Steve/sewell
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Joined: 1/23/2010
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In 1818, Deming Jarves was the main founder and manager of a new glass company in East Cambridge, Massachusetts, called the New England Glass Company. Early on the company began with a workforce of 40 men. From the year 1855 to the end of the Civil War, the factory had become hugely successful and was now employing over 500 workers. The company produced quality blown glass in brilliant colors, much of it finely cut and etched. They also produced quite a bit of flint glass with this hat shaped salt container being a regular production item. The glass blowers and cutters were highly skilled, and displays of New England Glass Company products were popular among visitors to the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.
But the depression of 1873 was a major setback for the company's profitability. After 5 years of being in the red, the Board of Directors decided to lease the factory in 1878 to William L. Libbey, a company manager. Libbey would bring in to the company his 24-year old son, Edward Drummond. E. D. Libbey was educated at boarding schools, and wanted to become a minister. But in 1883, when his father died, Libbey took over running his father's factory and soon was faced with multiple financial crises at the firm. The most serious was in 1886 when the American Flint Glass Workers Union organized a strike at the company demanding higher wages at the same time soaring fuel costs were cutting into profits. This was the beginning of the end as in less then two years time the New England Glass Company was no more as Libby moved the entire operations to Toledo Ohio.
I picked up this hat while in Bridgewater Massachusetts two weeks ago at a local antique store that had quite a collection of glass from The New England Glass Company and the Sandwich Glass company.This salt hat was made between 1825 and 1845,it is small at one and a quarter inches tall 2 and a half inches long on average.It is made of flint glass, has iron residue near the somewhat rough pontil,and it is nine sided with straight cut sides in a circular pattern.It is heavy for its size as the walls of the hat are quite thick.I have pictured the hat along side a quarter for size comparison.
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< Message edited by Steve/sewell -- 6/21/2011 11:36:32 PM >
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New England Glass Company Miniature Salt Hat cut fluted... - 
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