Postcard of the "IO-R-IO Cut Glass Factory" showing the showroom and workshop in the rear. The vintage is uncertain but suspected to be 1950ish. Additional signs on the building read: "Glass Shop," "Cut Glass and Pottery Sale," and "IO-R-IO Glass." It is unknown why the spelling was hyphenated instead of simply "IORIO" (pronounced "Eye-Oreo"). Perhaps, it is a variation of the trademark illistrated below. It is interesting to note the colored "yard balls" displayed outside the showroom. They were a popular landscaping feature of the 1950's and, in some areas, are making a revival.
Ric Iorio was a third generation American glassmaker located in Flemington, New Jersey. His grandfather, Louis, was a stone wheel glass cutter, originally employed by Empire Glass until they closed in 1920. He was the cutter that did the cutting on all the bi-color pieces they produced. In lieu of his final payment he received the tools of his trade and continued to cut glass under the Iorio name until his death in 1981 at the age of 99. He was a Master Cutter and was known as "Mr. Cut Glass." Louis's son, William, also was a glass cutter and glass restorer but went on to be better known for his colorful buttons and paperweights. His buttons were marked with a small cane containing an "I" and his paperweights are signed or acid-marked "W. IORIO." William's son, Ric, started in a different direction getting a degree in Anthropology before he returned to glass making.
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