Old South Jersey Glass & Antiques
OJSG Basic Info.& Photos Useful Links OSJG Antique Shop
Short SJ Glass related Articles
History of Glass Making in Fislerville (Now Clayton)
Clementon NJ-Amusement Park and Glass Bottles
Early Glass and other Industries in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey
Sleigh Rides, Taverns and GlassHouses
Interesting Family History of a Pitcher made in Millville in 1808
History of Glass making in Glassboro NJ (1780-1929)
The History of the Swan, Chicken and Rooster as an ornament on Blown Glass
Sleigh Rides, Taverns and Glass Houses
Travel in the early years of the nineteenth century was not the most pleasant adventure. The roads were maintained by the local land owners, who might or might not keep them in good repair. Many roads became overcome with ruts and holes in wet weather. Joseph Sickler states in his "History of Salem County" New Jersey travel was "decidedly tedious". Sickler indicates that "gigs and light wagons were in use but were considered to be luxuries" Many of the sections of road that were habitually wet and muddy were turned into corduroy roads. A corduroy road is lined with logs, side by side, to allow easier passage in the mud. Unfortunately, this also created a very bumpy ride. John Cunningham indicates in "New Jersey-Americas Main Road" that the roads were full of loose stones and deep holes. A traveler could be shook so violently, that when they stepped down they could hardly stand. The one thing that smoothed out all the bumps was snow. When the roads were covered with snow, it might have been cold, but it was a great way to travel.
And where was it great to travel to? Taverns of course. The Salem County Historical Society possesses school essays from the 1820 to 1835 time frame which talk of the "delightful recreation" of sleighing in general and of sleighing to taverns. Taverns or inns were originally known as ordinaries. Cunningham indicates that in the seventeenth century it was the order of the law in New Jersey that "every town provide an ordinary for the relief and entertainment of strangers "By the late eighteenth century, the ordinary became an inn or tavern. Cunningham indicates that the taverns and inns "represented the political, legal, and social center of a community, where major affairs took place, where news and gossip were exchanged. The towns people looked up to the tavern keeper. He distributed mail, held sheriffs sales and served as a host for community gatherings." In the early nineteenth century the tavern became important as a leveling influence and class distinctions were not recognized. Jon Bull brown indicates in "Early American Beverages" that the tavern was a place to "obtain a good meal, along with drinking alcoholic refreshment, dancing to a fiddle, and playing with pennies". So it was great fun in the winter snows of the early 1800s to sleigh to a tavern in another town and to have some beer or cider .It is to be noted that New Jersey was famous in the early years for the cider and applejack which were warming in the cold of winter.
Sometimes, near a tavern would be a glass house as in the case of Malaga. Hammonton and Glassboro, New Jersey. In 1835 there were two glass houses in Glassboro, Harmony (Olive) Glass Works and Temperance Glass Works. One of the essays ,from 1835 talks about a tradition of evening sleighing to Pole Tavern or Black Horse Tavern for "one of their famous suppers "After supper the party went on to the glass houses in Glassboro," where the fires and works were kept going all night".
The essay then states, "Here many fancy glass ornaments were manufactured, singing glasses, balls, horn, canes, ect". There were also hats, chains and flip-flops, along with pitchers, bowls and drinking glasses. The sleighers would purchase some of these whimsies that were put out as souvenirs of their winter trip.
Glass House whimsies are considered to be non-production items the glass workers made for gifts, presentation pieces or just to show their craftsmanship. This documentation that the whimsies were being sold does not conclude that they were production items. The glass workers saw an opportunity to make a few extra dollars by accommodating the sleigh ride parties. The workers provided the warmth of the glass house and the chance for those in the party to obtain a few souvenirs not normally available to them. This also, most likely influenced the glass workers to use their craftsmanship to expand the types of whimsies they made. These early years of the 1800s were apparently rich with the making and obtaining of Glass House Whimsies.
The school essay goes on to say "singing glasses resemble a decanter, upset to where held by the neck, the lips pressing the bottom, a musical sound would accompany the voice. these singing glasses were very thin and it was a great treat to get one home safely. The balls and horns were easily carried, and ladies had the duty of the glass artifacts, if saved, to get them home safely. The horns were used to notify the population about 4 or 5 am that a sleighing party was on their way home. Every gentleman blew the horns, and there was noise enough "From the words in this quote, you can see that the winter sleigh parties were somewhat of a regular treat that took place over a number of years. There is also the indication of a frolicking, noisy party. Sickler indicates that the winter of 1829 was the coldest since 1780 and that even the Delaware River was frozen over. With this cold spell, there was probably snow and some grand sleigh rides for supper, partying, and souvenir buying.
Charles Hajdamach talks about singing glasses in his book "British Glass 1800-1914".In addition to mentioning flip-flops, Hajdamach indicates "In addition to this action with the flip-flop, boys used to put the thin part to their lips and sing upon it, when the vibration caused a sound consequent on their breath bearing upon the thin surface, it was then called a 'singing glass'. "Hajdamach indicates that glass lads of the early 19th century used the singing glasses while going out carol singing at Christmas time.Of course, the flip-flop could also be blown into at the stem end to produce the customary flip-flop sound.
The essays give us a good sense of the enjoyment that the winter sleigh rides provided in an otherwise difficult life style. you would also get the sense that it wasn`t worth the aggravation to take one of these trips in a wagon because of the road condition. We are indebted to the Salem County Historical Society for bring these essays to light.
Photos taken from "Down Jersey" by Cornelius Weygandt.
A South Jersey Folklore
A natural phenomena found in the woods of South Jersey stimulated the imagination of glass workers for the creation of DEVIL"S FIRE paperweights, perfume bottles, ink wells, and mantel pieces. In the swamps of Southern New Jersey, there often appear to be moving bluish flames which have been referred to as fox fire or devil’s fire. There can also be a flouescent glow in rotting wood or mushrooms of the South Jersey woods which is also referred to as fox fire or devil’s fire. Devil’s Fire paperweights were created by glass workers to imitate these natural phenomena. The earliest Devil’s Fire paperweights are known to have been made at the Whitall Tatum Glass Works in Millville, NJ about 1860. They were probably made on occasion at Whitall Tatum until about 1910. Many of the glass workers at Whitall Tatum came from Germany, where there was a long history of observing the Devil’s Fire in nature. The Devil’s Fire paperweights made at Whitall Tatum have not been associated with certain glass workers in the same way as the Millville Rose weights have been, even though the same glass workers made both. The Devil’s Fire motif continued to be made by other glass workers into the 1970’s, but generally only in South Jersey leading to the thought that the Devil’s Fire is a part of the South Jersey Folklore.
DEVIL’S FIRE IN NATURE
There are various different terms that generally mean the same thing. "Devil’s Fire", "Fox Fire", "Will-o-The-Wisp", "Jack-O-Lantern", "Ignus Fatius", and Swamp Gas or Marsh Gas. Webster’s Dictionary indicates that Fox Fire "is an eerie phosphorescent light of illuminous fungus that causes decaying wood to glow". The actual phenomena of Devil’s Fire can only be seen on the darkest summer nights. It is a very low energy flourescent light given off by certain types of rotting wood or certain types of mushrooms growing in rotting wood. The light is a cold bluish-green glow just like the similarly colored methane gas flames sometimes seen over marshes in the summer. These cold flames are thought of as underground flames or the little peoples (fairy) flames because they are cold instead of being the normally hot red-orange flame. Since there is little scientifically known about these light sources, they have become known as Fox Fire or Devil’s Fire through the years. Hence, the Devil’s Fire motif was created in paperweights, by the glass workers, to symbolize this natural phenomena.
MAKING THE MOTIF
The motif is generally a series of random upward points or spikes of colored glass within the clear glass. The motif is usually created by spiking the mix of colors into the clear glass with an ice pick. The initial clear glass is dipped onto the color chips which are distributed on a marver. The color chips adhere to the clear molten glass. After re-heating, and maybe adding additional clear glass, the motif of cold flames is developed by spiking and working the glass. The choice of color chips in earlier weights included dark and light blue, dark and light green, white, yellow, red, and maybe light pink. Very little orange was used. A Devil’s Fire motif is not as difficult to accomplish as a Millville Rose because there is no definitive form that has to be accomplished as in a rose. There are probably more tall conical mantel piece examples than paperweights. The tallness of the mantel piece allowed for a better flame appearance. There are many perfume and ink bottles. The bottles have stopper tops, and a good example will have a matching motif in the stopper. Examples made in the later years sometimes contain a majority of red, orange, and yellow. The latter day glass workers were trying to demonstrate a "fire of the devil" instead of the glow of the natural phenomena. The motif is generally the same, the colors are different.
The History of the Swan, Chicken and Rooster as an ornament on Blown Glass
Four American examples made between 1800-1860 for other American
examples see American Glass by George and Helen Mckearin
As far back as the
2nd century AD, the glass blowers in Rome were decorating their wares with a
swan-like bird. Archeological
digs have unearthed some of their small swizzle sticks that are decorated on top with a
bird which looks somewhat like a swan. These
rods are believed to have been used for mixing cosmetics.
Since those ancient times, there have been different legends about
swans. Some suggest that the Greek God
of the sun, Apollo, turned into a swan. Other mythology indicates the swan was the bird of
Apollo or that the swan was the god of music. Some legends are more complicated suggesting
erotic ideas like the swan being graceful and beautiful
like a naked
women. There is some suggestion that the swan
was the image of satisfaction and desire. Folklore
suggests that chickens are a symbol of prosperity, because by owning chickens, a family
would always have a food source. In
ancient and not so ancient times, all families needed the chicken as a food source.
Therefore, it was also associated with survival. With
myths and legends so complex we will never know the exactly the origins, but there
certainly was something special about these fowl.
The glass being made in all the major
glass producing cities in the old world used styles and techniques that go back in time as
far as glass making itself. The
“swan” continued to be used for many centuries in all of these old world glass
factories. Throughout time, the
swans’ appearance was not always the same.
Sometimes it appeared as a swan but more often it looked like a
chicken or even a rooster, and sometimes it looked like a cross between the three. Whether
or not this was intentional is not known, or were some of the glass workers just poor craftsmen. There are many finials that look very much like a
chicken or rooster as can be found at the Corning museum of Glass. With the hundreds of years and
countless glass gaffers, it’s no wonder there are so many different interpretations of
these birds.
In America from the late 18th
century up until the early 20th century, glass blowers, and even the
Pennsylvania German redware potters, used the swan, the chicken and the rooster for
decorating their wares. Most commonly seen as a finial on the lid of a sugar bowl or other
lidded vessel as were made at the Wistarburgh Glass Factory in the mid 18th
century. They are also found on
or in lamps, mantle ornaments, salts, toys
and paperweights as were made at the Sandwich Glass Works in New England in the mid 19th
century and also in the latter 19th and early 20th centuries at
Whitall Tatum Glass Works in Millville New Jersey.
At that time in history, I believe the use of the chicken or swan in
the previous centuries was meant as a
symbol of good luck and prosperity. The importance of the swan,
chicken, and rooster seems to have been lost in the last 80 years of the 20th
century.
very rare early 19th century invalid feeder or nurser
A Brief History of Glassmaking in Glassboro N.J.
The Whitney Glass Works around 1876
In Gloucester County on September 23rd 1779 Solomon Stanger purchased 200 acres of land. By 1781 the Stangers were ready to start what was going to be 148 years of continuous glass making in what was to become the town of Glassboro.
The Stanger bothers had financial problems right from the start. Congress revalued the existing currency and left the large and very experienced glass blowing family no choice but to sell a share of their glassworks to pay off debts. It took over three years for the transition of new ownership to take place and by 1784 Colonel Thomas Heston had become a part owner of the Stanger works. By 1786 the Stanger works was owned solely by Colonel Heston and Thomas Carpenter. The primary output of the Heston - Carpenter works was bottles and hollowware.
Heston and Carpenter owned and operated the new glassworks but still employed the many members of the Stanger family. The Stangers came from Dornhagen Germany where they owned and operated their own glass factory. When they arrived in New Jersey they brought with them much skill and experience, they were very much needed and very important in the success of the Heston-Carpenter works.They were also a large part of the glass making history in N.J. Brought to America as indentured servants by Casper Wistar in the 18th century and later founding or working at many other glass factories. One of the first things done in the new ownership was to build a new furnace for the making of window glass and flint ware. The Heston, Carpenter works continued until 1808 even though Col. Heston died in 1802. Also in 1802 the village known as "glasstown" officially was named Glassborough or Glassboro.
From 1808 until 1824 the glass works still at the same location was called the Olive Works. Now owned by Thomas Carpenters son Edward and Peter Wickoff. Edward Carpenter died in 1813 and Wickoff sold his share to David Wolf. Wolf also bought Carpenters share and was sole owner. But not for long, seeing a need to expand Wolf took in two partners Issac Thorne and Daniel Focer. Thorne eventually became sole owner in 1821. In 1824 Thorne sold the glass works to Jeremiah Foster. The Olive Works eventually merged with its competition The Harmony Glass Works.
The Harmony Glass Works was started in 1813 the same year as the death of Edward Carpenter. After Carpenters death some of the glass blowers including a couple of the Stangers left the Olive Works. The Stangers along with Daniel Rink, Levi Cambell and Daniel Focer built a new furnace 400 yards from the original glass works" Olive Works". The new venture comprised of experience and talent in business as well as glass blowing. The Harmony Works was a large operation with several factory buildings and a few houses for workers. This larger and more modern glass factory must have made for much competition for the Olive Works. At some point the Olive Works closed and became part of the Harmony Works. In 1823 Daniel Rink died and his share of the works was sold to Daniel K. Miller, owner of the Franklin Glass Works in Malaga N.J. which was founded by Christian L. Stanger in 1810. Lewis Stanger who had been in charge of the Harmony works sold his share to Thomas H. Whitney in 1834. In 1838 T.H. Whitney bought out all other interests and the rest is history! He became sole owner. His two sons Thomas and Samuel joined him and renamed the Harmony Glass Works, Whitney and Brothers. At Thomas Seniors death the glass works became Whitney Brothers then the Whitney Glass Works.
After Lewis Stanger sold his share of the Harmony Works in 1834 he opened a new factory just 500 yards south of Harmony. It was first known as Lewis Stanger&Son and also refereed as Lewisville. Since the Stangers were teetotalers the glass works became known as Temperanceville. Window glass and hollow ware were their main out put. No whiskey flasks were made there!! Eventually it too was bought out by T.H. Whitney around 1841.From that point they made bottles and sold them through the Whitney Bros. of the Harmony Works. Now selling under the name Whitney and Warrick. It was Thomas's brother Eben Whitney that ran the company with Woodward Warrick until 1849.Warrick sold out to Eben and in 1859 Eben sold to Thomas W. Stanger. Thomas than bought back Warrick and continued making window glass until Thomas Stanger died in 1883.
Solomon H. Stanger also ran a glass works for a period of time from 1842 until 1852. Employed 19 experienced journeymen including three other Stangers, Joseph O., Simon W. and Richard H. . Five pieces of hollow ware are known to be blown by Solomon H. Stanger they were found together with his ledger book. A mug , pitcher, bottle, and hat all made in aqua glass.
In the end only The Whitney Brothers Glass Works remained. Whitney was an enormous operation that continued making glass of all kinds from the time they acquired the Harmony works in 1838 until 1929.The invention of the automatic bottle machine in 1903 eventually put the glass blowers out of work for ever .The Whitney Brothers Glass Works is very well know for some of its figural bottles such as the E.G. Booze cabin and the Dr. Fish Bitters. Much more could be written about the Whitney Brothers! maybe later.!
Whitney Glass Works in 1908
information taken From The Glassboro Story by Robert D. Bole and Edward H. Walton And The Glass Gaffers of New Jersey by Adeline Pepper
Interesting Family History of a Early and Important Millville Pitcher
In the area of early blown bottle glass very few pieces have any significant provenance . The American Museum of Glass in Millville has a pitcher with a long history of being handed down in one family. It is one of the few pieces of South Jersey Glass known with a traceable history.
In the early days of Southern New Jersey one of the winter past times was sleighing parties. The snow covered roads made traveling more pleasurable compared to the rough and muddy roads of the rest of the year. Groups of mostly younger people would take advantage of these conditions and travel by sleigh from town to town stopping at a tavern for something warm to drink and to eat. Another popular place to visit would be one of the local glass houses. The glass factories welcomed visitors, they provided warmth, entertainment and also offered for sale wares that were made there. Also available were non production items "whimsies" of all kinds made in glass. These non production items probably gave the glass workers a chance to show off their skills and to make some extra money. The owners of the glass factories allowed its employees to make things on their break time and after business hours.
On one of
these sleighing parties in the winter of 1808 David Dare and some of friends were
traveling from their home in Bridgeton to Millville.
At that
time, Millville was a small hamlet with a mill, a tavern,
a school, three stores, several houses and a glass factory.
On this particular
trip they stopped at the Glass Factory that was owned by James Lee.
Lee had operated this
company since 1806.James Lee was not new to glass making he had come from Port Elizabeth
after making glass with some of the Stangers. While David Dare and his friends were
visiting there that winter night he purchased a pitcher as a gift for his future mother
in-law Mary Fithian, it was made from dark green bottle glass.
This pitcher is the earliest
known piece of glass made in Millville. It was handed down through this family and always
was highly regarded. Following is its history.
David Dare (1780-1863)gave the pitcher to his future mother-in-law Mary Fithian, David Dare married Rebecca Fithian. Mary Fithian gave the pitcher to her other daughter, Emily Fithian Buck. Emily Buck willed the pitcher to David and Rebecca Dare's daughter Jane. Jane married Ephriam Sheppard and gave the pitcher to their daughter Ruth Sheppard. Ruth Sheppard never married and willed the pitcher to her brother Charles Ewing Sheppard. Charles Sheppard willed the pitcher to his daughter Helen Dare Sheppard Ross when he died in 1939.The pitcher was then purchased from Helen Ross in 1989 by The Museum of American Glass.
The acquisition of this important piece was made possible by a generous gift from Harriet Smith and the Wheaton Village Volunteer Glass Blowers
What is commonly referred to as the South Jersey Tradition are styles and techniques of decorating blown glass. Southern New Jersey has a very long and important history in the manufacturing of glass beginning in Alloway at the Wistarburgh Glass Works in 1739. The tradition no doubt had its roots there. The workers at Wistarburgh had come from Germany bringing with them the traditions in glass making from their home land. As the years passed and Wistarburgh closed down workers from all of the other glass manufacturing cites of the world came to America especially New Jersey, and a distinct style for decorating free blown glass emerged. A couple of the techniques are purely American the lilypad decoration was one of these techniques which was done in three different ways, type1, type 2 and type 3, all of these were created by adding a 2nd gather of glass and tooling it. See "American Glass by the Mckearins" for examples of the three types. Other types of decorating glass is gadrooning, this is also a tooled super imposed (2nd gather) type of decoration that had its origin in England. The application of prunts (applied glass tooled or molded into berries, human or animal faces or leaves) is another. Applying glass threading onto the rim of a pitcher or bowl or glass that was applied and tooled into rigaree that was purely decorative. Another way to decorate glass was Nailsea tradition (drag looping) was also used frequently. Rarely the use of two or more colors can also be found on one piece, an example would be an amber foot and handle on a aqua body. Using common glass working tools a gaffer could crimp the foot or to add tool marks around the rim to further embellish his object. By using the techniques mentioned above in any variety of combinations we have what is referred to as the "South Jersey Tradition".
Early Glass and other Industries in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey
From the beginning, the early Colonists understood the vast resources that the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey held. In the early 1700s the early settlers were using one of that areas largest resource, water. Many sawmills were erected using that waterpower to cut the timber that was also very abundant. Bog iron was discovered soon after in the rivers and used for iron production. By the 1730s iron was being produced at such furnaces as :Bordentown, Etna and several others all prior to the American Revolution. Iron production was an important industry before and during the Revolution. The early furnaces suppled cannon balls for the cannons and shot for the muskets for both the Revolution and the French and Indian wars. As the 19th century headed towards the industrial revolution extensive railroads were built transporting newly discovered coal from mines in the Allegany Mountains of Pennsylvania. With the new fuel readily available, the old remote iron industries soon began to fold. Still offering all or most of its natural resources the Pine Barrens was then home of other industry, paper mills, sawmills, cotton and gristmills and last but not least glass factories!
Hermann City 1896
Several glass factories are know to have existed in the Pine Barrens, among them were Crowleytown, Bulltown, Hermann City, Green Bank and Batsto. All were in operation in the mid 1800s taking advantage of the Mullica River for the transportation of their glass and the large amount of wood avalable for fuel. Most collectors of early bottles and glass have heard of the Crowleytown Glass Works which has been credited with producing the first Mason jar patented in 1856.
Harrisville Lake
In those early day between 1750 and 1880 the Pine Barrens was anything but barren. As a matter of fact it was a very active and thriving place, a person driving through there today might not even know that, unless they take the time to read up on the vast amount of history that took place there. There are very little signs of all the large and small industries that operated there once. Fortunately for all of us the state acquired most of this land totaling over 100,000 acres in the 1950s so the Pine Barrens will retain all of it natural resources for many more years to come.
Paper Mill Ruins at Harrisville
Photo of Hermann City courtesy of Budd Wilson
Early Whimsy or Folk Art Paperweights
There are times when Glasshouse
Whimsies are also considered in other areas of collecting.
For some years, Wheaton Village in Millville NJ has been
very active in presenting customs and crafts that are considered American Folk Art or
South Jersey Folk Art. Where
this folk art crosses paths with glasshouse whimsies is in the early paperweights made in
the South Jersey area. Some
of the earliest American paperweights can be traced to South Jersey and mainly to
Millville at the Whitall Tatum Glass Factory. The
glassworkers there were mostly immigrants from Europe.
The earliest migration of these European glass workers, familiar with
paperweight-making, was to New England about
1840. These workers made
paperweights, on their own time, in the image of the European paperweights. The methods were either
millefiori or the lampwork technique. By
1860 there were immigrant workers in South Jersey making paperweights exclusively from hot
glass taken directly from the tank instead of using the lampwork method. These examples reflected a completely
new approach to making and designing a paperweight.
The design may have been a rose or a lily-like
flower. There was a style now termed
“umbrella” paperweights, paperweights with a “devil’s fire”
motif, still others referred to as “frit” paperweights and also controlled
bubble paperweights, all of which had their beginnings in South Jersey. They were made in the Millville
area until the 1920’s and were not made as any production effort. Gradually, glass artists in other
parts of the country began making some of these folk art type paperweights. Only a few of these later
artists have been able to equal the craftsmanship of the earlier immigrants.
The rose is probably the most famous of
these early folk art paperweights. Commonly
referred to as the “Millville Rose”, all paperweight collectors recognize the
name. The flower was to
look like a rose with a few green leaves underneath .
It was formed by pushing the color petals into the clear glass
with a custom made crimp. Workers
seldom shared their rose crimp. If
your crimp made a good looking rose, then you kept it to yourself! The early roses are usually of ruby
red, while a few are pink, opal white or opalescent yellow.
There are only a very few blue rose paperweights. Many glass artists
have tried their hand at making a rose paperweight, and there was even an influx of rose
paperweights from China in the 1930’s.
The China weights can be distinguished because the rose appears
to take up the entire sphere of glass unlike the domestic examples.
The umbrella paperweight was originally
made to imitate the wild tiger lily of South Jersey.
As various glass workers tried their hand at making the lily paperweight,
they would make their own variations by adding color chips and making more or less pull
downs which led to the paperweight looking more like an umbrella. Hence the term umbrella paperweight. A favorite of the early makers was the ink bottle
or perfume bottle. They would
make a small paperweight in the stopper to match the large example in the base.
The Frit type paperweights are made
with powdered glass. The powdered
glass is laid out in a design, which is picked up on the hot glass, and then surrounded
with more clear hot glass. Of
all the old South Jersey paperweights, the frit type are the most recognizable as folk
art. The frit paperweights
express the virtues of a simple life. There
can be quite a variation of quality of frit paperweights, because there were many workers
who tried their hand at making a frit paperweight.
This type of paperweight was first made about 1863. Some of the frit paperweights have a
solid color below the frit message and others have multi color chips. You can find many
designs of frit paperweights including friendship (clasped hands), rocked in the cradle of
the deep (clipper ship), hope (anchor and wreath), remember mother, remember the Maine,
remember me, home sweet home (house), no place like home (house), rock of ages (cross),
and a hunter with a hunting dog or just a dog to name a few. Some of the rarer frit paperweights
are made with two or three colors. Later
examples contain a denser material as the frit, which allows the design or letters to
stand out more, but are easily identifiable as being made after the 1920’s.
The controlled bubble type paperweights
probably were not made until after 1900. They
were a specialty made by the workers at the Durand Fancy Glass Shop in the 1920’s. The controlled bubble paperweights
have a series of small air bubbles, which appear to be equal distant from each other. The bubbles usually form circles near the
outside of the paperweight. Some
examples have a colored core inside the bubbles.
This air bubble motif has been duplicated by many glass artists over
the years, making it very difficult to identify the early examples of the Durand days.
Another motif of the early folk art
period is the Devil’s Fire. A
natural phenomena found in the woods of South Jersey stimulated the imagination of glass
workers for the creation of the Devil’s Fire motif.
In the swamps of Southern New Jersey, there often appear to be moving
flames which have been referred to as fox fire or devil’s fire. The swamps generate methane gas, which will
burn with a bluish flame. There can
also be a fluorescent glow in rotting wood or wild mushrooms of the South Jersey woods
which is also referred to as fox fire or devil’s fire.
The glass workers observed these deep woods lights and tried to
portray them in glass. They
developed a type of motif known as Fox Fire or Devil’s Fire, which generally has a
spiky multi colored appearance. The
Devil’s Fire can be found in the normally formed paperweights, mantel ornaments, and
ink bottles. The stopper of the bottles
usually includes the same motif. The
Devil’s Fire paperweights were made mostly in South Jersey and are considered part of
the local folk art.
All of the paperweights mentioned in
this article are considered to be glasshouse whimsies and were made as non-production or
off-hours items during the time period of 1850 to 1930.
After 1930, there have been efforts to make these same old folk art
style paperweights for sale in small one pot operations.
Some names that come to mind are John St. Clair, John Degenhart,
Peter Gentile, Francis Whittemore, and Charles Kaziun.
These and others were all excellent craftsmen and
some of them were able to make fine examples of the early folk art paperweights, but what
they made was for sale and the artists weren’t involved in any kind of commercial
production where they worked. They
solely made what they wanted to make, but the paperweights are actually whimsical. These paperweights are still
lovely for any collection, I just wanted to point out the difference in their origin.
Some of the early folk art paperweights
can be quite costly in today’s market. The Millville Rose can be ($500-2000) and the
umbrella type ($350-1000). The
Devil’s fire can also be a little costly ($100-1000), but the controlled bubble and
some frit paperweights can still be purchased for less than $200. Obviously, the price depends on
whether it is an original and the quality of the workmanship. As mentioned above, the
frit type paperweights have the best connection to a simple life and are the most
individualized. They are
the best example of early folk art in glass paperweights.
A recent Schiffer book titled TIFFIN
GLASS 1940-1980: Figurals, Paperweights, Pressed Ware by Hemminger/Goshe/Pina shows the
Devil’s Fire motif in small mantle ornaments that are called “Tree
Paperweights”. They
are made very much in the format of some of the early South Jersey Devil’s Fire
mantle ornaments. I would
suppose that a glass worker from South Jersey migrated to Tiffin Ohio and made some
Devil’s Fire type mantel ornaments.
After time and the passing of the original glass worker, the name “Tree
Paperweight” was attached to the Devil’s Fire motif by those unfamiliar with the
South Jersey Folk Art. Realistically,
some examples of the Devil’s Fire motif do look a little like a tree.
Another somewhat folksy and whimsical
item occasionally made by glass workers is the pencil/pen/or toothpick holder. It includes a normal paperweight
adorned with a cup or vase on the top.
This style actually has its origin in mid nineteenth
century France at the St. Louis Glass Works where they were made as shot glasses, vases,
or wafer trays. The top attachment of
the French examples contains much color and workmanship.
The domestic examples are not tall enough to be a vase or small enough to be
a shot glass or broad enough to be a wafer tray and they have very little workmanship. The bowls are usually made of
clear glass with a pedal or roll over lip.
They seem to work best as a pen or pencil holder while the
smaller examples are probably toothpick holders.
Their domestic origin may be West Virginia or Ohio as much
as South Jersey. I have an
example which was made in Cumberland Maryland that has a 3 ½” deep clear vase at the
top. The vase attached to the top is
not necessarily difficult to make after making the paperweight. These
paperweight pen or pencil holders are rather rare and probably should be included in the
folk art category as well as the whimsey category.
A good source of the South Jersey folk
art information is OLD GLASS PAPERWEIGHTS OF SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY by Clarence Newell. This book is available for $20 plus $2.50 postage. Email mountainmonster@mountain.net to purchase
the book.
More recently, a new type of South Jersey paperweight has become popular, made by Paul Stankard (Mantua, NJ). These are quite different than the old folk art paperweights. Paul has been making a botanical type paperweight using the lampwork technique for about 30 years. They are usually larger and in a rectangular cube form. Paul works with flowers, trees, animals and even people. Again, Paul’s weights are whimsical but they are not glasshouse whimsies nor are they folk art.
Back row left -Rose weight, controlled bubble, pencil holder
Front row left -Devil’s Fire, Frit, umbrella
Clementon NJ-Amusement Park and Glass Bottles
By Dale Murschell
Clementon is located in the lower part of Camden County encompassing the Chews Landing/Berlin Road. Route 30, also known as the White Horse Pike, runs through the northeast corner of the Borough. Almost everyone who grew up in South Jersey, within 40 miles of Clementon during the middle of the 20th century, visited Clementon to enjoy the Amusement Park. This was before Six Flags, Great Adventure, etc., when local amusement parks were the only option. This park was started just after the turn of the century (1900), by the Gibbs family. Although picnicking, swimming and boating had been enjoyed for many years at the lake, the first amusement, swings, were added in 1905. In 1906, the first commercial amusement, a hand operated devise that went around, known as the Aerial Wave, was installed. In 1907, trolley tracks were installed from Haddon Heights to Clementon, allowing those in Camden and even Philadelphia easy rail and ferry transportation to the park. By the 1920’s, the park was one of the best in the country. The photo below shows the park in the 1930’s.
There were so many visitors trying to jam onto the trolleys on Sunday nights, that wire fence pens were constructed to force the riders into lines for boarding the trolleys. I witnessed a similar procedure in the 1970’s at Disney World, and thought it a novel idea. Little did I know that the concept was used in South Jersey 50 years earlier. The trolley was discontinued in the late 1930’s. The Clementon Parks still survives, although not at the level of the glory days.
In the late 19th century, one of the most influential men of Clementon was Abel Bottoms. He was responsible for building a Hosiery Mill, the first water system, the first school, and the town hall. In the mid 19th century, Hillman Rowand operated a charcoal factory. He donated the wood for the construction of the Watsontown Methodist Church in 1859. It is said that in 1854, there were fifteen dwellings, a grist mill, and a saw-mill.
About fifty years earlier, one of the lesser known glass factories was operating in Clementon. The Clementon Glass Works has also been referred to as the Gloucester Co. Glass Works. It was located across the road from where eventually, the entrance to the Amusement Park was constructed. The years of operation have never been definitively established. Samuel Clement purchased a large tract of land in 1800. About 1804, there was a glass factory in operation, containing a nine-pot furnace. Exactly when it was erected is unclear. Although most of the Stanger Brothers were involved in the operation of the Glass Factory in Glassboro in the early 1800’s, William Stanger provided the early knowledge of operation for the Clementon Glass Works. This glass factory was the third major glass factory in New Jersey, after Wistarburgh and the Stanger Factory in Glassboro, and the Stangers were associated with all three. Samuel Clement must have been having a difficult time, because the glass factory, along with the entire town were offered for sale in 1815.
It is assumed that Jonathon Haines purchased at least the Glass factory, because by 1817, Jonathon Haines was operating the Glass Works. Jonathon Haines (1791-1828) had been a storekeeper, trading under the name of Shreeve & Haines. Glass company money (scrip) or (shinplasters) ala. shinnies were issued bearing Jonathon Haines’s name in 1817, to be used at the company store. The glass factory operated until sometime between 1822 and 1825. Mid 19th century maps show the glass works land being used as a pear orchard. Since the start of the glass works is not specifically defined, and the closing date has the same problem, it is difficult to define the years of operation. Possibly someone will eventually spend some time with further research on this subject.
Winter sleigh parties to glass factories were somewhat of an early 19th century cultural and social occasion or an early South Jersey tradition. The sleigh partiers enjoyed traveling to the nice warm atmosphere of the glass factory. Excerpts from “Howard Kemble’s Glass Notes” indicate that on a special night in Clementon, music would be available for the sleigh parties to dance. The music must have been quite invigorating as evidenced by a note in Samuel Mickle’s Diary that on January 22, 1812, “Trial Westcott deceased last night at the dance at Clements Glass Works” in Clementon, NJ. In addition to dancing, the partiers would have an opportunity to purchase glass items called glass house whimsies. These items included hats, horns, pitchers, candle sticks and glass animals. All items not normally made at a bottle factory.
The early years of production at Clementon saw many types of bottles produced, while the later years saw window glass as the product. As for what type of bottles were produced, we have Richmond Morcom, of Wilmot Flat, NH to thank. In the early 1960’s, Richmond spent time digging old glass factory sites in South Jersey. One of those sites being Clementon, in Camden County. At this point, I want to thank Richmond for sharing with me what he found. Richmond mentioned his digging at Clementon (Gloucester Co. Glass Works) in his article in the Antique Bottle & Glass Collector magazine of January 2000, “Digging The Early Glassworks”. The photo below is Richmond’s photo of his artifacts from Clementon. It shows quite a variety of colors and bottle parts. The second photo highlights artifacts of ribbed flasks that are included in the first photo.
These artifacts put into play the fact that the swirl ribbed “Pitkin Type” flasks were also made in South Jersey. The next photo shows a locally found flask, thought to have been made at Clementon.
The final photo shows additional bottles thought to be from Clementon, by matching the artifacts. Richmond also found parts of the standard black glass string lip cylinders, along with artifacts of clear glass bottles and decanters. For more information on Richmond Morcom’s Clementon artifacts, please refer to his article in the ABG&C of January 2000, or the Corning Museum’s Journal of Glass Studies, Vol. X, 1968.
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Brief History of Glass Making in Fislerville (Now Clayton)
With the help of Juneanne Wescoat Glicks books They Blew Glass and The Recorded Businesses of Clayton Township
Fisler Town was named after the Fisler family. They first settled in the area in 1753. By the early part of the 19th century they owned most of the land in that part of Franklin Township, Gloucester County. The Fislers operated 2 sawmills there. One was Scotland Run (now Wilson Lake) and the other was Still Run (now Silver Lake). There they produced lumber. In that early time prior to 1850 Fisler Town had no other businesses. The 2 saw mills most all of its lumber was sold to surrounding towns. Fisler Town was situated 3 miles South of Glassboro and 6 miles North of Malaga. Both towns had thriving glass factories, Fisler Town being in the middle of the two was not unfamiliar with the growing glass industry. Approximately 1849 the first glass factory was being built and in 1850 it was in full blast. Jacob P. Fisler and Benjamin Becket were partners. They were listed in the 1850 U.S.cenus as glass manufactures and dealers making “hollow ware” Benjamin Becket also was listed as a dealer in Dry Goods, Groceries and Variety. The glassworks also had a blacksmith named John Heritage. At this time Fisler Town was renamed Fislerville. The new glass factory carried the same name. “Fislerville Glass Works” made various bottles, jars, vials, and credited with making one version of the famous Jenny Lind historical flask with the glass factory’s name embossed on one side. August 17th 1852 Benjamin Becket sold his share of the glass factory to Edwin P. Bacon therefore in 1852 the glass works was renamed Fisler, Bacon & Co. however it was still referred to as Fislerville for many more years to come. Unfortunately not 3 years later on August 31 1855 Edwin Bacon met an untimely death in a tragic train accident, in Burlington. He was 37 years old.
Fisler Town prior to 1850
Due to financial difficulty and the untimely death of Edwin Bacon, John M. Moore took over ownership of the failing Fislerville Glass Works in 1856. John Moore was not unfamiliar with glass factory operations having been involved in several other glass making ventures in Millville. (At this time the history of glass making in Fislerville becomes too vast and complex to cover in a short article I will briefly cover some of the more important acquisitions and company name changes.) Over the next 10 years John M. Moore was very much involved buying tracts of land around the surrounding areas for his growing businesses. In 1858 because of the large growth in population and business the New Jersey Legislature passed an act to create a new township. It included Fislerville, Glassboro, Union (Aura) Hardingville and Fries Mills. The newly created township was named Clayton Township. In 1867, Fislerville was officially renamed Clayton. In October 1863 the glass works in Fislerville became ”Moore Brothers & Co.” also known as “The Clayton Glass Works” still it was referred to as Fislerville Glass Works by most until much later. Over the next 13 years the Moore family had bought and sold land gained and lost partners and by 1876 the glass works had grown covering an area of 15 acres. This included four large glass factories producing all sorts of bottles. Within this large area there was a gristmill, a sawmill, a machine shop, a carpenter shop, 5 immense warehouses for storing the manufactured stock, large elevated coal bins and a railroad track that ran entirely through the grounds. As well every necessary auxiliary to one of the most extensive and best arranged glass works in the Union., There was a large General store and attached office building. Moore Brothers employed 400 men in 1880 with 100 tenant houses. The Moore Brothers closed its doors just before World War 1.
In1880 Dr Charles Fisler, Henry and Walter Morgan formed another glass factory at the North end of Clayton. On a 10acre piece of land with its own steam mill, machine shop, packing house, office and a large store. Several years after Henry Morgan withdrew. Soon after the new glass works was renamed F.M.Pierce Company.
Glass Blowers in the early 20th century including the “carry in boy”
In 1927 three brothers opened yet another glass factory in Clayton. Their father was William Clevenger he had blown window glass at Batsto until times got tough he than moved his family to Clayton to work for the Moore Brothers while there his youngest son worked as the traditional “carry in boy”. The Clevenger Brothers (Thomas, Lorenzo and Allie) were inspired after attending the Philadelphia Sesquicentennial and seeing the value of the Whitney Brothers Booz bottle. At that time it was worth 160.00 this of course was allot of money in those difficult times. Being glass gaffers in need of work they decided if they could get their hands on a mold they could make their own bottles to sell, so they did! The Clevenger’s made bottles and flasks and a line of reproduction glass in the old South Jersey tradition. The Clevengers blew glass in Clayton for the next 30 years. Later the business was sold to Jim Travis, he blew glass at that same location until just a few years ago.
At their height of production the Moore Brothers and the Whitney Brothers Glass factories dominated, making bottles and glass of all types. There are records that indicate that the two large companies even shared large orders from time to time, it must have been quite a site. Keep in mind the close proximity of the two large operations. Now one can only try to imagine what life would have been like and what Clayton would have looked like back in the good old days. Now nothing remains other than the small Clevenger Brothers Glass Factory and out buildings, I wonder what its fate will be?
