Last updated: 8/18/2010
3200 Belmont StreetBellaire, OH 43906
Begin your visit to the Museum by viewing a video presentation tracing Imperial’s eighty-year history. After touring the glass display rooms, take the time to peruse the gallery of portraits, original photographs and advertising materials.
These will provide an additional insight into Imperial’s history, including some of the people who played a significant role in creating such beautiful glassware. In a separate display area are numerous tools and implementsoriginally used in Imperial’s Mould Shop. This specific display has been coordinated by Island Mould Co. of Wheeling, WV. Other original implements and glass from Ohio Valley Glass & Artifacts Museum (OVGAM) can also be viewed.
Available in the Gift Shop are selected reference books and video tapes on Imperial
glassware and souvenir glass items.
The Museum’s archival documents are in the process of being preserved and catalogued. Access for research purposes will require advance notice and appointment. Please contact the Museum’s Administrator for information governing Archival Policies.
For eighty years Imperial produced a diverse array of hand-crafted glass items. At the onset, production ranged from utilitarian glassware to electric and gas lampshades. Then over the next twenty years the company transitioned to making pressed patterns,
Iridescent Ware (early Carnival), Free Hand and
Lead Lustre. Depression & Elegant patterns,
beverage ware, Cathay and Milk Glass would
follow from the 1930's to 1950's. Slag Glass,
reissued Carnival, Collectors Crystal, Peachblow,
and numerous gift-type glassware would be made
before the company would close its doors in 1984.
Two of Imperial's best known designs originated in the 1930's. The first was Cape Cod in 1931, followed by Candlewick in 1936. These two pattern lines proved to be exceedingly popular with buyers for nearly fifty years. In fact, Candlewick became one of the company's biggest success stories. Today Candlewick is the line most people readily equate with the Imperial Glass Corporation. On display at the Museum are many fine examples of Imperial glassware created from 1904 to 1984. Your self-guided tour offers an
overview of how Imperial's productions mirror the
trends of the American Hand Made Glassware
industry as the interests of the consumer changed
throughout the 20th Century.
Library of Articles Introduction
For over twenty years NIGCS members have enjoyed a wide variety of informative articles in the Society's Quarterly Newsletter, the Glasszette. These articles, written by the many published authors who belong to the NIGCS, specialized collectors and other authorities constitute a vast wealth of information on the Imperial Glass Corporation and the glass it produced throughout its' 80 year history. Also included here is other information relating to Imperial and/or American hand made glassware.
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