Novelty Glass Company
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| Corporation | |
| Industry | Glass manufacturing |
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Predecessor | Buttler Art Glass Co. |
| Successor | Factory T of United States Glass Company |
| Founded | 1891 |
| Defunct | 1893 |
| Headquarters | Fostoria, Ohio |
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Key people
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Rawson Crocker, Henry Crimmel |
| Products | stemware, bar goods, novelties |
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Number of employees
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100(1892) |
Novelty Glass Company of Fostoria was one of over 70 glass manufacturing companies that operated in northwest Ohio during the region's brief Gas Boom in the late 19th Century. The company made drinking glasses, bar goods, and novelties. Organization of the firm began late in 1890, with banker Rawson Crocker as president and veteran glass man Henry Crimmel as plant manager. Production started in February 1891. The plant was built on the site of the former Buttler Art Glass Company, which had been destroyed by fire in 1889.
During the early 1890s, many manufacturers were producing novelties that honored the 400th anniversary of the voyages of Christopher Columbus. Novelty Glass Company's contribution included commemorative punch bowl sets and salt shakers. Some of this glassware displayed Columbus with a beard—which was rarely done. This commemorative work has subsequently become valuable to collectors.
Like many companies during northwest Ohio’s brief Gas Boom, the Novelty Glass Company was short-lived. The plant was shut down in January 1892, with a restart planned for April. The April restart did not happen, and plant manager Henry Crimmel left the firm for the Sneath Glass Company in Tiffin, Ohio. In October of the same year, the Novelty plant was leased to the United States Glass Company, who also purchased the company's inventory of molds and related equipment. Production began again, and the Novelty works became known as Factory T in the United States Glass Company conglomerate. Approximately 100 people were employed making drinking glasses and stemware. The restart did not last long, however. The plant was destroyed by fire in April 1893.
In early 1886, a major discovery of natural gas occurred in northwest Ohio near the small village of Findlay. Although small natural gas wells had been drilled in the area earlier, this well (known as the Karg well) was much more productive than those drilled before. Soon, many more wells were drilled, and the area experienced an economic boom as gas workers, businesses, and factories were drawn to the area. In 1888, Findlay community leaders, assuming the supply of natural gas was unlimited, started a campaign to lure more manufacturing plants to the area. Incentives to relocate to Findlay included free natural gas, free land, and cash. These incentives were especially attractive to glass manufacturers, since the glass manufacturing process was energy-intensive, and natural gas was a source of energy that was superior to coal in the glassmaking process.
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