iLove Libbey Rock Sharpe!!

Long time ago, I found these glasses at an estate sale.

It was Sunday and it was not yet really steamy hot.. so was it last spring? Mr. CJ was with me. OOOh, yeah. And he graciously, not saying nothing about his frown, wrote out the check for glasses and some dinner plates.

 

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For a year I was curious about their maker. But never did anything about it. However, this last week, I took a photo off my blog and sent it to Replacements, LTD. Within a few days, I had an answer.

 

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Libbey Rock Sharpe. Replacements pattern #2009-4. I say this because Replacements pattern # is not the same as that from Libbey. Did you know that Libbey glass made cut leaded glass? Hand-cut? Neither did I!

 

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From Libbey Corporate: Libbey has its roots in East Cambridge, Massachusetts, home of the New England Glass Company which was founded in 1818. William L. Libbey took over the company in 1878 and renamed it the New England Glass Works, Wm. L. Libbey & Sons Props. In 1888, facing growing competition, Edward Drummond Libbey moved the company to Toledo, Ohio. The Northwest Ohio area offered abundant natural gas resources and access to large deposits of high quality sand. Toledo also had a network of railroad and steamship lines, making it an ideal location for the company. In 1892, the name was changed to The Libbey Glass Company.

 

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Originally the New England Glass Company, from East Cambridge, Massachusetts, The Libbey Glass Company was purchased by William L. Libbey in 1878 and moved to Toledo, Ohio in 1888 and was renamed in 1892. Toledo was appealing because of the available gas resources and access to quality sand. Add that to the railroad systems and port, it is no wonder Toledo has been home to Libbey Glass for well over 100 years.

 

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From Replacements: If you had to pick two words to describe Libbey Glass Company's offerings over the years, "diverse" and "prolific" would certainly apply. The company has delivered such a wide array of goods: cut glass, art glass, blown glass, inexpensive hand and machine ware, pattern glass, and glassware for the hotel and restaurant trades. The list goes on!

 

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For over a 100 years, from about 1820 to 1920, cut glass was the principal product of New England Glass/The Libbey Glass Company. In fact, Libbey was one of the world's largest producers of cut glass during the early part of this century, employing over 200 full-time engravers in 1915, leaving behind a tremendous legacy of cut glass tableware, serving pieces, and items for the home, such as vases and lamps.
These products were fashioned from expensive lead glass and engraving was done using the demanding copper-wheel technique, which is the finest and most detailed kind of engraving. Many patterns and designs were made in sets of various sizes. Today, it is common to see examples of Libbey's brilliant cut glass products on display at museums.

 

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For many years, Cataract-Sharpe had purchased blanks from the Libbey Glass Division of Owens-Illinois and decorated the crystal at its factory in Buffalo. Bryce Brothers Crystal and A. H. Heisey were other big suppliers of crystal for Cataract Sharpe in the 30's and 40's. The company made no glass itself.

Empire Wreath by Libbey/Rock Sharpe

The Cataract Company was originally formed in 1914 by Alfred H. Sharpe, who had been a manager at Fostoria Glass Company. Until 1920, the firm was known as Cataract Glass Company. Cataract-Sharpe cut many intricate, deep-cut crystal patterns. Many of the designs were ornately done and brilliantly polished. A fern-like leaf design was a very typical design for Sharpe and it appears in a variety of their cut patterns. It is important to note that the company's specific stem designs were not matched with any particular cuttings.
In the 30's and 40's, the company widely promoted its Rock Sharpe Crystal products in many of the major women's magazines. According to advertisements, the crystal was described as featuring "smart modern or rich period motifs." The stemware was sold at virtually every major department store in the country.
"Rock Sharpe was some of the best-selling stemware in America during that period," recalls Joanne Miller of Buffalo, New York, whose father, Andrew Cunningham, was vice-president of sales for Cataract-Sharpe in the 20's and 30's. "My dad also designed many of the Rock Sharpe patterns. He even designed a pattern for me." Miller says as far as she can remember, the company only decorated clear, not colored crystal.

 The Cataract-Sharpe Company had extensive equipment for decorating and highly skilled cutters who employed advanced cutting and polishing methods. Until World War II, lead glass was used for Cataract-Sharpe's highest grade cut crystal glassware. The wartime shortage of lead glass temporarily intervened with Cataract's use of this product. All glass firms were required to cut back their production of glassware that was nonessential to the war effort.
After Owens-Illinois bought Cataract-Sharpe, Alfred Sharpe continued on as the President of Sharpe, Inc. R. W. Rogers, formerly a sales manager of the Libbey Glass Division of O-I, became vice-president and general manager.
In the late 40's and 50's, Sharpe, Inc. continued to produce patterns that had previously been made at Cataract-Sharpe. In addition, several new Sharpe patterns were introduced, including "Empire Wreath", "Spear and Ring", "Lattice" and "Bramble." Eventually, however, Owens-Illinois discontinued altogether the Sharpe cut crystal line.
The Libbey Glass Division is still in operation in Toledo, Ohio and has a modern plant in City of Industry, California that was built in 1962. The company is one of the world's largest suppliers of automatically-produced table glassware.

 

 I do hope you enjoyed your visit today and hopefully learned a bit! I was so excited that I had to just share my excitement with you. I am so happy with this crystal and now i can get more pieces (ssshhhhh, don't tell)! The link to the page for this pattern is HERE.

Please remember Replacements, LTD if you are looking to extend your service, lost or broke a piece. I certainly wished I still traveled just to go visit them again!! And no, I'm not being compensated, nor do I work for them.... just love their service and am so glad they are here to help us dishaholics..

Linking up to Let's Dish over at Cuisine Kathleen's! See you there on Wednesday. See you at Tablescape Thursday on Thursday!!