Topic: An almost forgotten US glassworks

[Frank]

Underlining that some glassworks can drop of the map. US glass companies are in general very well documented but occasionally there are dead ends.

The American Glass Company of Carney Kansas is one such and yet it produced highly collectable glass. The reason it stays obscure is that it was just a manufacturer with sales via another company: General Glassware. AGC's existence was relatively short - the dates that appear to be accepted are 1939 to 1945. One of the owners was an important mould maker and designer Kenneth R Haley who produced many high quality moulds for several companies in the US and probably Europe.

However, Paden City Glass might have bought the business in 1948.

Garmon & Spencer in "Glass Animals" list 4 figurines but no details beyond "Carney, Kansas (affiliate of General Glassware)".
Under K R Haley they mention that he set up General Glassware in 1939. Herman Lowerwitz who was Haleys partner and the president of American Glassware died in 1946. Haley continued as K.R. Haley Glassware Co. Inc. until 1972. K R Halley's father and grandfather are also fairly well documented, Wilson: Phoenix and Consolidated Art Glass.

The Glass Zoo adds two more figural boxes.

Production range 'probably' included some or most of: Pressed tableware, blown tableware, illu­minating glassware, novelties and special­ties, colored glassware, milk glass, tobacco glassware, bar accessories.


So, has anyone else come across references to the American Glass Company, not a Google friendly name and some of the web references suffer from dyslexia.

[Sue C]

Frank see here under Dugan  http://www.knottywood-treasures.com/id30.html but i am sure Glen could add to this.
Also a mention here http://www.excelglass.com/Excel-Glass-Profile/index.html
And here too http://www.eapgs.org/Steiner.htm

[Glen]

I've never heard of the Dugan glass company being called the American Glass Company (as per the factory mentioned in Frank's post). The dates and location don't fit either.

Glen

[Frank]

Sue there were several unrelated "American Glass Company"'s and several exist today too. Location is certain and they almost definitely stopped production in 1946 but certainly by 1948. The exact start date is less certain. It is likely to only have been a partnership type organisation but virtually everything else is speculation.

[krsilber]

This is post ACG, and it sounds like you already know it, but I thought I'd post it, FWIW.
[LINK REMOVED]

A couple Haley products:
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I posted a question about ACG in the forum at chataboutdg.com; maybe someone there has more info.

Mod: Links to clicksnipwow removed as site is no longer connected to glass. Please visit http://chataboutdg.com/forums/ and use the search function instead

[Frank]

I find it quite funny that the glass is known more for the designer than the maker - as so often the opposite is true. As AGC would never have produced catalogues under their own name, I guess it was just a case of the two people separating the functions essentially for accounting purposes. If it was a partnership, or sole trader, would that have been registered in the US at the time? Certainly in the UK at that time, and up to the 1970s, sole traders and partnerships had to register and use the registration number on stationery - but there were no requirements to file any thing else.

[krsilber]

I'm afraid I know nothing about the business registration side of things.  It's such a shame that so many glassmakers' records have been lost.  A lot of the information about glassmakers and their products here came from their ads and catalogues, and as you point out, that's not much help for ACG.  There's probably more information about Haley because of his association (direct and familial) with other makers.   

I didn't find out much more than you already know.  Here are a couple comments:

(Ken, AKA gma)  "Haley designed or made the models of the figures from which the molds were made & they were produced by the American Glass Company as an affiliate of General Glassware who distributed & sold the items. I can tell you that Kemple ended up with some of the molds years later...where they got them from I have no idea. I bought twp pairs of the Angelfish bookends, one pair in ruby & one pair in cobalt (fire polished to perfection) that came from the Kemple estate sale (notorized statement) at Clum's auction in Rushville & both had the original Kemple labels...that was around 2000."

(Tom Felt)  "I'm not sure how this fits in with what you've already uncovered, but in 1946 Kenneth Haley started the K. R. Haley Glassware Company, Inc., in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, which operated until 1973. It is my understanding that this was a continuation of the General Glassware Company (meaning that it was also just a distributor of glass made elsewhere). I have always assumed that American Glass Co. continued to supply glass to the new K. R. Haley Glassware Co., though I know it also sold glass made by Phoenix Glass Co. in at least one instance."

[Frank]

So that suggests that the manufacture might have carried past 1946 and only fizzled out at a later date. People that worked there are the only possible source and this thread should appear in Google soon.... so we wait and see.

[Ohio]

Frank the problem with the American Glass Company  is its history which is somewhat vague to say the least. K.R. Haley. & Herman Lowerwitz were business partners involved in the creation of the company in Carney, Kansas, but no date has ever been discovered as to when AGC was founded. They used molds designed by K.R. Haley who in the early 30’s was working for Overmeyer mould in PA. . Then in 1939 Haley & Lowerwitz started the General Glass Company in Greensburg PA. that distributed AGC products so evidently AGC was founded prior to this date.  In 1945 Lowerwitz passed, Haley dissolved General & then reincorporated it under K.R. Haley Glassware in business until 1973, but again K.R. Haley was only a distributor. AGC made animals, lying & sitting boxers, jumping horse bookends, angelfish bookends, etc. & all the other animals you find listed under K.R. Haley since Haley never produced glass under his compay name. Haley stated in correspondence with Evelyn Zemel that many of the animals were introduced in 1945 & continued into the 60’s, however he did not state which animals & who produced them although we do know that Phoenix Glass produced the Reuben line that Haley distributed   in the late 1960’s. All the sketchy information presents a major problem because  L.E. Smith produced the Jumping HorseBookends in 1945-46 & had other AGC molds they produced later so did Haley sell the original AGC molds to L.E. Smith or has this animal been incorrectly attributed all these years?. Kemple Glass also ended up with some of the AGC molds. On the U.S. ChataboutDG board we have not included a history on AGC because of the lack of solid information & I doubt we will ever know much more & I'll tell you why. There is no such place as Carney, Kansas. We have Caney, Kansas, Kearny County, Kansas, but Carney, Kansas simply does not seem to exist. Ken

[Frank]

..There is no such place as Carney, Kansas. We have Caney, Kansas, Kearny County, Kansas, but Carney, Kansas simply does not seem to exist....

That does not help  :huh: was that my mistype... no Garmon & Spencer. Thanks for clearing things up a bit more Ken.