Last Updated: Sep 27, 2021     Views: 347

Image: Postcard with caption: Bouteilles sourtant des fours á recuire (bottles coming out of the annealing oven). Verreries de Jumet (Jumet, Belgium), ca. 1910. (Photo: Wilmet, Momignies, Belgium). Rakow Library Chambon Collection.

Hello! Thank you for your question. Women have played an important role in glassmaking, though their achievements have often been overshadowed.

Online Resources

The Museum has many great online resources on women in glass.

See the series on Women in Glasshouses that covers many aspects of women working in the glass industry.

Introduction to the series

Jobs for Women

Life in the Factories

Women at the Lamp

Women in Science

Now We're Cooking with Glass!: Spotlight on Lucy Maltby

An Appealing Woman: How to Sell Glass

Woman to Woman: Selling Glass in the 20th Century

The Complex Identity of Helen McKearin

The Menace of the Unorganized Woman

Communism in a Juice Glass: The designs of Freda Diamond

Conclusion: A Story in Progress

Our blog also has multiple posts featuring women working for Tiffany Studios, including

Other blog posts on female artists include

All About Glass on the Museum website also features an article by Gail Bardhan, retired Reference and Research Librarian at the Rakow Library, called Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Women Working With Glass. Flameworkers, cutters, and women in factories are covered, as well as some famous female glass artists and researchers, including

This episode of the podcast Glasscaster: Hot Glass Talk in a High-Tech World addresses some of the challenges faced by women studio glass artists: "Sally Prasch, One Industrial-Strength Glass Artist!" from November 11, 2007: "One of a handful of female scientific glassblowers ..., [Sally Prasch's] story, struggle and subsequent success in this field makes great listening."

Books and Articles

In terms of print resources, take a look at Lucartha Kohler's book, Women Working in Glass. She covers some historical information and also features some contemporary women artists (organized by decade). Other books to check out:

You might also be interested in the following articles:

Borrowing Library Materials

If you wish to borrow copies of library items, please contact your local library. The Rakow Research Library will lend designated books from its collection and will send copies of articles requested by other libraries. Your 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 policies and procedures.

 

A more extensive list of resources is available upon request. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance via Ask a Glass Question (https://libanswers.cmog.org/) or by email (rakow@cmog.org), phone (607-438-5300), or text (607-821-4029).

 

Please be sure to contact us in the future with your glass-related questions!

 

 

 

 

Media

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Please note: The Corning Museum of Glass is a non-profit, educational institute and, as such, cannot answer questions about rarity or value of your glass. For more information about appraisal services, see our curatorial FAQs.

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