Lazarus Straus immigrated to this country from Germany (Bavaria) in 1852 and established a "business of importing and selling fine china and glassware" (Revi 1965, pp. 112-113). In 1874 he and his sons, Isidor and Nathan, leased the china and glass shop in the R. H. Macy department store, New York City. Two years previously their family business had become known as L. Straus & Sons. Sometime after 1874 the Strauses acquired a financial interest in Macy's (note 1).
Although L. Straus & Sons had operated a cutting shop in the Macy department store as early as 1880, in 1888 the company established a second shop (and showroom) at 44 Warren St. "to avoid a potential conflict of interest because of their partial ownership in Macy's". The cutting operations at the department store continued after 1888 and after Macy's moved, in 1902, from its original location on 14th St. to its present site, Broadway at Sixth Ave (Herald's Square). Initially the cut glass sold at Macy's was not identified as Straus cut glass. In 1885 the American Institute awarded a diploma and "medal of superiority" to R. H Macy & Co. "for cut and engraved glass ware" with no mention of L. Straus & Sons. The cut glass sold by the store probably was first identified as "Straus cut glass" when the Straus family acquired full ownership of the store in 1896. Subsequently, Macy's identified much of its cut glass as "Straus cut glass" in its catalogs until at least 1912.
During the 1890s and the early years of the twentieth century L. Straus & Sons produced a great quantity of cut glass at various locations. It was displayed at the Warren St. establishment which eventually was expanded to include 42, 46, and 48 Warren St. as well as a connecting store at 116 Chambers St. At one time the company had branch offices in London, Paris, Berlin, and Yokohama.
Although the company's first cutting shop was located in Warren St., a larger facility was soon required and, in 1889, a new cutting shop was established at 14 Jay St. The extensive display of cut glass produced by L. Straus & Sons for the Columbia Exposition in 1893 was made here. The following year the company's need for still larger quarters became apparent. This resulted in the construction of a new factory in Hoboken, NJ. Its capacity was twice that of the old Jay St. cutting shop. In fact, it claimed to be "the largest glass cutting establishment in one space in the world". The extensive line of products made at the Jay St. factory continued to be made in Hoboken and, in addition, there were foreign commissions. Unfortunately the Hoboken factory was destroyed by fire in 1897, necessitating the establishment of a new cutting shop. This one was located on W. 59th St., NYC, but it too was destroyed by fire seven years later, in 1904. Craig Carlson has related the subsequent history of the company as follows:
Within three weeks a new factory opened on Thirty-sixth Street and North River where [it] remained until August of 1905. The cutting operation then moved to 794-800 Tenth Avenue near 54th Street. Once again fire completely destroyed the Tenth Avenue cutting shop on March 1, 1912, and the cutting operation was moved to Debrosses, Vestry and Greenwich Streets. The last ad found, to date, giving this factory location [can be found] in the December 18, 1919 [issue of] Crockery and Glass Journal.
L. Straus & Sons produced cut glass of high quality from its earliest years until about 1904 when the company began to use "figured" blanks, at least to some extent, in order to reduce costs. At an as-yet undetermined date, Straus also began to use chemical (acid) polishing, an additional cost-cutting procedure. But as early as 1896 the company's ads had warned against the acid polish with the following statement:
We do not cheapen the finish of our Cut Glass by using Chemicals. The use of the old time polishing wheels and buffs is a more costly process but it produces a lasting brilliancy and not a mere temporary gloss. All Straus Cut Glass [is] finished and polished by hand only.
When, in 1897, a new pattern, Wales, was introduced, the company boasted that the pattern "has no trite or antiquated features like Strawberry Diamonds [i.e., cross-cut diamonds] or Fan edge." This design philosophy -- which was shared to some extent by other companies as well -- can also be seen in the patterns Straus patented at this time. The Napoleon and Talisman patterns of 1895 were the last patents to use the cross-cut diamond motif and the fan-edge style to any extent. Another change in the company's design philosophy occurred about 1910 when exclusively "rich-cut" patterns were replaced by patented patterns that included realistic engravings, mainly of flowers.
"Figured" blanks and acid polishing, as well as some of the realistic patterns, can combine to discourage today's collector who wishes to add L. Straus & Sons cut glass to his or her collection. When these cheaper products are found one needs to remind oneself that high quality cut glass made by this company during the nineteenth century is still available, although it often is not recognized and marketed as Straus cut glass.
Principal sources: catalogs listed below
Rose bowl cut in the Venetian pattern, the first pattern patented by L. Straus & Sons. Designed by Benjamin Davies, it was patented on 11 Dec 1888. D = 8" (20.3 cm), H = 7" (17.8 cm), wt = 5.5 lb (2.5 kg). Sold for $475 in 1988.
The only trademark in use by L. Straus & Sons during the brilliant period of American cut glass is the one shown on the left, below. It is easy to see how this mark, which was used only on paper labels, was erroneously interpreted by early investigators as having been simplified for use as the acid-etched star-in-a-circle trademark shown on the right. This latter trademark, however, was, in fact, registered by the Libbey Glass Company in 1901. It was used only on plain blanks that Libbey sold to various cutting shops, including -- at least occasionally -- L. Straus & Sons. As a result, pieces cut by Straus can sometimes be found with the star-in-a-circle trademark. The vast majority of Straus cut glass, however, is unmarked. Therefore, when the star-in-circle trademark is found on cut glass, there is an excellent chance that the cutting was not made by L. Straus & Sons. Identification of authentic Straus cut glass is made by referring to the two catalogs listed below and to the patent drawings found in Revi (1965, pp. 112-123) and at the USPTO Web site.
Celery tray in the Imperial pattern, the second pattern patented by L. Straus & Sons, cut on shape no. 233. Designed by Hermann Siegel and patented in 1892. L = 11.25" (28.6 cm), W = 4.5" (11.4 cm), wt = 2.75 lb (1.2 kg). Sold for $175 in 1990.
Salad bowl in the Capri pattern, the third pattern patented by L. Straus & Sons, cut on shape no. 164. Designed by Benjamin Davies and patented in 1893. D = 9"D (22.9 cm), H = 3" (7.6 cm), wt = 4 lb (1.8 kg). Sold for $175 in 1993.
NOTE:
1. See Carlson, C.E., 2000: The Macy -- Straus cut glass connection, in STRAUS -- MACY, RICH CUT CATALOG (American Cut Glass Association, pp. vii - xii) for the direct quotations given in this Historical Sketch, as well as for factual material concerning the cut-glass operations of L. Straus & Sons.
The AMERICAN NATIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY (Oxford University Press, 1999) contains excellent, up-to-date biographical information on the Straus family by Susan Hamburger (see entry for Isidor Straus, Vol. 21, pp. 6-7).
Updated 31 Mar 2003