Last Updated: Oct 05, 2022     Views: 406

There are several major dates in the life of Tiffany Studios. One excellent resource is The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, in Winter Park, Florida, which has a rich source of Tiffany materials. According to their page on Tiffany Studios:

Photograph is of three men at work in workroom at the Tiffany Studios. Two long work tables, piled with designs, are in foreground; one man is working, seated, at each table. In background are three large stained glass windows; one man is studying window in center. A stained glass cartoon is affixed to top of far wall; cartoon is of robed man, possibly of religious significance, carrying bundle at his side with tree in background. Image: Helene Weis Collection on Stained Glass Rakow Library 135135.

Although Louis Comfort Tiffany’s company is best known by the name of Tiffany Studios, his vast creative enterprise operated under various names through the years.

1878: 

  • On June 18th, Louis C. Tiffany & Co. is formed; the firm opens its first glasshouse under the supervision of Andrea Boldini of Venice; it burns, as will the second attempt a short time later.

late 1879/early 1880: 

  • Louis Comfort Tiffany and Candace Wheeler organize the interior decorating firm of Tiffany & Wheeler, specializing in embroideries.

1880: 

  • Louis Comfort Tiffany directs three different firms from 373 4th Avenue, New York City, NY - L.C. Tiffany & Company, Furniture; Tiffany & Wheeler, Embroideries; and, with Lockwood de Forest, Tiffany & de Forest, Decorators.

1881: 

  • On June 9th, R.G. Dun & Co. credit report records indicate that L.C. Tiffany & CompanyTiffany & Wheeler, and Tiffany & de Forest, have merged under the name L.C. Tiffany & Co.
  • On June 15th, R.G. Dun & Co. records indicate that the firm is actually registered under the name Louis C. Tiffany & Co., Associated Artists.

1883:

  • On April 28th, the firm of Louis C. Tiffany & Co., Associated Artists is dissolved and Tiffany continues the business as Louis C. Tiffany & Co.

1885:

  • On December 1st,  Louis C. Tiffany & Co. is dissolved; Louis Comfort Tiffany incorporates his firm as Tiffany Glass Company.

1889: 

  • Church demand for decorative art is so great that Louis Comfort Tiffany designates an entire department (Tiffany Studios' Ecclesiastical Department) to create "all forms of church decoration and instrumenta ecclesiastica." (Morse Museum)

1892: 

  • On February 18th, Tiffany reorganizes the structure of his company, with legal incorporation of the firm as Tiffany Glass and Decorating Co.

late 1892/early 1893: 

  • Tiffany acquires a three-story building at 43rd Avenue and 97th Place in Corona, Queens, NY, and transforms it into his own glass furnace, where workers make blown Favrile-glass vases under superintendent Arthur J. Nash.

1893: 

  • On April 7th, Tiffany separates the glass production facility in Corona from Tiffany Glass and Decorating Co., calling it Stourbridge Glass Company, which is incorporated to accommodate the manufacture of blown glass.
  • On October 28th, the new factory of Stourbridge Glass Company burns down. The firm is uninsured and estimates its loss at about $20,000. Loans from Louis Tiffany's father, Charles Louis Tiffany, help to rebuild it.

1898: 

  • The Enamel Department is established at the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Co. factory in Corona, Queens, NY.

1899: 

  • In late March, Frederick Wilson is announced to be head of the "Church Art" Department at Tiffany Glass and Decorating Co.

1900: 

  • On April 2nd, Allied Arts Company (formerly Tiffany Glass and Decorating Co.) is incorporated. Until November 18, 1902, the firm markets objects under the name Tiffany Studios.

1901: 

  • On July 23rd, Eastern Arts Company, formed to buy, sell, import, export and manufacture works of art and merchandise, is incorporated. It will merge with Tiffany Studios in 1909.

1902: 

  • On February 25th, a certificate of incorporation is filed for Tiffany Studios, with an address of 333-341 4th Avenue, New York City, NY.
  • On September 29th, Stourbridge Glass Company is incorporated under the name Tiffany Furnaces, Inc.
  • On November 18th, Allied Arts Company is consolidated with Tiffany Studios under the name Tiffany Studios, with an address of 333-341 4th Avenue, New York City, NY.
  • The Tiffany Jewelry Department (not to be confused with Charles Louis Tiffany's Tiffany & Co.) is established in a small workshop at the 23rd Street studio of Tiffany Studios.

1905:

  • By October 25th, Tiffany Studios showrooms move from 4th Avenue and 25th Street to new facilities at 347 Madison Avenue and 45th Street, New York City, NY.

1907: 

  • Between April 1st and May 3rd, Louis Comfort Tiffany assumes the role of Tiffany & Co.'s chief jewelry designer and moves his art jewelry production from Tiffany Studios to Tiffany & Co., 5th Avenue and 37th Street, New York City, NY.

1909: 

  • On December 1st, Tiffany Studios, and Eastern Arts Company consolidate.

1914: 

  • Tiffany Granite Quarries opens in Cohasset, Massachusetts.

1917: 

  • Louis Comfort Tiffany sells the building at 345 Madison Avenue and moves the Tiffany Studios that are there to 361 Madison Avenue, New York City, NY.

1919: 

  • Louis Comfort Tiffany retires from active participation in Tiffany Studios, but retains the title of President.

1920: 

  • On January 6th, Tiffany Furnaces, Inc. is reorganized and called Louis C. Tiffany Furnaces, run by A. Douglas Nash and funded by Tiffany.

1924: 

  • In April, the Louis C. Tiffany Furnaces is dissolved. Commissions completed after this date are made from remaining glass. After April 2nd, the company is called the A. Douglas Nash Company with Tiffany retaining an interest. At some point in 1929 or 1930, the A. Douglas Nash Company will close.

1930: 

  • Tiffany Studios is listed with an address of 391 Madison Avenue, New York City, NY

1932: 

  • On April 17th, The New York Times publishes an article indicating that Tiffany Studios had filed a petition for bankruptcy on April 16th.
  • On June 21st, The New York Times publishes an article stating that Louis Comfort Tiffany had announced on June 20th that, as president and art director of the Louis C. Tiffany Studios Corporation, he would "continue his activities in the field formerly covered by the Tiffany Studios."

1933:

  • On January 17th, Louis Comfort Tiffany passes away after a long bout of pneumonia.
  • Between February and June, the Tiffany Granite Quarries in Cohasset, Massachusetts close down.

1936:

  • On March 24th, the contents of the Louis C. Tiffany Studios Corporation are bought by auctioneer Percy Joseph with a private auction to be held on the premises. Tiffany Ecclesiastical Studios continues to operate.
  • On December 1st, Joseph runs an ad in the New York Times announcing a liquidation sale of products of Tiffany Studios.

1937:

  • On January 3rd, Joseph runs an ad in the New York Times announcing a public auction for the remaining inventory of Louis C. Tiffany Studios Corporation to occur January 6th through the 9th.

1938:

  • From March 14th to the 19th, a final auction is held to sell the contents of the building housing Louis C. Tiffany Studios Corporation prior to its demolition.

The timeline was compiled from three main sources:

  • "Louis Comfort Tiffany Chronology," The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, accessed September 30, 2022, https://morsemuseum.org/chronology/.
  • Frelinghuysen, Alice Cooney. Louis Comfort Tiffany and Laurelton Hall. (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006): 225-233.
  • Mayer, Roberta A. and Carolyn K. Lane. “Disassociating the ‘Associated Artists’: The Early Business Ventures of Louis C. Tiffany, Candace T. Wheeler, and Lockwood de Forest.” Studies in the Decorative Arts 8, no. 2 (2001): 2-36, https://www.jstor.org/stable/40662779.

Other resources consulted:

The Rakow Research Library will lend designated books from its collection and will send copies of articles on request from other libraries. Your local school, public, academic or special library can request items through the OCLC WorldShare Interlibrary Loan (ILL) system or by direct request through email at ill@cmog.org. For more information, please see our ILL website.

 

 

 

 

Comments (1)

  1. I have a picture frame with a blown in chunk or blob of glass dating tiffany glass 1920, trying to find something on this. Thanks
    by Jim Gilley on Jun 29, 2013

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