Q. Do you have information on the history of lampworking in America?

Origins of Lampworking in the United States

Sandro Zecchin's chapter on lampworking in the United States in Il vetro a lume = Lampworking claims that while the precise beginning of lampworking in the United States is unknown,

we can assume that the lampworking pioneers in the USA came from those European countries where this art had been practiced for some time, in the second half of the 1800s (p. 235).

Fred Birkhill’s “A Concise History of Lampworking” states,

One would expect the use of the lamp, as well as other techniques of glassworking, to establish itself in the United States. Indeed, many lampworkers did emigrate from Europe to the U.S. during the 19th and 20th centuries. The primary use of flameworking has been for scientific purposes.

19th Century: Paperweights and Itinerant Glassworkers

During the 1850s in Europe and the United States, glass companies had lampworking departments as part of their operations. Southern New Jersey, a hub of the glass industry for the country, had the largest concentration of lampworking businesses.

The 1850s were also the time when lampworked flowers and designs were encased into paperweights. Troupes of lampworkers traveled through the world demonstrating this ancient art to entranced crowds at fairs and paid appearances.

20th century: Torches with Controlled Flames

At the beginning of the 20th century, powerful torches with controlled flames were created in response to industrial needs. Because the melting temperature of Pyrex is so high the old forced-air lamps could not melt the glass. Borrowing from the welding trade and combining oxygen and natural gas, new burners were designed that produced a flame of sufficient heat to melt Pyrex.

A new method of heating the glass was now needed to work the new material. Traditional oil lamps were replaced by torches that were clamped to the lampworker’s bench top. These too were eventually replaced by the modern surface-mix bench burners in use today.

Additional Resources

If you would like more information check out these resources:

• Birkhill, Frederick. "A Concise History of Lampworking." Glass Art Society Journal (1984-1985), pp. 146-149.
• Mickelsen, Robert A. "Art Glass Lampwork History." https://theglassmuseum.com/lampwork.html.
• Zecchin, Sandro. "Stati Uniti/United States." In Il vetro a lume = Lampworking. Vol. 1. 233-237. Venezia: Grafiche 2am editore, 2018. Note: In Italian and English.

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