November 15, 2008 – January 31, 2009
Glass Collection Galleries
This display explores the traditions of holiday ornaments and Corning’s role in the production of Christmas ornaments in the mid-1900s.
Christmas trees became popular in the United States in the mid-19th century, and, with them, came glass ornaments, which reflected the light from the candles used to decorate the trees. Until the end of the 1930s, the glass ornament industry centered in Lauscha, Germany, where most were made by families working from their homes. Ornaments were mostly lampworked: handmade by melting glass tubing over a small table-top flame, blowing a bubble into the softened glass and then shaping. Color could be during the shaping process, or the ornaments might be hand-painted once they cooled.
This display looks at the traditions of glass holiday ornaments from this era into modern times, with a focus on Corning's role in the production of glass ornaments in America.
With the beginning of World War II, it became difficult to get ornaments from Germany. In 1939, Corning Glass Works stepped up, employing their ribbon machine technology (originally developed by Corning to mechanize the process of making glass forms for lightbulbs), to automate the process of making and supplying America with glass ornaments.
Production occurred part of the year at the Corning plant in Wellsboro, PA, where 300,000 ornaments were made per day. Corning decorated and sold some ornaments, but the majority were made for and sold through Shiny BriteTM.
Corning Glass Works produced glass ornaments until 1981. Now, most glass ornaments are made in other countries.
On view in the display will be original glass ornaments from the Museum's collection as well as marketing materials and information about glass ornament production at Corning Glass Works.