Stick Your Neck Out

by Karen Adams

Title

Stick Your Neck Out

Artist

Karen Adams

Medium

Photograph - Fine Art Digital Prints

Description

My Dad, George Wood worked at Federal Glass company from 1955 until its close in 1979. He held many positions there including Director of the Art Department and Director of Marketing. He drew this turtle as one of a series of linear drawings that he was locally well known for. This was printed on a type of business card and passed out for some company purpose, I'm not sure to whom! I am also not sure of the year. I do like the saying and think it applied to Federal as a company that was always striving for creativity and the next new thing to catch the consumers' attention.

American manufactured glass pieces were sold by the millions beginning in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The plants were located in the American Midwest with the states of Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania boasting hundreds of glass companies. These states had a ready supply of sand---a major component of glass---and an unlimited supply of natural gas to fuel the furnaces. They also had a large network of railroads and water routes to move the glass to market quickly and inexpensively.
The Federal Glass Company started operating in Columbus, Ohio in 1900, making pressed glass. This manufacturing technique utilized metal forms and hot liquid glass to create a line of glassware that beat out much of the competition due to the low prices and distinctive lines that featured raised designs resembling popular needlepoint patterns. During the early years, the glass molds for tumblers, breakfastware and lunchware were filled by hand.

Federal expanded its factory and purchased automated glass making equipment in the 1920s. The company also enlarged its sales force and began marketing the glass to homemakers for use as dinnerware and bar beverage sets. The early designs continued to be made using state-of-the-art mold injected machinery and new colored glassware patterns in amber, pink, purple and blue were introduced.

Shrewd marketing expanded sales into restaurants, hospitals and the military during World War II. Federal remained one of the largest glass manufacturers until the 1960s, when American dinnerware tastes turned to plastics such as Melmac. Federal was incorporated as Federal Paper Board Company in 1958

Federal Glass Company held its own in the design and sale of tumblers to the home and commercial market, but new food service offerings, including Texasware, made inroads, cutting the company's commercial sales. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the company attempted to spin the glass designs that made Federal a household name in the 1920s. Dad was very involved in the Madrid line, now called Recollection, that was introduced in 1976. The American bicentennial was an opportunity for Federal to create molds celebrating the American revolution and new government. Commemorative lunch dishes featured stars-and-stripes images of George Washington and of Paul Revere's famous ride.


The doors of the plant were closed in 1979 when a misunderstanding by union members caused them to vote against their best interests and caused the closing of the plant, much to my dad's heart break. At the auction liquidating the plant, the Indiana Glass Company purchased the newer glass molds, which they then began to use at their own factory.

It was a wonderful company and gave many folks good livings, but sadly closed due to some bit of greed and misunderstandings. My Dad loved that company and thankfully you can still find Federal Glass pieces for sale online.

Uploaded

February 17th, 2016

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