Steuben Glass ha s been making fine crystal for more than eighty years. It is an organiza tion d edi­cated to the ideal of excellence in everything it d oes: in the design and makin&.._of its gla ss, in its shops, in its service . It hopes that those w ho purchase or receive a piece of Steuben will not only ad­mire it but enjoy u sing it for both its d ecorative and its functional qualities. Steuben glass is crea ted to become a harmonious part of your en vironment, whe ther tradi­tional or contemporary.

This bookle t has been prepared to increase your enjoyment of your Steuben by giving you informa­tion on the company and how it makes its glass.

ABOUT STEUBEN

A Little History To begin with , Steuben is an American company. It makes all its glass in Corning, New York, and has been part of Corn ing Glass Works since 1918. The com­pany is named after Steuben County w here Corning is loca ted . The residents of Steuben County pronounce the name Stoo- 'ben , with the accent on the last sylla­ble. The county was named after Baron von Steuben , the German offi cer w h o, on Benjamin Frank­lin's recommendation , was sent by General George Washington to Va lley Forge to drill and reor­ganize the Continental Army in the w inter of 1777-1778.

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Steuben was founded in 1903 by Frederick Carder wh o manufac­tured colorful glass, much of it in the art nouveau style . Since 1933, when Arthur A . H oughton , Jr., became president, Steuben h as produced only clear lead crys tal.

An American Tradition All Steuben crys tal is made in America. Every United States p resident since President Truman has chosen it for gifts of state . It is represented in museum collec­tion s in many countries, including:

Art Institute of Chicago; Cleve­land Museum of Art; Cooper­H ewitt Museum, New York; Cor­nin g Museum of Glass; Detroi t

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Institute of Art; Hermitage Museum, Leningrad; HoAm Art Museum, Seoul; Hokkaido Muse­um of Modern Art, Sapporo; Met­ropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Palais du Louvre, Paris; Museum for Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt am Main; Museum for Kunst und Gewerk, Hamburg; Musees Roy­aux d 'Art e t d 'Histoire, Brussels; Museum of Art, Carnegie Insti­tute, Pittsburgh; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi; Nelson­Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; Royal Ontario Museum, To­ronto; Smithsonian Institution, Wa shington, D.C. ; St. Louis Art

Mu seum; Toled o Museum of Art; Va tican Museum; Victoria and Albert Museum, London .

Many p eople consider the Steu­ben shop at 56th Stree t and Fifth Avenue a-New York City land­mark . There, the m ost complete collection of present-d ay Steuben glass may be seen . A selection may also be found a t the Steuben shop in Corning, and at a number of Steuben rooms in selected stores in major cities .

What Crystal Is For thirty-five hundred years, glass has been made in much the same way - by heating sand with an alkali such as ashes to help it melt, and with a stabilizer such as

lime to help it resist the attack of mois ture. In the process, these ordinary ingred ients are often transmuted into something p recious.

Glass has been va lued since an­cient times for its ability to ca pture and refl ect light and fo r the wealth of sha pes it can be given - as well as for its many utilitarian virtues . Tha t glass is solid, but can be seen through , adds to its fasc ina tion .

Since r676, the clearest glass, ca lled crys tal, has been made with the addition of lea d . Lead gives crys tal greater brilliance, weight, and re fl ec tive qualities .

In the fines t lead crys tal, the m ate­rial contains no trace elements or

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minerals . It is as natura lly color­less as pure wa ter. When you put two pieces of crys tal side by side, it is often possible to see that one of them is clearer, brighter, and more colorless than the o ther. If a tint is present, it m ay be difficult to see in a single piece, but the color will deepen if several pieces are lined up - as they might be on a shelf or on a buffet table - and looked th rough as a group.

Much glass, even some of the finest , has minute flaws in it: air bubbles called "seeds," specks of matter called "stones; ' faint lines called "cords:' These become apparent if the glass is held to the light.

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Why Steuben's Crystal Is Exceptional Steuben glass has not the slightest hint of color. It is almost totally free of seed s, stones, and cords. It is approximately 30 percent lead . With this pure material, Steuben strives to make the finest glass objects in the world, utilizing a meticulous system based on many hand processes which ensure ob­jects of the highest quality.

There are no seconds at Steuben. Whether a small vase or a major engraved sculpture, each design is individually inspected at vari­ou s stages. These inspections, large in number, protect the excel-

Jenee of Steuben . About one-quar­ter of the output is rejected as no t meeting Steuben standards a t some time during this rigorous inspection p rocess . If a piece passes, it is hand signed in dia­mond poiht. If it d oes not pass, it is des troyed .

What Steuben Makes Employing the h ighes t standards of excellence, Steuben makes sculptural, ornamenta l, and func­tional glass .

In the firs t ca tegory, Steuben makes glass sculpture and period ­ically mounts one-man and group shows of work by its arti sts and designers . From 1974 to 1976, a retrospective exh ibition , "Steu­ben : Seventy Years of American

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Glassmaking; ' toured American and Canadian museums . In 1984, Steuben celebrated a special anni­versary with " Fifty Years on Fifth: A Retrospective Exhibition :' In addition , from time to time Steu­ben artis ts are invited to partici­pate in specia l exhibitions around the world . Steuben also presents exhibitions of fine glass from mankind 's past .

Steuben's ornamental objects serve a decorative purpose and include animals and other repre­senta tional forms, small geomet­ric sculptures, paperweights, designs with inscription s, and jewelry.

Thirdly, Steuben makes function­al pieces such as vases, bowls,

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candlesticks, decanters, and other objects, suitable both for use and for display.

Steuben is particularly known for major works . Some are engraved and some are sizable abstract sculptures. Many are issued either as on e-of-a-kind or in small editions of from two to one hundred . Engraved pieces are achieved by copper wheel, stone w heel, diamond point, and sand sculpting.

One of Steuben's most recent ma­jor engraved works, Swan Bowl, is featured in this booklet (page 2) . Around its circumference sail five majestic swan s, their finely de­tailed bodies exuberantly feath -

ered. The elegantly arched necks form an undulating cut and carved rim . The glistening, varied textures of this hand-blown bowl are achieved by copper-wheel and diamond-point engraving . Mea­suring 9"1n diameter and 8" in height, this work is limited to an edition of fifty. Because its cre­ation includes most of the glass processes employed by Steuben, we are going to show you the ac­tual making of it to demonstrate how carefully we make every piece of our glass .

Connoisseur Magazine has called Swan Bowl "a triumph of grace and harmony, the ultimate ex­pression of the human ability to create magic out of inanimate ma­terial:' The same care that goes

into the making of Swan Bowl is invested in every piece of Steuben from the most si mple to the most complex.

How Steuben Is Designed Swan Bowl was born in the imagi­nation of Steuben sculptor Peter Aldridge and artist Jane Osborn­Smith, a husband /wife team (Fig. 1). They are among the artists and designers responsible for all Steuben designs.

The Steuben design s taff meets once a month to discuss ideas, works in progress, and works about to be introduced. The s taff has been actively recruited from all over the world; the d esigners

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of Swan Bowl, for example, have come here from England . At pres­ent, the design department num­bers six glass designers, two graphics designers, and two cal­ligraphers . Each has been selected for talent and innovative vision . As a group, they set the standard of visual excellence for Steuben .

The glass designers are free to express in their work their own creative imaginations, each using in his own way the same weighty, sparkling glass. They are contin­uously exploring the fluid bril­liance inherent in Steuben's mate­rial , the versatility of its expert craftspeople, and the latest devel­opments in glass technology. They have often been recognized

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for their work at the leading edge of glass design . In addition to a spirit of innovation, Steuben has a commitment to continue pro­ducing the best from its past.

The first step of Swan Bowl was a detailed drawing (Fig . 2) . Other designs might begin with a wax, clay, plaster, acrylic, or crystal model. The designer of each piece is responsible for it from drawing or model stage until the glass­makers have produced a proto­type which wins his approval. If Steuben decides to introduce the piece, the designer and the glass­makers jointly undertake a trial production run during which pro­duction problems are solved and the cost of manufacture deter-

mined . Finally, the d ecision to introduce - or abandon - the d e­sign is made . This process may take anywhere from two months to several years. With Swan Bowl, it took about a year.

The Excellence of the Material To make its glass, Steuben brings sand from an area where the purest sand has been found . The sand is mixed with an alkali, lead, cullet (broken glass of the same formula), and a stabilizer. The dry materials of each batch of gla ss are carefully tes ted and weighed before mixing . They are then melted in a furnace where they are stirred constantly with a plati­num stirrer. Platinum imparts no impurities to crystal and can resist

the corrosive effects of the molten glass. For these reasons, it is also used in some areas of the furn ace lining.

To maintain the constant excel­lence of glass quality, the Steuben melting furnace must be taken apart every two to three yea rs and rebuilt; no glass can be mad e during this fo ur-week period . Samples are taken from the fur­nace every hour, twenty-four hours a day, to be examined by microscope for purity. Three times a week, samples of crys tal are examined by X-ray spec troscopy and o ther tes ts . The outside areas surrounding the fac tory are kept damp so that airborne dust and other impurities do not contami­nate the glass .

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The Making of Swan Bowl There are no assembly lines at Steuben. Each piece is made by an individual "shop" of experienced craftsmen. Each shop is headed by a "gaffer;' or master glass­maker, and works a t its own "glory hole;' or reheating fur­nace (Fig. 3).

To begin Swan Bowl, a shop mem­ber call ed the "ga therer" brings to the glory hole a precise portion of molten glass from the melting furnace . This portion of glass is called a "ga ther:' Its size is mea­sured not in pounds, ounces, or inches, but in seconds or minutes of pouring time (Fig . 4) . Since

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glass at the same temperature flows at the same rate, each object has its own specific time. Swan Bowl, for example, contains four minutes of gla ss.

When the gatherer brings the glass for Swan Bowl to the glory hole, the "servitor" shapes the ga ther into a ball with a hollow, rounded wooden "block" (Fig. 5). It is then given a cylindrical shape in a metal and graphite block . As the glass cools, it is further manip­ulated and its color turns from ora nge to amber. The shaping process helps the blower

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to blow the glass out evenly. During shaping, the molten glass is repeatedly reheated to keep it workable. It is also continuously rotated to prevent it from sagging toward the ground in response to

. ...... gravity.

Glassblowing After the glass is rehea ted three or four times, the servi tor blows a small bubble of air th rough a metal tube or " blowing iron" into the gather. The gaffer then takes over, blowing the glass to the required shape (Fig.6) , a pro-

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cess which requires great control and judgment. The glassblower inflates the glass with short puffs of his breath, not long blows . He removes his mouth from the pipe frequently and between breaths puts his thumb over the end of the pipe; the trapped air inside grows hotter and further expands the crystal bubble.

The rim of Swan Bowl is opened with a tool called a " jack" (Fig. 7). The form is further delineated with a wooden paddle (Fig. 8). Excess glass is removed with shears of a special design (Fig. 9). Dimensions are frequently checked with calipers (Fig. 10) in order to carry out the exact intent of the design .

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The glassmakers must be assured of a blowing room which proceeds rhythmically and harmoniously. Every motion is deliberate and precise. An observer often feels transported tQ another time . And indeed he is, for though the purity of Steuben's material is made pos­sible by 20th century science, many of the methods Steuben uses to form that material are vir­tually unchanged from those in use in Restoration England. In addition, Steuben is continually developing contemporary meth­ods of working glass that are as new as tomorrow.

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and clear to look through . It also makes surfaces that are hig hly transparent and reflective - that is, since more light comes back at you , the object is more brilliant .

" Engraving Since Swan Bowl is a major en­graved work, it n ext moves to the engraving room . To execute the engraving of the swan s , a Steuben engraver transfers the designers' drawing to the glass with a s tylus. He then goes over the outline with ink and covers the bowl with a protective shellac. To engrave the design, he works with about fifty copper wheels (Fig . 13) of differ­ent diameters and widths - all of which he makes with his own

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hands . On Swan Bowl, he also uses a diamond point tool. His other basic tools are wood, cork, and lead wheels for polishing, various abrasives, and a small power lathe. To become a qualified cop­per wheel engraver takes many years of apprenticeship .

During the engraving of the first Swan Bowl, the designers (Fig. 14) conferred with the engraver on a daily basis . Nearly two hundred hours of meticulous engraving were required. Other engraved Steuben works have taken months to complete, sometimes years.

Each engraved line is made by carefully pressing the crystal against a spinning copper wheel which penetrates into the glass

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(Fig. 15). Crisp detail, precision and depth of cut, sculptural modeling, flowing line, and vari­ety of tone and detail are among the characteristics of good copper­wheel engraving. It also produces a fascinating optical effect in that concave or intaglio surfaces ap­pear convex or in relief.

When an example of Swan Bowl is completed and all inspections are passed, it is hand signed in dia­mond point (Fig . 16). A specially fitted, velvet-lined red leather case is made for it. Other designs may be packaged in gray linen boxes.

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Wide Range of Designs and Services Steuben produces a wide va riety of designs, some of w hich are seen in these pages, and intro­duces many new ones each year. New d esign s are frequently of­fered to cus tom ers by mail before they are adverti sed or even dis­played in our shops. Prices range from $i25 to $275,000.

Steuben offers its cu stomers many services, including a bridal regis­try, a corpora te d epartment, gift certifi ca tes, and individually de­signed calligraphic inscriptions.

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Shipping All surface shipping charges and insurance within the United States are paid by Steuben. Pur­chases may be made in person, by mail, or by telephone . A toll-free number has been established for calls from outside New York State: Boo 223-1234 . Or you may call 212 752-1441 from any location .

Visitors are welcome seven days a week at the Steuben factory in the Corning Glass Center in Corning, New York . Since 1951, more than twenty million people have come to watch Steuben being made .

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PUBLICATIONS

A number of publication s about Steuben are currently available .

The Steuben Catalogue $5

Steuben Glass, An American Tra­dition in Crystal, by Mary Jean Madigan . Harry N. Abram s, Inc.: New York, 1981, 2 , 3 2 0 illu stra tion s including 6i color pla tes . An au­thoritative history of Steuben plus a visua l ca talogue of virtually every design be tween 1933 and 198i. $55

Steuben Crystal in Private Collec­tions. Steuben Glass, New York, 1985 . $10

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Invoices are not issued for book orders . Please send a check, pay­able to Steuben Glass, with each order. Add state and local taxes as applicable at points of delivery. Books m ay not be returned for credit. All prices include postage.

Photographs on pages 9, 12, 13, 14 , 15, 16, 17, 18,

Con noisseur Magazine.

STEUBEN CLASS a pa rt of Corning Glass Works since >9"18

F IF T H AVENUE AT F I FTY-S I XT H STREET • NEW YORK, N.Y. "10022

TELEPHONE (2"12) 752-"14 4 1 CORNING GLASS CENTER • CORNING, N.Y. 14830

T ELEP H ONE (607) 962-"1060

TOL L FREE EXCEPT I N NEW YORK STATE (800) 223-1234