Topic: Street Views of Glassworks

[Anne]

Thank you for adding the link to the pics. Fascinating to see, yet sad that it's no longer working.

[sph@ngw]

Dear all,

I would really like to see a map with dates on it, showing where the (main) factories were, and the dates of their main production. (In an ideal world some examples of the 'stlye' would be even better as a 'first stop' on the trail to identification.

Has somebody already made such a map? (where, etc.) and if not then would honorable readers like to assist ME in making one.

(In the first instance I would start with Italy Bohemia, France, UK-> Northern Europe)

Once this is available it would mean that, given a guess about date and general area of origin it would be easy to see which factories are most likely, and therefore can be checked first when trying to identify.

I don't know abput street views, ( although quite a few Uk ones appear in both The Glass Cone ( Matthew Bolton & Sons is on the Spring 2011) and Glass circkle news.
But waht is interesting is a map of nearly all European glass manufacturing locations!

I found this in a book called"The Book of Glass" by Gustav Weiss published by Barrie and Jenkins in 1971.
Page 333, called "Glasshouse sites" starts in the States starting with Jamestown in 1608, and mentions about 40 East Coast companies, and through to Page 340 it covers Paris ( 27 factories), Bohemia, Thuringia and Franken, Belgium ( though misses Scailemont) Austria, Denmark, Holland, Ireland, in fact every European country. England gets a bit of a short shift though the author mentions "47 English glasshouses making flint glass, circa 1695", and 15 ij bristol in  1722.
 Dr David Watts masterly recent "Glass Making in London", now already being updated, partley fills this in for our capital city.
While not exhaustive, ( Sweden 20th century is missing!), it makes an excellent starting point for someone to update and produce a more complete anthology.
I have traced 87 Uk hand making companies between 1900 and 2000, of which about 12 of us are left. This ignores the small studios and are factories with lehrs and not kilns for annealing.

[Anne]

Hi Anne,

I believe so, although I haven't been up to Gateshead for a couple of years. The last time we visited the site they were trying to lease the building.

Sadly it is in a poor state of repair, although the doors are still the 1939 originals.

Regards

Chris

A check of the old Davidson building shows updated photos on Google street view (dated Sept 2012) which reveal that the Davidson offices are now housing a boxing club, so are no longer sad and derelict!

[flyboy90]

The staff at Broadfield did a map of all the glassworks in the Stourbridge Area with individual histories, Steve Williams 01384 812745 is a good contact.

[sph@ngw]

Dear all,

I would really like to see a map with dates on it, showing where the (main) factories were, and the dates of their main production. (In an ideal world some examples of the 'stlye' would be even better as a 'first stop' on the trail to identification.

Has somebody already made such a map? (where, etc.) and if not then would honorable readers like to assist ME in making one.

(In the first instance I would start with Italy Bohemia, France, UK-> Northern Europe)

Once this is available it would mean that, given a guess about date and general area of origin it would be easy to see which factories are most likely, and therefore can be checked first when trying to identify.

Hi Jay,
I have done one in 2008 for our 20th Century  British Domestic Glass museum, but it is limited to the 20th century, and the UK.
I am sure there are some i've missed and would like all comments, corrections, and additions.
As the Museum is closed during lockdown 3 (is it?), it would b a god project to do.
I also have one old map of London glass works before 1700, I'l try to post.