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Fenton Art Glass Company is the largest manufacturer of handmade
colored glass in the United States.
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Today nine Fenton family members work together along with over 400
employees to create handmade glass
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The Fenton Art Glass Company was founded in 1905 by Frank L.
Fenton and his brother John W. Fenton in an old glass factory
building in Martins Ferry, Ohio.
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Frank L. Fenton was first employed as a glass decorator at age 17,
when he went to work for the Northwood Glass Co. in his hometown,
Indiana, PA, in 1897.
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In 1907, Frank L. Fenton proposed to Lillian Muhleman, the niece
of Captain Ed Muhleman who started the Imperial Glass Company in
1901.
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Frank L. Fenton was responsible for the design of most of Fenton's
products until his death in 1948.
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In late 1907, Fenton introduced "Iridescent" glass. This glass,
now known as "Carnival" glass, is a popular collectible today.
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During the years from 1905 to the 1920's, Fenton design was
heavily influenced by the artists at Tiffany and Steuben.
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Fenton's opaque Venetian Red Glass first appeared in 1924.
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During the 1930's and 1940's, Fenton produced practical items,
such as mixing bowls and tableware to get through the depression
and WWII shortages.
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The main furnace stack at Fenton collapsed on June 29, 1940.
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Fenton's first Connoisseur Collection items were offered in 1983.
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The raw materials of glass (silica sand, soda ash and lime) are
called a batch.
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Approximately 71% of a batch of glass is silica sand.
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There are 14 ingredients used in making Fenton Glass.
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The melting temperature for a batch of glass averages 2500 degrees
F.
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The Fenton cranberry glass color comes from pure gold.
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Glass colors (yellow or green) containing uranium will fluoresce
under black light.
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No two Fenton pieces are exactly the same.
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Moulds for glassmaking are made of cast iron.
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Fenton Art Glass is also sold on QVC in London, England.
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The largest tank at Fenton Art Glass can hold 9,000 pounds of
glass.
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Fenton glassworkers work in teams called shops.
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The term to define the craftsman who pulls the molten glass from
the furnace is called a 'gatherer'.
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The Gatherer, a craftsman who pulls the glass from the furnace,
uses an ancient tool called a 'punty' to complete his job. A punty
is almost 6' long and is used to gather pressed glass.
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To gather glass for a blown piece of glass, a gatherer uses a
'blow pipe'. A blow pipe is almost 5' long and has a hole in the
middle like a straw.
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Our decorators use a mixture of oil base paint and turpentine to
create their paint.
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To slowly cool Fenton Art Glass, we use an 'annealing lehr'. This
machine is like a big pizza oven that slowly cools the glass.
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