The Mt. Washington Glass Works was the second glass factory founded by Deming Jarves. (The first was the New England Glass Company.) It was located in South Boston, MA and began operation in 1837 under the management of Captain Luther Russell. Two years later the business was transferred to George D. Jarves, as his father, Deming, originally intended. During the 1840s Henry Cormerais joined in partnership with George D. Jarves and the factory, under the name Jarves and Cormerais, expanded and new furnaces were built. William L. Libbey joined the firm in 1851 as a bookkeeper. Ten years later the factory closed and Libbey, in partnership with Timothy Howe, took over the business and made it a success. When Howe died in 1866, Libbey inherited his interest.
Because the condition of the South Boston factory was deteriorating during the 1860s Libbey considered a move to a new location. When the building used by the New Bedford Glass Company, about 60 miles (90 km) south of South Boston, became vacant in 1869 Libbey purchased it and relocated his business to New Bedford the following year, changing its name back to the original Mt. Washington Glass Works. This name was equally appropriate for a New Bedford location as well as one in South Boston because the business was named for the highest mountain in all of New England (and perhaps chosen as a metaphor for highest quality). Libbey sold his interest in the Mt. Washington Glass Works in 1871. During the following year he became the agent (general manager) of the New England Glass Company in East Cambridge, MA.
In 1876 the Mt. Washington business was re-organized, and its name slightly altered, to the Mt. Washington Glass Company. Four years later the Pairpoint Manufacturing Company, a small Britannia metal works, was established next door to the glass company. In 1894 the two companies merged and the Mt. Washington Glass Company became "consolidated with, [and] controlled and operated by [the] Pairpoint Mfg. Co." (from a Mt. Washington catalog). After 1900, however, when the Pairpoint company itself was re-organized as The Pairpoint Corporation, the Mt. Washington name was gradually discontinued. The glass catalogs issued by The Pairpoint Corporation make no mention of Mt. Washington glass. Nevertheless, an extensive line of brilliant cut glass continued to be made in New Bedford -- under the Pairpoint banner -- until the First World War and , to some degree, after the war. Wheel-engraving was also used extensively, especially during the post-war years.
Several types of art glass, most of them registered with the U. S. Patent Office, were made by the Mt. Washington Glass Company during the late 1870s, 1880s, and early 1890s.
Padgett (1979, p. 23) states that the Mt. Washington trademark, below on the left, which was registered in 1883, "was used on a paper label and placed on Mount Washington cut glass for a number of years". The initial "S" stands for Frederick S. Shirley who was the agent for the company at this time. After Shirley left Mt. Washington in 1891 "the 'S' on the shield of the eagle was replaced with a 'W' for Mt. Washington" (Wilson 2005, p. 127).
The Pairpoint trademark, on the right, was registered two years later and was impressed on metalwork. "When a silver mount bears the Pairpoint mark, one can assume that the [cut] glass is from the home factory [i.e., Mt. Washington]" (Swan 1986, p. 91). Neither trademark was acid-etched on cut glass made during the brilliant period.
The catalogs listed here contain cut-glass patterns and in some cases original prices. This list is not comprehensive. Out-of-print catalog reprints, as well as original material not yet reprinted, may be available on loan from the Rakow Research Library at the Corning Museum of Glass (CMG). f = the library's microfiche number. Excerpts from Mt. Washington and Pairpoint catalogs that have not been reprinted can be found in Wilson 1972, Avila 1978, and Padgett 1979.
Mt. Washington Glass Company
The Pairpoint Corporation
One-piece punch bowl. The Silver Leaf pattern by The Pairpoint Corporation on shape no. 145. c1905. D = 14" (49.6 cm), D of base = 7" (17.8 cm), h = 7.25" (18.4 cm), wt = 17.5 lb (7.9 kg). Sold for $1500 in 1990.
Updated 10 Aug 2005