Fostoria Glass Allure Lives on in Museum

MOUNDSVILLE W.Va. (The Associated Press)—The factory shut in 1986 is being demolished, but the legacy of Fostoria glass is being preserved at the Fostoria Glass Society of America's museum.

The museum in a three-story home next to the Marshall County Courthouse has examples of the Fostoria plant's handcrafted glassware and exhibits that trace the factory's rise and fall.

The fact that Fostoria glass continues to be pursued by collectors worldwide is a testament to its quality, said Don Crabb, president of the Fostoria Glass Society of America. In addition to scrapping glassware with even minute flaws, Fostoria had its own testing lab check the quality of the raw materials the plant used.

"Fostoria's fire-polishing finishing technique made the glassware really smooth and distinctive," Crabb said. "Fostoria simply made a nicer grade of glassware."

The glassware was used in the White House by presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Ford and Reagan.

Fostoria collectors from across the nation will gather in Moundsville later this week to take part in the society's annual convention, show, sale and auction of Fostoria products. A portion of the annual auction proceeds is allocated to the museum and covers most of its operating expenses.

Fostoria's legacy of beauty includes intricately etched and cut stemware, graceful candelabras, colorful dinnerware, whimsical art glass, and hand-painted vases and lamps.

"Since Fostoria made so many pieces, collectors usually focus on one line or one color, or concentrate on etchings," Crabb said.

Fostoria's "American" line of glassware, introduced in 1915, was still in production at the Moundsville plant until it closed. It is among the most sought after by collectors.

The company was founded in 1887 in Fostoria, Ohio, but moved to Moundsville four years later because natural gas and coal needed to make the glass were abundant there. During its early years, the factory produced pressed glassware. By the early 1920s, the focus had shifted to high-quality blown stemware.

Fostoria at one time employed 1,000 workers who produced millions of pieces of handcrafted glassware annually. The company's most productive year was 1950, when more than 8 million pieces were produced.

The labor-intensive glass crafting process required both skill and teamwork.

"Sometimes, it would take a team of six to eight people to produce one goblet, not counting the work on its stem," said Crabb.

But by the 1970s, demand for the glassware began declining and the factory closed in 1986.

"It was an old plant that needed improvements, and foreign competition was a factor as well," said Crabb. "But I think its closing had more to do with the lifestyle changes in America. TV dinners and fast food did away with the need for elegant place settings."