Novelty Glass Company
Novelty Glass Company was a short-lived Fostoria, Ohio glass manufacturer known for blown and pressed tableware, bar goods, stemware, and Columbus commemorative novelties.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Novelty Glass Company was a late-nineteenth-century glass manufacturer based in Fostoria, Ohio, a city that briefly became an important center of American glass production during the northwest Ohio natural-gas boom. The company was organized in late 1890 and began manufacturing in February 1891. Its works occupied the site of the former Buttler Art Glass Company, whose factory had burned in 1889. The location placed Novelty within a rapidly changing industrial district supported by rail connections and, for a time, relatively inexpensive natural gas. The company emerged from the experience and commercial relationships of Fostoria’s glass and financial communities. Banker Rawson Crocker was selected as president, while Henry Crimmel, a skilled glassmaker with previous experience at Belmont Glass Works, J. H. Hobbs, Brockunier and Company, and Fostoria Glass Company, became plant manager. Other incorporators and directors included Andrew Emerine, Charles Olmsted, C. German, George Flechtner, A. C. Crimmel, and Charles Foster. The organizers planned a medium-sized factory with an eleven-pot furnace and three lehrs, and anticipated employing approximately 150 people. Novelty’s advertised product range included fine lead-blown tumblers, bar goods, stemware, pressed glassware, and miscellaneous novelties. Production opened with blown-glass tumblers on February 4, 1891. As was common in the period, the factory did not operate continuously throughout the year; it worked through the first part of 1891, paused for a summer shutdown, and resumed production before continuing into December. The company’s most distinctive surviving products relate to the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s 1492 voyage and the planned 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Novelty produced commemorative punch-bowl sets and salt shakers depicting Columbus and Queen Isabella. Some examples show Columbus with a full beard, an unusual iconographic detail that helps distinguish the company’s surviving wares. The objects included clear pressed glass with gilt decoration as well as combinations of opalware, clear glass, mold-blown elements, and pressed forms. Because the company operated for only a short time and its Columbus pieces are relatively distinctive, these items later became of interest and value to collectors of American pattern and historical glass. Novelty’s commercial life was constrained by both local fuel problems and the wider economic environment. Northwest Ohio’s gas boom was already weakening by the time the factory opened, and the United States entered a period of economic contraction after the business-cycle peak of 1890. Novelty stopped production in January 1892 because of insufficient orders. Although a spring restart was considered, shareholders concluded that reopening for only a short period before the normal summer break was not worthwhile. Henry Crimmel subsequently left to manage Sneath Glass Company in Tiffin, Ohio. In October 1892, the United States Glass Company leased the plant and acquired Novelty’s molds, inventory, and related equipment. The works became Factory T within the United States Glass Company organization and resumed production with roughly 100 employees, making drinking glasses and stemware. This second phase was also brief. A fire destroyed the glassworks on April 1, 1893, and United States Glass Company management chose not to rebuild at the site. Novelty’s shareholders retained the land and ruins until voting to liquidate the property in January 1896. The company therefore survives primarily through historical records and collectible glass rather than as a continuing operating brand.
History
Novelty Glass Company was created during the short-lived industrial expansion caused by the discovery and exploitation of natural gas in northwest Ohio. A major gas discovery near Findlay in 1886 encouraged manufacturers to establish factories throughout the region. Fostoria benefited from local infrastructure, railroad connections, and efforts by civic leaders to attract industry. More than seventy glass companies operated in northwest Ohio at various times between the 1880s and the early twentieth century, although the region’s gas advantage began to decline by about 1890. Novelty’s immediate predecessor was Buttler Art Glass Company. Buttler’s Fostoria plant burned in November 1889, and its owners chose to rebuild elsewhere because local firefighting infrastructure was inadequate. The vacant site subsequently became the location for the new Novelty works. At the same time, Fostoria Glass Company was preparing to move to Moundsville, West Virginia, partly because of concerns over fuel availability. Henry Crimmel, a Fostoria Glass manager and shareholder, was unable to prevent that relocation and became a central technical figure in the organization of the replacement enterprise. Planning for Novelty Glass Company began late in 1890. The incorporators were Rawson Crocker, Andrew Emerine, Charles Olmsted, C. German, George Flechtner, A. C. Crimmel, and Henry Crimmel. The directors included Crocker, Olmsted, Emerine, Henry Crimmel, and Charles Foster. Crocker, a local banker and president of Crocker Window Glass Company, became president; Emerine became treasurer; A. C. Crimmel became secretary; and Henry Crimmel became plant manager. The company planned an eleven-pot furnace and three lehrs, with an anticipated workforce of approximately 150 people. Contemporary advertising sometimes used the name Fostoria Novelty Glass Company, while newspaper accounts also used Fostoria Glass Company, creating some variation in historical references. Production started on February 4, 1891, initially with blown tumblers. The factory operated with a relatively small workforce while production was being established and was expected to approach full capacity later in the month. Its product plans covered fine lead-blown tumblers, bar goods, stemware, pressed glass, and other novelties. Henry Crimmel obtained molds from the former Belmont Glass Works in Bellaire, Ohio, where he had previously been plant manager. The plant worked through the first part of 1891, paused for the customary summer shutdown, and resumed afterward, continuing into December. Novelty’s best-known products were historical commemorative wares associated with the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s voyage. Manufacturers across the United States were preparing products for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and related public interest in Columbus and Queen Isabella. Novelty made punch-bowl sets and salt shakers bearing their images. Several pieces are notable for depicting Columbus with a beard, an unusual feature in commemorative glass of the period. The products used multiple techniques and materials, including clear pressed glass, gilt decoration, opalware, mold-blown glass, and pressed components. Their unusual subject matter and the company’s brief operating history later made them desirable to collectors. The company’s financial and operating prospects deteriorated quickly. The national economy entered a downturn after its 1890 peak, while the northwest Ohio gas supply was becoming less reliable. Novelty closed in January 1892 because it lacked sufficient orders. Although a reopening in April was considered, the shareholders decided that operating only until the next summer shutdown would not justify the expense. In May, Henry Crimmel left Fostoria to manage Sneath Glass Company in Tiffin. In October 1892, United States Glass Company leased the plant and bought Novelty’s molds, inventory, and associated equipment. The factory reopened as Factory T within the United States Glass Company conglomerate, employing about one hundred people and producing drinking glasses and stemware. This continuation ended when the works burned on April 1, 1893. United States Glass Company did not resume production at the location. Novelty’s shareholders retained the land and ruins and voted in January 1896 to liquidate the remaining property. The company therefore had an operating life of roughly one year, followed by a short period in which its facilities and assets were used by another glass manufacturer.
- 1896
Remaining property is liquidated
[1]Novelty shareholders voted to liquidate the land and ruins that remained after the fire.
- 1893
Factory destroyed by fire
[1]The works burned on April 1, ending glass production at the site.
- 1892
Company production ends
[1]The factory closed in January because of weak orders, and shareholders decided not to carry out the proposed restart.
- 1892
Works become United States Glass Company Factory T
[1]United States Glass Company leased the plant and acquired its molds and equipment, restarting production under its own factory system.
- 1891
Production begins
[1]The Fostoria works began making blown-glass tumblers on February 4.
- 1891
Columbus commemorative wares are made
[1]Novelty produced punch-bowl sets and salt shakers depicting Columbus and Queen Isabella, including unusual bearded-Columbus designs.
- 1890
Novelty Glass Company is organized
[1]Local investors and experienced glassmakers organized the company and planned an eleven-pot furnace, three lehrs, and a workforce of about 150 people.
- 1889
Buttler Art Glass plant burns
[1]The former Buttler Art Glass works in Fostoria was destroyed by fire, making its site available for the later Novelty factory.
Products and positioning
A late-nineteenth-century American glass manufacturer positioned around fine blown tableware, barware, stemware, pressed glass, and novelty products, with its surviving commemorative Columbus wares representing its strongest historical identity.
Tableware · 1891
Blown glass tumblers
Blown tumblers were the first products made when Novelty began production in February 1891. The company advertised fine lead-blown tumblers as part of its core tableware range. These products represented the factory’s conventional production alongside more specialized commemorative and novelty glass.
Barware and tableware · 1891
Bar goods and stemware
Novelty’s advertised assortment included bar goods and stemware, reflecting the demand for drinking and serving products among American glass manufacturers of the period. Stemware was also produced when the works later operated as Factory T within United States Glass Company.
Commemorative glass · 1891
Columbus commemorative punch-bowl sets
These sets commemorated Christopher Columbus and the anniversary celebrations surrounding his 1492 voyage. Some cups featured a gilt-painted bust of Columbus on clear pressed glass, and surviving examples are notable for designs showing Columbus with a beard.
Commemorative glass · 1891
Columbus commemorative salt shakers
Novelty made commemorative salt shakers depicting Columbus and Queen Isabella. Examples combined opalware or milk glass with clear glass and used mold-blown and pressed techniques. Their rarity and unusual historical subject matter have made them collectible.
Novelty glass · 1891
Pressed glass novelties
The company’s broader novelty range included pressed glass products made for the late-nineteenth-century market for decorative and commemorative objects. Detailed surviving product lists are limited, but pressed glass was part of the company’s original production plans.
Brand decisions
1892
Abandon the planned reopeningStrategyBackground
Novelty halted production in January 1892 because orders were insufficient. Although a restart in April was initially contemplated, shareholders determined that the operating season would be too short to justify reopening before the customary summer shutdown.
Action taken
The shareholders decided not to resume the company’s own production and instead moved toward disposing of its operating assets.
Aftermath
Henry Crimmel left for a management position at Sneath Glass Company, and the plant was later leased and its equipment sold to United States Glass Company.
1892
Transfer of plant assets to United States Glass CompanyM&ABackground
After Novelty’s shareholders chose not to reopen, the company still owned a functioning glassworks, molds, inventory, and related equipment.
Action taken
United States Glass Company leased the plant and purchased the molds, inventory, and associated equipment in October 1892.
Aftermath
The facility resumed operation as Factory T with approximately 100 employees, but the works burned in April 1893 and were not rebuilt.
Recent events
- 1893
Fire destroys the Novelty works[1]
Other
A fire destroyed the former Novelty factory while it was operating as Factory T of United States Glass Company. The site was not rebuilt for glass production.
- 1892
Novelty Glass Company suspends operations[1]
Other
The factory closed because of inadequate orders, and the planned spring restart was abandoned.
- 1892
United States Glass Company leases Novelty works[1]
M&A
United States Glass Company leased the factory, acquired its molds and related equipment, and reopened the facility as Factory T.
- 1891
Novelty Glass Company begins production in Fostoria[1]
Other
The newly organized factory started production with blown-glass tumblers at its Fostoria works.
- 1891
Novelty Glass Company produces Columbus commemorative glass[1]
Product launch
The company made punch-bowl sets and salt shakers commemorating Christopher Columbus and Queen Isabella in anticipation of the 1893 Columbian celebrations.
Sources3 sources
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