Pairpoint Glass

Pairpoint Glass is an American glass manufacturer based in Sagamore, Massachusetts, with origins reaching back to 1837. The business began in South Boston as the Mount Washington Glass Works, founded by Deming Jarves, who had earlier established the New England Glass Company. Although the company was initially known informally as Russell's Glass House after superintendent Luther Russell, the Mount Washington name became established during the nineteenth century. The enterprise moved to New Bedford in 1870 and subsequently developed into one of the most significant American producers of decorative and art glass. During the late nineteenth century, Mount Washington manufactured lighting components, glass chimneys, blown and cut glass, pressed glassware, and other household products. Its most important creative period began in the 1880s, when the company concentrated increasingly on art glass. In 1885 it introduced Burmese glass, a heat-reactive translucent material that transitions from yellow to pink. The distinctive surface and color gradation became closely associated with the company, which secured a British patent for the technique in 1886 and supplied Burmese pieces to Queen Victoria. Pairpoint entered the story through Thomas Pairpoint, a British-born designer who founded the Pairpoint Manufacturing Company in New Bedford in 1880. His company produced silver and silver-plated mounts used with Mount Washington glass, especially lamps and related decorative objects. The two businesses merged in 1894 and adopted the name Pairpoint Corporation in 1900. The combination of glassmaking and metalwork helped create the elaborate lamps and decorative wares for which the brand later became known. The company's growth was closely connected to the spread of electric lighting. From the late nineteenth century through the early decades of the twentieth century, Pairpoint developed distinctive lampshades, including reverse-painted shades whose decoration was applied to the inner surface of the glass. Landscape, floral, and other pictorial designs appeared in reverse-painted, blown-out reverse-painted, and ribbed forms. In 1910 the company began using a symmetrical trapped-bubble technique, often called the bubble ball or spherical knop, on items such as decanters, ice buckets, and other glassware. The technique became one of Pairpoint's recognizable signatures. Ownership and corporate identity changed several times in the twentieth century. In 1939 the company was reorganized as Gundersen Glass Works under master glassblower and owner Robert Gundersen. Following his death in 1952, it operated as Gundersen-Pairpoint Glass Works until 1957, when the Pairpoint Glass Company name was restored. Under Robert Bryden, the New Bedford plant was closed and production moved temporarily to East Wareham. In 1958 the company transferred production to leased facilities in Spain, exporting limited quantities of stemware, perfume bottles, and paperweights to the United States. Pairpoint returned to domestic production in 1967 and opened a purpose-built factory in Sagamore in 1970. The latter half of the twentieth century brought pressure from foreign competition and a move toward less expensive, lower-quality products intended to broaden the customer base. In 2015 Jeffrey and Gary Tulman acquired the company and shifted its emphasis back toward historically informed, higher-end designs. The present business is associated with handmade American production and makes custom and decorative lighting, barware, candlesticks, bookends, bowls, vases, and controlled-bubble door hardware. Antique Pairpoint lamps remain important to collectors, while museums including the Brooklyn Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the New Bedford Museum of Glass hold examples of the company's historic work. Pairpoint is commonly described as the oldest continuously operating glass company in the United States, although the exact basis…

Pairpoint Glass traces its corporate history to the Mount Washington Glass Works, established by Deming Jarves in South Boston in 1837. Jarves had previously founded the New England Glass Company. The new glasshouse lacked a formal corporate name during its early years and was often called Russell's Glass House, reflecting the role of superintendent Luther Russell. The Mount Washington name is documented by 1857. The company relocated to New Bedford in 1870. It briefly operated as W. L. Libbey & Company before incorporation as Mount Washington Glass Works in 1871 and a slight name change to Mount Washington Glass Company in 1876. Its product range during the late 1870s included lighting goods, chimneys, blown and cut glass, and pressed ware. During the 1880s the company increasingly emphasized art glass, culminating in the introduction of Burmese glass in 1885. This translucent, heat-sensitive glass changes from yellow to pink across the object. Mount Washington obtained a British patent in 1886 and gained international recognition for the material. Thomas Pairpoint established the Pairpoint Manufacturing Company in New Bedford in 1880 after leaving his design position at the Meriden Britannia Company. Pairpoint specialized in silver and silver-plated mounts for glass products, including lamps made by Mount Washington. The companies merged in 1894 and were renamed Pairpoint Corporation in 1900. The integrated operation benefited from the growing popularity of decorative lighting and from the transition from kerosene and gas illumination toward electricity. From the 1890s into the 1920s, Pairpoint became particularly associated with reverse-painted lamps. Artists decorated the inner surface of glass shades, producing soft-looking landscapes, flowers, and other scenes when viewed from the exterior. The company made reverse-painted, blown-out reverse-painted, and ribbed varieties. In 1910 it introduced a controlled air-bubble technique that produced a spherical knop or bubble ball. This feature was used on several categories of glassware and became a recognizable Pairpoint trademark. The corporate structure changed again in 1939, when the business was reorganized as Gundersen Glass Works under Robert Gundersen, a master glassblower and new owner. After Gundersen died in 1952, the company used the name Gundersen-Pairpoint Glass Works until 1957, when Pairpoint Glass Company became the permanent name. Under Robert Bryden, operations left the New Bedford plant, moved briefly to East Wareham, and then shifted overseas in 1958 to leased Spanish facilities. The company exported limited runs of stemware, perfume bottles, and paperweights to the United States. Pairpoint returned to the United States in 1967 and opened a new factory at Sagamore, near the Cape Cod Canal, in 1970. The business later faced a difficult market environment. Foreign competition and attempts to reach a broader customer base encouraged production of less expensive goods, contributing to a decline in perceived quality and prestige during the second half of the twentieth century. In 2015 Jeffrey and Gary Tulman acquired the company and sought to restore an emphasis on classic, premium designs. Today Pairpoint produces handmade American glass products, including custom pendants, sconces, chandeliers, accent lighting, barware, candlesticks, bookends, bowls, vases, and controlled-bubble door knobs. Its historical output remains important to museums and collectors. Holdings are reported in the Brooklyn Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the New Bedford Museum of Glass. The company's history has also been documented in specialist publications, including Kenneth Morley Wilson's two-volume study of Mount Washington and Pairpoint Glass.

1. 2015Tulman ownership and design repositioning

   Jeffrey and Gary Tulman acquired Pairpoint and emphasized a return to classic, higher-end designs.

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2. 1970Sagamore factory opened

   The company opened a newly built factory in Sagamore, Massachusetts.

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3. 1967Return to United States production

   Pairpoint brought manufacturing back to the United States.

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4. 1958Production moved to Spain

   The company moved production to leased facilities in Spain and exported limited products to the United States.

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5. 1957Pairpoint Glass Company name restored

   After a period as Gundersen-Pairpoint Glass Works, the business returned to the Pairpoint Glass Company name.

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6. 1939Reorganized as Gundersen Glass Works

   The company was reorganized under Robert Gundersen and adopted the Gundersen Glass Works name.

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7. 1910Bubble-ball technique introduced

   Pairpoint began using a symmetrical trapped-bubble feature that became associated with the brand.

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8. 1900Pairpoint Corporation name adopted

   The merged enterprise was renamed Pairpoint Corporation.

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9. 1894Mount Washington and Pairpoint companies merge

   The glassmaker and its silver-mount supplier combined their operations.

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10. 1886Burmese glass patented in Britain

    The company obtained a British patent for its Burmese glass process and presented examples to Queen Victoria.

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11. 1885Burmese glass introduced

    Mount Washington introduced its heat-reactive Burmese art glass, known for its yellow-to-pink color transition.

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12. 1880Pairpoint Manufacturing Company established

    Thomas Pairpoint founded a New Bedford silver manufacturer that supplied mounts for Mount Washington glass products.

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13. 1871Incorporation as Mount Washington Glass Works

    The relocated business was incorporated under the Mount Washington Glass Works name.

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14. 1870Relocation to New Bedford

    The company moved from South Boston to New Bedford and briefly used the name W. L. Libbey & Company.

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15. 1837Mount Washington Glass Works founded

    Deming Jarves established the glass business in South Boston, Massachusetts.

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Heritage American art glass positioned around handcrafted production, historic techniques, decorative lighting, collector appeal, and premium custom work.

• Burmese art glassArt glass1885

  A translucent, heat-reactive glass developed by Mount Washington in the 1880s. Its characteristic coloration shades from yellow near the base to pink toward the upper portion. The technique became one of the company's best-known contributions to American art glass and was protected by a British patent in 1886.

• Reverse-painted lampsDecorative lighting1890

  Pairpoint's signature antique lamps use decoration applied to the inside of a glass shade, allowing landscapes, floral motifs, and other imagery to appear softly through the glass. The company produced standard reverse-painted, blown-out reverse-painted, and ribbed reverse-painted forms, especially from the 1890s through the 1920s.

• Bubble-ball glasswareDecorative glassware1910

  A range of glass objects incorporating a symmetrical pattern of trapped air bubbles, often formed into a spherical knop. The technique appeared on decanters, ice buckets, drinking vessels, and other pieces and became an identifying Pairpoint design element.

• Contemporary lightingLighting

  The current business makes handmade and custom lighting products including pendant lights, sconces, chandeliers, and accent fixtures. These products extend Pairpoint's historic relationship with decorative lighting while serving residential and design-oriented interiors.

• Contemporary glassware and accessoriesGlassware and home accessories

  Current and recent production includes barware, candlesticks, bookends, bowls, vases, and controlled-bubble door knobs. The products are presented as handmade American glass and combine functional forms with decorative techniques associated with the company's heritage.

• 2015Return to premium heritage designsStrategy

  The company had experienced decline after producing less expensive, lower-quality goods in response to foreign competition and efforts to broaden its customer base.

  What changed. New owners Jeffrey and Gary Tulman repositioned Pairpoint around classic, higher-end designs.

  Aftermath. Pairpoint's identity again emphasized handmade American production, historic techniques, collectors, and luxury glass buyers.

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• 1958Temporary overseas production shiftStrategy

  Following plant changes in Massachusetts, Pairpoint sought a new manufacturing arrangement.

  What changed. Production moved to leased facilities in Spain, with limited quantities exported to the United States.

  Aftermath. The company later returned production to the United States in 1967 and opened its Sagamore factory in 1970.

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• 1894Merger of Mount Washington and PairpointM&A

  Mount Washington produced glass while Pairpoint Manufacturing supplied silver and silver-plated mounts for lamps and related products.

  What changed. The two businesses merged, later operating under the Pairpoint Corporation name.

  Aftermath. The merger integrated glassmaking and metal mounting and strengthened the company's position in decorative lighting and luxury household goods.

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• 2015Pairpoint Glass is acquired by Jeffrey and Gary Tulman

  Jeffrey Tulman and Gary Tulman acquired Pairpoint Glass and redirected the business toward its traditional high-end designs and collector-oriented identity.

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• 2011Corning exhibition presents Mount Washington and Pairpoint glass

  The Corning Museum of Glass presented an exhibition covering the companies' American glass production from the Gilded Age through the Roaring Twenties, with more than 150 works.

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1. Pairpoint Glass
2. Mt. Washington and Pairpoint: American Glass From the Gilded Age to the Roaring Twenties