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.