New England Glass Works 2
_Green glass turtles are still found which were popular at the time of the Civil War. Turtles of one kind were produced in a factory at Lancaster, New York, but the weight from this source has a much rounder shape than those made at Sandwich or Cambridge. In the later days of the Cambridge factory, from 1860 to 1875, production there was treated as much more of a commercial process and its weights were turned out by the hundreds.
Our Antique Shop ?
|
_It was in the Cambridge factory, about 1848, that a process was discovered for making ruby glass. This was done by melting a gold piece into the mixture. Prior to that time, all the ruby glass used in this country was imported from England.
Trade secrets were guarded carefully in this factory as in every other. The book of formulas used by William Leighton, their first gaffer or superintendent, passed-presumably through the hands of the six sons who followed the vocation of glass making after his death-into the possession of his grandson, Thomas Leighton, where it still remains.
Trade secrets were guarded carefully in this factory as in every other. The book of formulas used by William Leighton, their first gaffer or superintendent, passed-presumably through the hands of the six sons who followed the vocation of glass making after his death-into the possession of his grandson, Thomas Leighton, where it still remains.
_In 1878 the Cambridge Works were leased by W. L. Libbey, whose son moved the factory to Toledo, Ohio, nine years later. This location was chosen because natural gas had been discovered in the Toledo area. This meant an abundant supply of cheap fuel which is excellent for the purposes of the glass industry.
