Sparkle #2

Glass crystals, with sunshine and reflection give an almost carnival-like view. A luxurious and happy view, at that!.... High labor cost inherent in... more

by Kathy Bassett

Title

Sparkle #2

Artist

Kathy Bassett

Medium

Photograph - Photography - Digital Fine Art

Description

Glass crystals, with sunshine and reflection give an almost carnival-like view. A luxurious and happy view, at that!.... High labor cost inherent in the manufacture of cut glass has always made it a luxury item. Unfortunately, until late in the nineteenth century, American glass houses found it difficult to compete against a vogue that held European glass to be superior to the domestic product. The prejudice began to disappear when eight enterprising American companies showed their beautiful wares at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Rail transportation brought record attendance to our nation�s hundredth �birthday party�, and throngs were captivated by elegant cut glass tableware, lamps, perfume bottles and other fine products on display. A boom was sparked that lighted the might glass furnaces throughout the northeast, and the Brilliant Period had indeed begun.Stunning new patterns quite unlike earlier European designs were developed and patented. Patterns were given intriguing names, and leading glass houses began advertising campaigns urging collection of whole sets of goblets, tumblers, wine glasses and finger bowls in the new designs. Cutting shops proliferated to meet the demand for fine pieces of cut glass being sought by wealthy American households.The blossoming industry received another boost at the 1889 Paris Exposition when grand prizes were awarded to the T. G. Hawkes Company of Corning, New York for two patterns named Grecian and Chrysanthemum. Worldwide acclaim immediately followed, breaking for good the specter of European superiority. Incidentally, in 1903, Thomas G. Hawkes teamed with an Englishman, Frederick Carder, to found the Steuben Company; to this day the world�s most famous glass house.Just four years later at the 1893 World�s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, The Libbey Glass Company of Toledo garnered the top awards for cut glass with their Columbia and Isabella patterns. Again popularity increased and huge sets of American cut glass tableware were ordered by the White House, by the presidents of Mexico and Cuba, by Edward VII of Great Britain, and by many industrial tycoons of the day. American cut glass had reached the zenith in its acceptance throughout the world. It had no peers Daniel Swarovski (1862�1956), the founder of the company, formerly Daniel Swartz, was born in northern Bohemia (now the Czech Republic)His father was a glass cutter who owned a small glass factory. It was there that a young Swarovski served an apprenticeship, becoming skilled in the art of glass-cutting. In 1892 he patented an electric cutting machine that facilitated the production of crystal glass.In 1895, Swarovski financier Armand Kosman and Franz Weis founded the Swarovski company, originally known as A. Kosman, Daniel Swartz & Co., which was later shortened to K.S. & Co The company established a crystal cutting facctory in Wattens, Tyrol (Austria), to take advantage of local hydroelectricity for the energy-intensive grinding process.

Uploaded

September 28th, 2015