Press- Cut Glass?
Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
“Press Cut” Glass was a mass produced low cost alternative to American Cut glass. Like many things made for the upper income market “Cut Glass” was too expensive for the general public and lower end glass companies rushed in to grab the opportunity to provide a lower cost substitute.While Cut Glass involved a lot of cutting and grinding by highly skilled workers, “Press- Cut” was simply machine made molded glass, using patterns similar to the real article.
The largest producer of it was the McKee-Jeannette Glass Works, located in Jeannette Pennsylvania. This plant was one of the first in the area, the first pressed glass produced by them was in September, 1888. It originally covered six acres of ground, had six furnaces of 109 pot capacity, and employed five to six hundred men. The company remained in production until 1983.
Mike Wilcox
Wilcox & Hall Appraisers