Westmoreland Glass
from the
Glass Encyclopedia
"Old Quilt" sugar bowl
in milk glass c. 1950s
by Westmoreland Glass.
Westmoreland Glass had its origins when Charles West and his brother George bought a majority share-holding in a new glass manufacturing venture in Jeanette, Pennsylvania in 1889. They named it Westmoreland Speciality Company and initially they concentrated on making and selling glass containers such as mustard jars and candy jars, and also some paperweights.
In 1920 the business was divided into two, with George West taking the glass containers business into a separate operation called "West Brothers". West Brothers made glass containers successfully until 1929, when George West died.
Charles West, together with his close friend Ira Brainard, managed and owned Westmoreland Speciality Company, which now focussed mostly on prducing high quality hand-made glass tableware. The company had first started to make this kind of glassware as early as 1910 when Westmoreland's "Keystone" pattern was introduced. The keystone was widely used in Pennsylvania as a logo and it became part of the company trademark from that date (1910) for many years.
The two sons of Charles West and Ira Brainard, Samuel B. West and James J. Brainard, worked with their fathers, and the company changed its name in 1924 to Westmoreland Glass Company.
They continued production throughout the depression era, the war years, and right throught the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Charles West died in 1943 and ten years later Ira Brainard's son James J. died. At that stage a third generation, James H. Brainard, took over management and ownership.
The hey-day for Westmoreland Glass came in the late 1940s and early 50s, when they concentrated on milk glass and produced literally tons of opaque white glass in every shape of tableware and ornamental glass imaginable. 90% of the total output from Westmoreland Glass is reported to be milk glass.
The company did produce a wide range of colors over the years, and some very famous patterns which are collected with enthusiasm today. Up until 1957 their glassware was handfinished with ground bases and fire-polishing. This proved to be too expensive a process from 1957 onwards.
