Spun glass ornaments and spun glass figurines are popular examples of types of spun glass pieces that you can easily find today, but these aren't the only things made using this technique. For example, Swedish artist Begnt Edenfalk created a line of spun glass vases for the glass works company Skruf during the 1950s. You may also be able to find spun glass chandeliers, beads or lampshades.
Creating Spun Glass Pieces
Spun glass artists create one-of-a-kind pieces. Starting with molten glass, these artists pull or draw glass from heated rods into thin threads to create the forms and textures of their work. In addition to these thin threads, artists use drops of glass, which may be fanned or molded, to create different shapes.
The First Spun Glass Dress
The World's Columbian Exposition, held in 1893 in Chicago, Illinois, offered marvelous wonders to thousands of visitors, including "Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show," the first-ever Ferris wheel and furniture belonging to the King of Bavaria.
One of the exhibitors was Libbey Glass Works. Georgia Cayvan (1858-1906) was a famous stage actress and singer of the era. Libbey Glass Works ordered twelve yards of glass fibers for Cayvan (at $25 a yard) and created the first glass dress ever made, which was displayed at the Works' pavilion. The dress was spun, woven and sewn in place.
You can see pictures of Cayvan wearing this dress online. The dress is currently housed at the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio, as part of the collection of Edward Drummond Libbey (1854-1925).
Spun Glass Manufacturers
Steuben Glass Works was incorporated in 1903 and acquired by Corning Glass Works in 1918. Steuben's works are housed in museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum in New York City, and have been given as gifts to luminaries such as Canadian Prime Minster Lester Pearson and Prince Charles. Today, Steuben continues to offer glass designs ranging from animals to limited edition engraved and sculptured pieces.
Steuben glass is well known among spun-glass collectors for its figurines, created during the 1960s and 1970s.
Gillinder Glass Company was formed in 1867 and participated in the Centennial Celebration in Philadelphia in 1876. Collectors cherish the souvenirs that the company produced for the Centennial, which included glass slippers and lions. All of the souvenirs were marked either "Centennial" or "Gillinder and Sons." Gillinder also offered spun glass pieces for sale.
The challenge for collectors today is that the spun glass pieces that have survived are extremely rare. Gillinder is still in the glass business today and manufactures glass for military, marine and residential use. Gillinder also offers reproductions of some of their more popular offerings from the past, such as the souvenir glass slippers.
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