Tiffin glass
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Production began in 1889, and in 1892 the business was merged into the giant U.S. Glass conglomerate, in which it was now known only by the designation "Factory R."
Factory R at first produced some cut glass and tumblers -- as many as 500,000 tumblers a year according to old advertising.
In 1915 the directors of U.S.Glass decided to try making a lighter, better grade of glassware, and selected Factory R as the locale. The Tiffin glass sold better than the products from the other factories, and the profits from Factory R kept U.S. Glass afloat. By 1927 U.S. Glass had closed most of its other nineteen factories.
The early depression years were not kind to U.S.Glass. But in 1938 new management was installed in the company. C.W. Carlson moved the company headquarters from Pittsburgh to Tiffin, and introduced new shapes and colors that would lead to the glory years of Tiffin glass.
In the 20s and 30s Tiffin was known for its lamps, such as its famous parrot lamp, and its satin glass. Its black satin glass was considered the finest in the industry. In the 40s a group of Swedish glassmasters had settled into the factory, and Carlson introduced a Swedish line of sand-carved Swedish optic lead crystal. Sales increased dramatically. Dinnerware was supplied to mass retailers such as Sears and Macy's.
In 1955 Tiffin bought the Duncan Miller molds and a number of Duncan craftsmen were hired at the Tiffin factory to reproduce the Duncan items. Tiffin also introduced its famous Tiffin Modern art glass in the 50s.
In 1962 U.S.Glass went bankrupt. A former employee purchased the assets of the Tiffin factory and re-established it as the Tiffin Art Glass Corporation, but couldn't quite make a go of it, and the company was resold several times before closing forever in 1984.
Although a few pieces of Tiffin glass were acid marked most were marked only with a paper label. The company was still legally known as U.S. Glass until 1962. It wasn't until after 1938 that all pieces were marked with a Tiffin trademark (a version of a T in a shield) rather than a U.S.Glass trademark.
Standard referrences include Tiffin Glassmasters by Fred Bickenheuser (Glassmaster Publications); Tiffin is Forever by Bob Page and Dale Frederiksen (Replacements, Ltd); and several Tiffin books by Ruth Hemminger, Ed Goshe, and Leslie Pina (Schiffer Publishing).
View Tiffin glass for sale at Centennial Antiques
Vicki
Young
PO Box 435
Randolph, OH 44265
330-325-7866