Part 1 - John S. O'Connor — American Rich-Cut Glass Company
American Brilliant Glass Education and Research - HBG
Historical Sketch and Patented Patterns
John Sarsfield O’Connor founded this company in Hawley, PA in 1890 and subsequently sold the factory’s building to T. B. Clark & Company in 1902. O’Connor then moved his cutting shop to Goshen, NY, apparently after a brief interim period in Port Jervis, NY (1902-3). The details of this transfer are currently being investigated. O’Connor had established his company after a long and productive career at C. Dorflinger & Sons, beginning in 1867, when he was hired to organize and manage the company’s cutting department. He designed several of the company’s cut-glass patterns during his quarter-century association with Dorflinger. His company’s trademark, an interlocked O and C, was apparently used only on paper labels and not acid-etched; few labels are found today. The first two patterns below, although patented by O’Connor, were also cut when he was at C. Dorflinger & Sons. The name of O’Connor’s “Tuxedo” pattern was discovered only recently; previously it was known as “Rattan.” O’Connor’s Goshen cutting shop closed sometime before 1916.
Catalogs
No company catalogs have been discovered. A few patterns were sold through Higgins & Seiter, NYC. They can be found in H&S catalogs, nos. 9 and 10, and perhaps in others as well. However, because H&S often changed the names of the patterns and because the items are not identified as having been made at either the Hawley or Goshen cutting shops, positive identification is a problem.
Patented Patterns
Patents marked with an asterisk (*) were retained by the patentee. The third patent, by Arthur E. O’Connor, was assigned to the patentee’s father, John S. O’Connor.
Patent No. / Catalog or “Coined” Name / Patentee / Application Filed / Date Granted
18,732 / Florentine / John S. O’Connor / 9 Oct 1888 / 13 Nov 1888 (*)
21,424 / Tuxedo / John S. O’Connor / 18 Feb 1892 / 22 Mar 1892 (*)
24,060, 24,060b / “Princess” / Arthur E. O’Connor / 16 Jan 1895 / 19 Feb 1895
Content courtesy of Warren and Teddie Biden and Jim Havens