GLASS (E)
verrère (F)
vetri (I)
idrio (s)
GLAS (G)
Corning, New York
There are a number of locations in the world inextricably linked to glass: the Island of Murano, near Venice, Italy; the Glass and Crystal Route in Eastern France; or some of the places where iconic glass buildings have been built over the centuries. But Corning, New York, located south of the Finger Lakes in upstate New York, is a true glass town. It’s home to Corning Glass Works (now Corning Incorporated) and Steuben Glass. It’s also home to the Corning Museum of Glass, the world’s largest collection of glass, which opened in 1951 in a building attached to the Steuben Glass factory. The museum contains over 50,000 objects representing 3,500 years of glass history.
Corning Glass Works was started in 1851 when glass was just starting to be thought of as something other than for decoration or kitchen use. Corning Glass Works is linked to some of the major technological developments of the last 170 years: from signal lanterns for railroads; to glass enclosures for lightbulbs; to Pyrex glassware; to the television cathode ray tube; to CorningWare (who hasn’t eaten something baked in one of those blue and white dishes); to optic fibre; to…….Gorilla glass, used in the first Apple iPhone. Without Gorilla glass, the smartphone may have never been successful.
In contrast, Steuben Glass took their technological developments full on into decorative items. Steuben Glass was founded in 1903 by Frederick Carder, a British-born glassmaker who emigrated to the United States. Corning Glass Works bought Steuben in 1918. At first, Steuben Glass produced colored glassware, including its Aurene glassware, whose iridescent colors were so beautiful, Steuben Glass was sued by Tiffany, who alleged Steuben was copying its Favrile glassware. Luckily, Aurene was made differently, and the process had been patented so Tiffany was told to pound sand. (Get it, glass is made using sand.)
So, if you are familiar with Steuben Glass, you’re thinking, colors? I thought Steuben Glass was crystal. Yes, in 1932, Steuben Glass came up with a new formula, one which produced glass with a high refractive index. Glass with a high refractive index causes lots of rainbows to radiate from the glass when hit by light. After the development of this formula, Steuben Glass switched over to all crystal and its name became synonymous with beautiful, expensive crystal.
U.S. Presidents have presented Steuben pieces as gifts of state to foreign leaders and Steuben pieces have been presented to honor special occasions, such as the winning of the Nobel Prize by Martin Luther King in 1964. President Truman and his wife gave three pieces of Steuben Glass to Queen (then Princess) Elizabeth in 1947 on the occasion of her wedding and President Reagan and his wife gave a piece of Steuben glass (the Crusaders Bowl) to Charles and Diana for their wedding in 1981. (For extra credit, where is that piece now?)
Steuben Glass opened their first store on Fifth Avenue in New York City in 1934 and built the Corning-Steuben building at Fifth Avenue and 56th Street in 1937, with walls of Corning Pyrex glass blocks set in limestone. From then on, a trip to the Steuben Glass store to look at their windows was a tradition for New Yorkers and visitors alike. Steuben Glass has designed and produced many sports trophies including the 2019 Premier Lacrosse League championship trophy; the first, second, and third place trophies for the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series at Watkins Glen International; and the 2016 Louis Vuitton World Series trophy for America’s Cup Sailboat Racing. And for you children of the 1980’s, it became part of popular culture in 1983 when a Steuben crystal egg, cherished by the mother of Joel Goodsen (aka Tom Cruise), endures a lot of stress in the film Risky Business.
In 2008, Corning sold Steuben Glass to Schottenstein Stores Corp., a holding company. Steuben Glass had never been really profitable for Corning. Three years later, in 2011, citing a bad economy and a decreasing demand for fine (expensive) crystal, Schottenstein announced they would end production of Steuben Glass, leading to the closure of the Corning, NY factory and New York City store. But the same year, Corning reacquired the Steuben Glass brand and, in 2010, licensed it to the Corning Museum of Glass to oversee sales and production. Steuben Glass pieces can still be purchased today, although they aren’t all made in Corning.