano, Venice, Italy (current)
Lamp-worked naturalistic animals

Amblecote Glass Co
Stourbridge, England (1934 - ?)
J A Kirby, A E Hingley

Anchor Hocking Glass Corporation
Lancaster, Ohio, USA (1905 to present)
Pressed table- & oven-ware, including Vitrock depression glass & the Fire-King range
website

Andreotta, Ottavio
Murano, Venice, Italy (current)
Tableware, ornaments, Venetian-style chandeliers

Angus & Greener
Sunderland, England (1858 - 1869)
The Wear Flint Glass Works. Pressed glass (10 designs registered from 1858 to 1869). Became Henry Greener

Anfora
Murano, Venice, Italy (c 1970 to present)
Table services & decorative vases. Renzo Ferro, his father Giulio Ferro (from A.VE.M., 1976)
website

Ankerglas (Anchor Glass)
Bernsdorf, Germany (c 1935 - 2000)
Formerly Gebrüder Hoffmann. Pressed functional glassware. Nationalised after World War II
(the 1937-38 catalogue can be seen at www.glas-musterbuch.de)

Antico Forno
Murano, Venice, Italy (current)
Blown glass chandeliers & glasses, iridised flasks

Arc International
Arques, France (1825 to present)
Formerly the Verrerie & Cristallerie d'Arques. Changed name 2005. Industrial-scale producers of glass catering- & tableware, including Luminarc (1948), Arcoroc (1958), Cristal d'Arques (1968) & Pyrex (since 2005). Now also operating out of USA, China, Mexico, Spain, Japan, Brazil, UAE, Russia
website

Arcoroc (see Arc International)

Arculus & Co, Alfred
Birmingham, England (1864 - 1941)
Etna Works. Formerly R W Winfield (Brassfounders). Alfred Arculus, Joseph Warry (accounts clerks) bought the company out & re-named it (1875). Lighting glass, cut, cased & coloured tableware, paperweights (including reproduction antiques) (3 designs registered from 1866 to 1880). Bought out 1922 by T J Hands & Co. Taken over by John Walsh Walsh in 1931. Production ceased 1941, when factory destroyed by German landmine

Argy-Rousseau, Gabriel
Paris, France (1914 - 1952)
Born 1885. Inventor of Pâte-de-cristal, a translucent type of Pâte-de-verre

Arques, Verrerie & Cristallerie d' (see Arc International)

Art et Verre, Société Coopérative
Lodelinsart, Belgium (20th Century)
Paule Ingrand (1960s)

Arte Nuova
Murano, Venice, Italy (1954 - c 1965)
Itamo Pustetto, Mario Fuga. Nino D'Este, Aldo Fuga (1958), Alessandro Lenarda (1960s)

Arte Vetro di Alberto Seguso
Murano, Venice, Italy (c 1940s - ?)
Alberto Seguso, Napoleone Martinuzzi

Art 'Lorrain', Verreries d'
Croismare, France (1927 - 1932)
Established by Paul Daum of the Cristallerie Daum, with Pierre d'Avesn as manager, to produce affordable moulded lighting, vases, bowls, comports & ashtrays etc, often with metal framework or rims. Signatures: 'P d'Avesn', 'Lorrain', (on the glass), sometimes 'Val' (on metal frames). Not to be confused with Verrerie D'Art de Lorraine, a signature used on products by Burgun Schverer & Cie)

Artver
Boom, Belgium (1932 - 1981)
(a.k.a. Boom Kristalfabriek. Paul Heller (1935-81), Joseph Jochec; Otto, Rudolf & Josef Jochec (his sons). Acid-etched & sand-blasted glass, sometimes enamelled and/or gilded

Åseda Glasbruks
Åseda, Sweden (1947 - ?)
Until 1960, produced only laboratory glass & stemware. Art glass from 1961. Bo Borgström

A.Ve.M. (Arte Vetraria Muranese)
Murano, Venice, Italy (1932 - ?)
Antonio/Egidio/Gallano/Ottone/Ulisse Ferro, Vittorio Zecchin (1932), Emilio Nason (1936), Giulio Radi (1932-50), Giorgio Ferro (1952-55), Dino Martens, Aldo Nason (1953-67), Luigi Scarpa Croce, Anzolo Fuga (1955-68), Luciano Ferro (1966), Giulio Ferro (left 1976 to join his son at Anfora)

Avesn, Pierre D' (see Art 'Lorrain', Verreries d')

Awashima Glass Co
Tokyo, Japan (1956 - ?)
Masakichi Awashima. Mould-blown glassware

Baccarat, Compagnie des Cristalleries de
Baccarat, Lunéville, France (1823 to present)
Formerly Verreries Renaut (1764), then Verreries de Baccarat (1768), Verreries de Ste Anne (1773), then Verreries de Vonêche à Baccarat (1816) before taking present name. Jean-Baptiste Toussaint (1851-58), Paul Michaut (1867-83), Georges Chevallier. 1 design registered in UK in 1896, listed as 'The Baccarat Glass Co, London. Glass Maker'
(two catalogues, one for 1916 and one undated, can be seen at www.glas-musterbuch.de)
website

Bacchus & Son, George
Birmingham, England (19th Century)
Hand-blown glass, particularly cased, flashed & transfer-printed. William T Gillinder

Bagley & Co
Knottingley, England (1871 - 1975)
Originally Bagley, Wild & Co (bottle manufacturers), then Bagley & Co (from 1890). Traded as The Crystal Glass Co from 1912 (coloured "crystaltint" glass introduced 1933). Alexander H Williamson (mid 1930s) (23 designs registered from 1923 to 1938)

Bailey Glass Co
Morgantown, W. Va, USA (1972 - c 1981)
Ken Bailey with Alice Railey, bought the old Morgantown Glassworks from the Fostoria Glass Co. Hand-blown coloured lamp globes

Bailey, William A
London, England (c 1900 - c 1939)
Described as 'Potter & Glass Manufacturer' in the register of designs (of which he registered 123 from 1903 to 1938). The only designs we know of (465660, registered 23rd September 1905, & 687205, registered 7th January 1922) were both mould-blown glass jars (for meat/fish paste or ointment), so he was probably a bottle manufacturer only

Bakalowits & Söhne
Vienna, Austria (1845 - c 1914)
Commisioning retailer from Loetz, Kralik, Meyr's Neffe etc. Otto Prutscher, Gisela Von Falke, Jutta Sika, Antoinette Krasnik, Joan Fomin, Josef Hoffmann, Kolo Moser, Emile Hoppe, Hans Vollmer, Hans Bolek

Bakewell, Page & Bakewell
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA (early 19th Century)
Benjamin Bakewell, Benjamin Page. Later became Bakewell, Pears & Co. Manufactured first crystal chandelier in US. Earliest known patent for pressed glassby John P Bakewell in 1825

Ballarin, Mario & Francesco
Murano, Venice, Italy (current)
Hand-blown & engraved artistic glassware

Ballarin, Vetreria Artistica
Murano, Venice, Italy (1483 to present)
One of the oldest glass-making families in Murano. Hand-blown traditional-style artistic glassware
website

Balmers Glass Fabrications Ltd
Watford, England (1950s)
Mentioned in Pottery Gazette & Glass Trade Review, 1953. Manufacturers of glass animals

Barbini, Fratelli
Murano, Venice, Italy (current)
Engraved glassware & venetian mirrors. Connection to below (if any) unknown

Barbini, Vetreria Alfredo
Murano, Venice, Italy (1950 to present)
Alfredo Barbini (1950-87), Napoleone Martinuzzi (1960s), Flavio Barbini (Alfredo's son; 1968-)
website

Barolac (see Inwald, Josef)

Barovier, Artisti
Murano, Venice, Italy (1895 - 1920)
Formerly Fratelli Barovier (1878-95). Giuseppe Barovier (1900-1920), Vittorio Zecchin (1914), Teodoro Wolf-Ferrari (1914), Umberto Bellotto (1920). Became Vetreria Artistica Barovier (1920)

Barovier, Fratelli
Murano, Venice, Italy (1878 - 1895)
Antonio Salviati,Giovanni/Nicolo Barovier. Became Artisti Barovier (1895)

Barovier, Vetreria Artistica
Murano, Venice, Italy (1920 - 1936)
Ercole Barovier (1925-28), Nicolò Barovier (1925-30). Merged with S.A.I.A.R. Ferro Toso to form Ferro Toso Barovier (1936)

Barovier & Toso
Murano, Venice, Italy (1942 to present)
Formerly Ferro Toso Barovier (1936) then became Barovier Toso & C (1939) and finally Barovier & Toso. Artemio/Decio Toso, Ercole Barovier (1939-72), Angelo Barovier (1951-), Matteo Thum, Noti Massari, Toni Zuccheri (1984), Renato/Decio/Mario/Piero Toso. Carlo Tosi "Caramea", Dino Toso, Luigi Visentin
website

Barovier, Seguso & Ferro
Murano, Venice, Italy (c 1930s)
Flavio Poli (1934-36). Relationship to Vetreria Artistica Barovier (if any) unknown

Bathgate Glass Co (see West Lothian Glassworks)

Beatson, Clark Glass Manufacturers
Masborough, England (c 1751 to present)
Originally the Rotherham Glass Company, on land belonging to the Earl of Effingham, a crown window glassworks & a bottle and flint house, both run by John Wright & partners. 1783 bought by William Beatson. Specialised in commercial & pharmaceutical glassware, from doorknobs to pill-bottles. In various partnerships existed as a family business (latterly as Beatson, Clark & Co) becoming a public company in 1961. Last hand-blown glass c 1954. Moulded trademark: a double headed arrow. Now part of the Newship Group
website

Beaumont Glass Co
Morgantown, W Va, USA (1918 - 1991)
Originally the Union Stopper Company (1905), makers of bottle-stoppers, pressed tableware & barware. Percy Beaumont (general manager) re-organised the company in 1918, changing its name. At various times the company has produced pressed tableware (including Georgian pattern tumblers), novelties, vases, lighting, lenses, signal glasses, chemical glassware etc

Belmont Glass Works (see Gammon, Thomas)

Beránek
Škrdlovice, Czech Republic (1940 to present)
Emanuel Beránek and his three brothers. Nationalised c 1948, and traded for 43 years as Škrdlovice Glassworks (Škrdlovicka Sklárská Hut). Milena Velíšková (1950-60), Maria Stálíková (1940s-50s), Jan Kotík (1950s), Jan & Jindrich Beránek (sons of Emanuel) (1950s), Jirina Zertova, Lubomír Blecha, Vladimír Jelínek (all 1950s-60s), Jaroslav Svoboda & Jarmila Svobodova (1960s), Pavel Jezek, Stanislav Libenský, Ladislav Oliva, Ladislav Palecek, Miluše Roubícková, František Vízner (all 1970s). Company returned to Beránek family 1991
website

Bergdala Studioglas
Bergdala, Hästebäck, Sweden (1889 to present)
Now part of Strömbergshyttan. Ulla-Carin Bergqvist, Björn Ekegren, Håkan Gunnarsson, Lars Sestervik, Astrid Gate, Anna Örnberg
website

Bermondsey Glass
Bermondsey, London, England (early 20th Century)
Guy Underwood

Beyermann & Co
Haida (Nový Bor), Bohemia (1865 - 1928)
Gustav, Frank & Max Beyermann (brothers). Glass refinery

Bibierre Vetreria Artigiana
Murano, Venice, Italy (current)
General filigree glassware

Biot, Verrerie de
Biot, France (1956 to present)
Hand-blown, usually pulegoso glass, with acid-etched mark to base. Jean-Claude Novaro, Jean-Paul Van Lith. Since 1973 owned by the Lechaczynski family. Anne Lechaczynski, Henri Giunipero, Isabelle Navarro
website

Bimini Werkstätte
Vienna, Austria (1923 - 1938)
Fritz Lampl, Artur & Josef Berger. Ultra-lightweight lamp-worked items, the artistic design of which was highly regarded. Fritz Lampl moved to London to escape the Anschluss (the annexation of Austria by the Nazis), where he founded Orplid

Björkshult Glasbruk
Björkshult, Sweden (1892 - 1978)
Nowadays a glass museum, with training studio attached. Sven-Erik Johansson
website

Blades, John
London, England (early 19th Century)
John Blades, Francis Jones. Manufacturers & exporters of hand-blown & heavily-cut Georgian & Regency glassware. Royal Warrants to the British & Persian courts

Blenko
Milton, West Virginia, USA (1893 to present)
Moved to Milton, WV in 1921. Stained glass for churches; from 1929 decorative & household glassware & coloured glass building slabs. William John Blenko (English, 1854-1933). Louis Miller, Axel Muller, Winslow Anderson (1946-53), Wayne Husted (1952-63), Joel Philip Myers (1963-70), John Nickerson (1970-74), Don Shepherd (1974-87), Hank Adams (1988-94), Trey Gott (1995-96), Matt Carter (1995-2002) (1 design registered in UK on 1/10/89 by William J Blenko)
website

Boda
Sweden (1864 - 1976)
Founded by R Wictor Scheutz & Erik Widlund (formerly with Kosta).Fritz Kallenberg (1925-68), Erik Hoglund (1953-73), Lena Larsson (1960s), Signe Persson-Melin (1967-73), Monica Backström (1965-), Rolf Sinnemark (1971-85). Merged with Åfors & Kosta in 1976, to form Kosta Boda

Bohemia Art Glass (BAG)
Vsetín, Czech Republic (1992 to present)
Jirí Šuhájek, Vladimír Jelínek, Vratislav Šotola, Jirí Bohá, Jirí Jetmar, Jaroslav Štursa, Jan Exnar, Jan Votava, Stanislav Zampach, Rony Plesl, František Urban, Oto Macek, Mojmir Cermák, Petr Vlcek, Shafaq Ahmed, Judita Chytkova. Hand-made art glass, nowadays mainly producing for Barovier & Toso

Bohemia Glassworks National Corporation (Sklárny Bohemia)
Podebrady, Czech Republic (1965 to present)
Originally formed by the merger of five lead crystal factories, including the Podebrady Glassworks. The factories split up again in 1989, but the Podebrady Glassworks kept the name. Since 2008, known as Crystal Bohemia. Glassworks came close to bankruptcy & closed for more than a year 2009-2010, but is now back in production
website

Bolton Bowater, J F
Stourbridge, England (1920s - 30s)
Inexpensive coloured fancy glass

Bolton, Edward
Warrington, Lancs, England (c 1869 - 1901)
(see also the Orford Lane Glass Works. Formerly Robinson & Bolton (1855-1869, Peter Robinson leaving to found Robinson & Skinner), becoming Edward Bolton (1869-1875), then Bolton Son & Wood (1875-1877), Edward Bolton (1877-1885), & finally Edward Bolton & Sons (1888-1892), the glassworks finally closing in 1901. Pressed glass. 7 designs registered from 1869 to 1875, then 1 design (4th June 1877) as Bolton, Son & Wood, 1 design (11th December 1885) as Edward Bolton, and 1 last design (11th August 1888) as Edward Bolton & Sons

Bon, Vetreria Artigiana Aldo
Murano, Venice, Italy (1960 - c 1965)
Aldo "Polo" Bon. Collaborated with artists from La Fucina degli Angeli

Borské Sklo
Nový Bor, Czech Republic (1953 to present)
Formed by the merger of Borské Sklárny, Borocrystal & Umelecke Sklo. Pavel Hlava (1950s-70s), René Roubícek (1957-67), Josef Rozinek (master glassblower 1950s), Ladislav Oliva (1957-1970s), Karel Wünsch (1959-1960s), František Koudelka (1950s), Vratislav Šotola (1958-62), Miluše Roubicková (1950s-60s). Trading as Crystalex since 1974)
website

Boston & Sandwich Glass Co
Sandwich, Mass., USA (1825 - 1888)
Pressed glass, some paperweights & opaline. Deming Jarves (1825-1858). Hiram Dillaway

Boston Silver Glass Co
Cambridge, Mass., USA (1857 - 1871)
Silvered glassware. A Young

Bottacin, Fratelli
Murano, Venice, Italy (late 19th - early 20th C)
Dealers in artistic glass. Collaborated with Fratelli Toso

Bottega, S.A.L.I.R. (Studio Ars Labor Industrie Riunite Bottega) (see S.A.L.I.R.)

Boulton & Mills
Stourbridge, England (1863 - 1926)
The Audnam Glass Works. Hand-blown glass (37 designs registered from 1864 to 1911)

Boyd's Crystal Art Glass, Inc.
Cambridge, Ohio, U.S.A. (1978 to present)
Formerly Degenhart Glass. Hand-pressed animals, figures etc
website

Bridge Crystal
Tipton, England (early 20th Century)
Producers of cut glassware

Brierley Crystal
Stourbridge, England (1920s - c 1933)
Tradename used by Stevens & Williams, before they became Royal Brierley Crystal in c 1933

British American Glass Co
London, England (c 1910 - 1920s)
Importers & wholesalers of pressed flint tableware, including the Cambridge pattern

British White Flint Glass Ltd
London, England (1934 - 1942)
Small manufacturer of laboratory glassware. Name seen on a piece engraved 'This is one of the first five jars produced on the 9th November 1934 by British White Flint Glass Ltd. Directors P F Taylor, F W Taylor, J Hogg, E A M Barrett'. Known to have gone out of business in January 1942

Brocard, Philippe-Joseph
Paris, France (1867 - 1890)
High-quality enamelled, mostly Islamic-type glassware. Died 1896

Brockwitz Glasfabrik
Brockwitz, near Dresden, Germany (1903 - 1990)
Pressed functional glassware. Nationalised after World War II
(various catalogues, from 1914 to 1941, can be seen at www.glas-musterbuch.de)

Bubacco, Lucio
Murano, Venice, Italy (1972 to present)
Hand-blown glass with lamp-worked figures
website

Buchenau Bayern Glashüttenwerke (see Poschinger, Ferdinand von)

Buquoy
Gratzen (Nové Hrady), Bohemia (c 1608 - mid 1800s)
Louis Le Vasseur d'Ossimont, Michael Mueller, Anton Lechner, Count Georg Buquoy, Bartholomaeus Rosler. Cut/engraved and/or gilded Lithyalin, Hyalith & Agatine glass

Burgun, Schverer & Cie (Glashütte Meisenthal, Verrerie de Meisenthal)
Meisenthal, France (1711 - 1969)
Désiré Christian. Art Nouveau cameo & acid-etched glass. Émile Gallé served 3-year apprenticeship from 1866, and the company later did much work for him, as well as producing their own designs. Art glass production ceased 1903, although workshops used by Ringel D'Illzach to cast Pâte-de-Verre 1904-15. Name changed to Verrerie de Meisenthal after World War II. Signature 'Verrerie d'Art de Lorraine' (not to be confused with Verreries D'Art 'Lorrain')
(three catalogues, from 1907 to 1935, can be seen at www.glas-musterbuch.de)

Burlington Glass Works
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (19th Century)
Pressed glass

Burtles, Tate & Co
Manchester, England (1870 - 1924)
The Poland Street Glass Works. Pressed glass (46 designs registered from 1870 to 1914). Taken over by Butterworth Bros. 1924

Butterworth Bros Ltd
Manchester, England (c 1920s - 30s)
All kinds of glassware from industrial, laboratory & lighting to jars, barrels & tableware. Bought out Burtles, Tate & Co in 1924