A Gallery of South Jersey Glass

Stained Glass Windowpane of the Art Nouveau Style

By Dale Chihuly

Whimsical glass pipe. Purchased from the estate of Charles Pedrick of Bridgeton, New Jersey, who had amassed one of the largest collections of South Jersey whimseys

Two of the oldest glass works in the country. Manufactured by the Wistar Glass Factory, the first American glass factory, established by Casper Wistar in 1739.

Vials, flasks, swirls and jars, in great demand in the 18th and 19th centuries, were needed to hold liquids and foodstuffs. The aqua green color of the glass is an effect of the South Jersey sand.

The pedals of the Millville Rose (left) were fashioned by the crimp (right).

Glass Variety

“[In order to press glass,] instead of blowing through a pipe, which would take years of training to become skilled at, they’d take a gob of glass, dump it into a mold, and then put another mold on top to press it into place. Subsequently, they’d pipe the glass into a mold to automate the entire process.”
– David Iams, docent of the glass museum at WheatonArts

The green jar by the Whitall Tatum Company, or Millville Glass Works. The purple flask by German glassmaker Henry William Stiegel, who started a glass factory in Manheim, PA. The amethyst color is from the abundance of manganese in the glass.

Welcome

Hello and welcome. I’m starting to become enthusiastic about history. My own mind tends toward the macroscopic upon hearing the word “history”. History is the nation, Western Civilization, feudalism, Punic War galley battles, Mesopotamia, cavemen, whatever lightning-striking-a-volcano alchemy created human life. However, there is a magnitude of history that is essentially in your backyard, and in mine. It is local history, and the relevance of the history that has occured in one’s township or county should not be understated. The history that has occured in one’s township or county is denotative of the historical trends of the nation, in many ways making local history reflective of national history. Just about every township or county in America has its old firehouses, its old courthouses, its old houseshouses. These things are landmarks. Simple objects and buildings that have escaped mundanity by virtue of still standing over the course of multiple generations. They are relics.

I stated before that I am enthusiastic about history but enthusiasm does not translate into expertise. I will be exploring historical sites and other old-looking, pretty-looking things. Along the way I will talk to people, experts in the field of history, those who have the credentials and/or wear bow ties. As I learn new information about these historical sites in my county, shortly thereafter so will you.