Date: Fri 07-Aug-1998

Publication: Ant

Author: JUDYC

Quick Words:

Pairpoint-Old-Dartmouth-Hist-S

Full Text:

Through September 7, Shades Of Opulence: The Lamps Of Pairpoint Is On View At

The Old Dartmouth Historical Society-New Bedford Whaling Museum

By Judith Navas Lund

NEW BEDFORD, MASS. -- When one thinks of the city of New Bedford, one thinks

of whale oil and whale-oil lamps. As whaling declined, New Bedford's Pairpoint

Corporation adapted to the newly developed technology, electricity. For about

35 years at the beginning of this century, the Pairpoint Corporation sold its

unique line of electric lamps, combinations of the firm's decorated shades and

primarily metal bases, from its main office at its factory in New Bedford,

Mass., as well as from offices in Chicago, New York, San Francisco and

Montreal.

Glassmaking came to the city of New Bedford in 1866, just after the peak of

the whaling industry. A new company, New Bedford Glass Company, was organized

by a group of glass workers from the town of Sandwich, Mass. that moved to New

Bedford after a labor dispute. The company was short-lived, closing in 1868,

due to the illness of its organizer-superintendent Theodore Kern.

The legacy of that first glass company was the recently constructed modern

glass factory. This new facility consisted of a glasshouse of 62 feet square

containing a ten-pot furnace, with an additional brick wing of more than 5,000

square feet extending from the glasshouse which contained other cutting and

manufacturing processes.

William L. Libbey of Boston purchased the property in 1870 and moved his Mount

Washington Glass Works from its aging buildings in South Boston to this

up-to-date factory in New Bedford. Reorganized in 1873 as Mount Washington

Glass Company, the firm produced both utilitarian and ornamental glasswares,

becoming known for its various types of art glass -- Lava, Burmese, Peach

Blow, Rose Amber, Crown Milano, and Royal Flemish.

In 1880, the Pairpoint Manufacturing Company was established on property

adjoining the Mount Washington factory. The company was formed specifically to

make plated britannia metal products to complement the glasswares of Mt

Washington. London-born Thomas J. Pairpoint of the Gorham Company in

Providence, R.I., was hired as superintendent of the new company, and his name

was given to the venture. Although physically and organizationally distinct,

the two companies shared the services of Alexander H. Seabury, president and

treasurer of Mt Washington, who also served as treasurer of Pairpoint. This

arrangement continued until 1894 when Pairpoint Manufacturing Company

purchased Mt Washington. In 1900, the two companies merged under the name

Pairpoint Corporation.

This merger set the scene for the manufacture of lamps and other goods

comprised of metal and glass under the name of Pairpoint. The Pairpoint

Corporation employed more than 300 persons in 1906 making a variety of blown

and molded glasswares and silver plated britannia metal wares from utilitarian

to ornamental presentation pieces -- flatware, tea sets, prize cups, and cut

glass articles.

The firm had offices in New York, San Francisco, and Montreal. A combination

of changing taste and the Great Depression finally caused the firm to close in

1937. Successor firms led by former employees have produced utilitarian

glasswares in the city and elsewhere since then. Today, Pairpoint Crystal

makes a variety of blown and decorated glasswares in Sagamore, Mass.

In 1904, the Pairpoint Corporation advertised for the first time in New

Bedford a line of portable electroliers or electric lamps. This product line

featured lamps with glass shades blown by hand into molds, and hand decorated,

primarily by reverse painting on the inside of the shades. Before decorating,

the glass shades were etched with acid on the outside to produce a frosted

surface which diffused the light. The effect of this decoration was a soft

light pleasing to the eye which would not fade as parchment shades could.

During the three decades these electroliers were sold by Pairpoint, the

product line included more than one hundred named shade shapes each of which

was available in a variety of sizes from the small boudoir lamps of 4« inches

in diameter to the large parlor lamps with shades up to 20 inches in diameter.

On July 9, 1907 the Pairpoint Corporation received a patent for a new process

for making lampshades, known today as the "puffy" or "blown out" shades. The

application had been filed at the end of 1905, shortly after the introduction

of electroliers. Production of these lampshades was already under way by that

year as indicated by the evidence of catalog pages. The surface of the shade

was comprised of raised ornamental figures, usually fruits or flowers, frosted

on the outside, and decorated on the interior. It was this shade which made

Pairpoint unique.

Other companies, such as the Handel Company of Meriden, Conn., also sold

painted glass scenic shades. Only Pairpoint sold the "puffies." The designs

featured bunches of grapes, fruit trees, and various combinations of flowers.

In addition to flowers, the company made one dramatic shade in the shape of an

owl, and another, a large shell. The decorations of puffy shades were usually

unique to the shapes. However, catalog sheets indicate that some shade shapes

were decorated with different flower designs, for example, a generic floral

shape which was available as roses, chrysanthemums, or azaleas. Although not

so today, the puffies were originally less costly to purchase than the scenic

designs because they required less skill to decorate.

During the period 1926-30, the company introduced a line called "electric

candles" which were fitted with parchment shades coated with Coralene or fine

glass beads. These parchment-shaded electroliers were offered alone and in

combination with a cut glass and metal bowl, the base of which was identical

to that of the electrolier. In addition to painted blown shades and shades

made of painted flat panels, about 1930, the company offered a line of

Colonial Revival lamps which included engraved and cut glass electroliers.

The majority of Pairpoint's electroliers were table lamps, although a few

freestanding floor models were sold. Their bases were generally made of metal.

Approximately 350 different lamp bases are known, many of which were available

in more than one size or finish. Names such as Egyptian Brass, Flemish,

Japanese Bronze, Antique Green, Gun Metal, and Silver or Gold describe some of

the finishes available.

A further custom option available for many of the lamps was the number of

bulbs for illumination. Some mahogany, glass, and a few consisting of glass or

wood combined with metal were also available. When glass was incorporated in

the base, it was usualy decorated to coordinate with the shade design.

Pairpoint made a limited number of shades specifically designed as hall lights

or hanging globes, beginning about 1910, the period of most prolific

production for the firm. A small number of styles of shades usually sold with

bases, the Marlborough shape for example, were fitted with hanging hardware

through the opening which usually attached to the lamp base. Other bowl-shaped

shades were drilled with holes and hung upside down as hanging lamps. Included

in this category are shade shapes such as Vienna and Lucca. As a group, the

hanging lamp decorations appear to be stylized and geometric, complex scenes

being reserved for eye-level use on table lamps.

Some Pairpoint shades are marked with a stamped identification "The Pairpoint

Corp." Some puffies are marked with a similar stamp which reads "Patented July

7, 1907." In addition, a few Pairpoint decorators signed their works.

Bohemian-born Frank Guba, perhaps the best known of Pairpoint's decorators,

worked for the company for more than 45 years. Another European-born decorator

who arrived in New Bedford in 1891 was Adolph J. Frederick, who, like Guba,

stayed with the company until its closing in 1937. Lamps signed by H. Fisher

and one attributed by family history to Herman Knetchel are also known.

All metal Pairpoint bases are marked. They bear the name of the company, and

most also carry the Pairpoint trademark used on all Pairpoint products, the

letter P enclosed in a triangle. Wooden bases are stamped with the company

name with a rubber stamp. Bases which are entirely glass with no metal parts,

such as the small candle lamp bases, have no permanent mark. They may at one

time have had a paper label.

Like the products of the whalemen, the products of the Pairpoint Corporation

are today known around the world. They have become a fitting continuation of

the city's motto adopted in the days of whaling -- Lucem diffundo, I spread

the light.

"Shades of Opulence: The Lamps of Pairpoint" draws heavily from the collection

of the Old Dartmouth Historical Society-New Bedford Whaling Museum. That

collection includes Pairpoint lamps, photographs of the company and some of

its workers, drawings and glass decorated by Frank Guba, and a collection of

540 design drawings by superintendent and chief designer Floyd Francis Cary.

Much of the research for this exhibition is based on the collection of 572

hand-colored catalog sheets for Pairpoint lamps, several of which are included

in the exhibit, donated to the museum in 1988 by Helen E. Frasier. This

collection is the only record which exists of the company line, as all other

records were destroyed by the 1938 hurricane which washed the waterfront area.

The exhibit is also enriched by the generosity of a number of private

individuals who have loaned from their own personal collections. The museum is

grateful to them for sharing their lamps with the public in this first exhibit

of Pairpoint Lamps in New Bedford. In all, more than 50 lamps, photographs, 21

framed catalog pages, paintings, and documentary material are included in the

exhibit. Photography for this exhibit was underwritten by Dr David Ruggieri.

Also on exhibition at this time is a survey exhibition showing the varieties

of glasswares made in New Bedford and "Masterpieces of Mount Washington Art

Glass," which displays examples of the art glass types which made Mount

Washington famous.

The Old Dartmouth Historical Society-New Bedford Whaling Museum is open daily

9 am to 5 pm; until 8 pm on Thursdays, Memorial Day to Labor Day. Telephone

508/997-0046.