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the history of itinerant glassworkers

Category: Technology

This Dutch glassworker used a Cartesian diver as a magic trick

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As early as the 1670s, itinerant glassworkers were touring Europe demonstrating lampworking techniques to curious onlookers. A Dutch glassworker used this handbill to advertise his show in Wrocław, Poland, where he demonstrated at the Golden Sword (likely an inn or tavern). There, in the afternoons, the glassworker made glass eyes, weather-measuring devices, pots, bottles, and figurines.

handbill with text and two images of glassworkers blowing glass and using a cartesian diver

Dieser Hollaendische porcellain-glass-blaser, 1670? Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 112252.

Show highlights

He also displayed a relatively new scientific experiment: a Cartesian diver. The diver, seen in full on the right above, was created to demonstrate the relationship between density and buoyancy. But the Dutch glassworker didn’t explain the science behind the Cartesian diver to his audience. Instead, he treated it as a magic trick, in which the demonstrator commanded the figures in the bottle to move up and down by calling out orders. In reality, he used his hand to add or remove pressure from the air-tight membrane at the top of the vessel.

Woodcut images of a man pressing down on the top of a Cartesian diver to create pressure

The glassworker presses down on the membrane covering the top of the Cartesian diver to create pressure and cause the figures in the bottle to move. Detail of Dieser Hollaendische porcellain-glass-blaser, 1670? Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 112252.

The glassworker included several figurines in his bottle: a toasting man, a queen, and what looks like perhaps a bear or a devil. (Cartesian divers were also know as Cartesian devils, water devils, and bottle imps.)

One of the figurines in the Cartesian diver experiment.
One of the figurines in the Cartesian diver experiment.
One of the figurines in the Cartesian diver experiment.

Tools of the trade

The handbill shows that this glassworker used a lamp similar to the one described by Johannes Kunckel in his 1679 translation of L’Arte vetraria (The Art of Glass). The flame was likely fueled by oil or tallow pulled through a cotton wick and the glassworker could shape and direct the flame using forced air (either supplied by the use of bellows hidden under the table or by blowing into a pipe directed at the flame). This glassworker also used a small blowpipe to make his products.

The glassworker offered to demonstrate at private residences upon request, and sold his products to interested observers. There is no price listed to see the show, which matches with other known advertisements from the period.

The Grand Bohemian Troupe of Fancy Glass Workers

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In January 2019, I was fortunate enough to organize an event about itinerant glassworkers at The Corning Museum of Glass. Their Behind the Glass lecture series was the perfect way to introduce the topic to hundreds of attendees (and now thousands more viewers on YouTube). In addition to my presentation on the history of itinerant glassworkers, the evening featured a lecture and demonstration from lampworker Bandhu Dunham and demonstrations by lampworkers David Sandidge, Caitlin Hyde, and Eric Goldschmidt.

Here is our modern take on an itinerant glassworker performance:

The program for the evening was as follows:

  • 00:00:05: Glass spinning demonstration, Eric Goldschmidt
  • 00:01:10: “Curiosity Highly Gratified: An Illustrated Lecture on the Most Interesting History of Itinerant Glassworkers,” Rebecca Hopman
  • 00:19:05 (and ongoing): Loop-stitch pirate ship demonstration, David Sandidge1
  • 00:22:00: “Kinetic Glass Sculpture” lecture, Bandhu Dunham
  • 00:48:15 (and ongoing): Steam-powered magnifying glass demonstration, Bandhu Dunham
  • 00:53:42 (and ongoing): Hollowed pig demonstration, Caitlin Hyde
  • 00:55:53 (and ongoing): Crystal-clear decanter demonstration, Eric Goldschmidt
  • 00:56:50 to end: additional footage of demonstrations

The troupe members were:

Bandhu Dunham. Source: bandu.info
Eric Goldschmidt. Source: The Corning Museum of Glass
Caitlin Hyde. Source: The Corning Museum of Glass
David Sandidge. Source: The Corning Museum of Glass
Steve Gibbs. Source: The Corning Museum of Glass
Rebecca Hopman. Source: The Corning Museum of Glass

Corrections and updates

Of course, the history of itinerant glassworkers is still a developing field, and new information surfaces all the time. In addition to sharing this video, I’d like to include the following corrections and updates to my presentation:

  • 00:06:08: The slide of American-born glassworkers features an advertisement for Samuel Owen. While Owen emigrated to the United States at a young age and became a naturalized citizen, he was born in England.
  • 00:08:21: It’s true that the Woodroffe brothers were not Bohemian, but George and Charles Woodroffe were born in England, not the United States. Younger brother William was born an American citizen in New York state.
  • 00:13:45: A few nuances about the Howells. Robert Howell Sr. told many stories about how he came to be an itinerant glassworker, and seeing a glass steam engine at a state fair is perhaps the most romantic. It’s very possible this is true, but equally possible that he made it up at a later date. I also mention that Grace Howell learned to lampwork as early as the age of six. Like her father and her siblings, Grace varies the details of her beginnings as an itinerant glassworker. I have since found a reference that Grace began lampworking at age five. Again, it’s equally possible this is the truth or an exaggeration. In each case, it may be impossible to find the truth.
  • 00:14:08: Nora Allen sold Excelsior and Columbia to Robert Howell Sr. (instead of gifting them to him).
  • 00:14:50: Grace Howell’s Bluebird of Happiness is one of two pieces of glass currently connected to specific itinerant glassworkers in the museum’s collection. The other is Diorama of English Stag Hunt made by Charles David Aubin.
  • 00:15:25: A clarification about this slide and Nona Deakin. The slide shows two black-and-white photographs: the left features Robert Howell Jr. and his wife Marie Howell; the right features Grace Deakin and John Deakin. Grace was John’s second wife, who he married several years after Nona’s death. John Deakin learned lampworking from the Howells, so Nona did not marry into a lampworking family, her connection enabled the family to become so.
  • 00:16:09: Nona Deakin died in 1944, several years before John and his second wife Grace moved to Florida to set up their business.

You can learn more about the featured itinerant glassworkers from my presentation – Charles Woodroffe, Nora Allen, and Grace Howell – on this site, as well as the Woodroffe, Allen, and Howell families. Additional information about the other glassworkers, experiments, and trends mentioned in the lecture is also available (search the site for more).

Thanks for this event go to Karol Wight, director of The Corning Museum of Glass; museum staff Kris Wetterlund, Eric Meek, and Steve Gibbs; the amazing staff of the Rakow Research Library; the museum’s events and A/V staff; and of course my fellow presenters, in particular Eric Goldschmidt, who was my partner in organizing this evening. While this was a one-time event, I’d love to see The Grand Bohemian Troupe of Fancy Glass Workers reunite again!

Curiosity highly gratified: 6 weird and wonderful things to see at an itinerant glassworker’s show

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Come one, come all, to see amazing feats of glassworking! For more than 300 years, talented, traveling glassworkers entertained and educated crowds on the art, science, and skill of glassmaking and the dizzying array of wonders that could be made of glass. Add in a dancing competition or a beauty pageant and the event was a guaranteed hit. Intrigued? Here are six weird and wonderful things you might have seen at an itinerant glassworker’s show.

1. Working glass steam engines

Functional steam engines made of glass were the stars of the 19th-century itinerant glassworker’s show. Made of hundreds of small pieces, these dazzling engines fascinated audiences. They were both a feat of glassmaking and a method of demonstrating how steam power functioned during a time when real steam engines powered machinery and many modes of transportation. Soon after the first engines became popular, every traveling glassworking troupe had at least one of their own.

Glass Exhibition Featuring Spinning Wheel and Glass Steam Engine, 1904. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 131372.
The Great Double Working Glass Steam Engine Fairy Queen!, 1861. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 45696.
This is the earliest-known photographic image of a glass steam engine. The engine may be the Fairy Queen, and the man may be a member of one of the many Bohemian Troupes traveling the United States. Glass steam engine on display, 1861. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 137821.

These glass engines were not simple models, but colorful, inventive delights. Their names alone conjure a sense of whimsy: the Fairy Queen, Excelsior, Queen of Beauty, the Australasia, the Crystal Gem. Troupes gave prizes to those who composed the best poems about their engines, and fans did not disappoint. Here are a few lines from a poem by William Somers:

When will wonders cease, we may justly enquire,
When we see a Glass Engine, complete and entire…
Incredulity starts, in most utter surprise,
We can hardly believe the plain sight of our eyes…
The steam from the boilers sends life to the heart,
And life it goes bounding throughout every part.

Video of a glass steam engine in motion.

Several contemporary artists have been inspired by the glass steam engines and their makers, including Bandhu Dunham. His kinetic sculptures series includes The Crystal Gem, seen in motion here. Collection of The Corning Museum of Glass.

2. Glass thread spun at thousands of yards per minute

Today the word “fiberglass” brings to mind insulation, boats, and bathtubs. It’s manufactured in large quantities and used in all sorts of practical applications. But for many hundreds of years glass fibers were an integral part of itinerant glassworkers’ shows. As early as the 1600s, one glassworker advertised that he could spin “10,000 yards of glass in less than half an hour.” A century or two later, glassworkers were claiming they could spin a pound of glass into millions of yards of thread at the rate of thousands of yards a minute. The end result was “infinitely finer than silk and equally as elastic and flexible.”

Mr. Hermann demonstrates flameworking. The wheel on the left is for spinning glass fibers. Curiosity Highly Gratified Mr. Hermann, Artist in Glass. Hull, England: T. Topping, 1814. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 112177.
A glassworker, possibly Mrs. F.A. Owen, holds up spun glass. You can see the wheel used to make the fibers to the left. Glass Exhibition Featuring Spinning Wheel and Glass Steam Engine, 1904. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 131372.
F.A. Owen spins glass on a much larger wheel. Behind him is a dress and other items made from spun glass fibers. Pamphlet Advertising Glass Blowing Exhibition, 1904. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 131361.

Itinerant glassworkers made this glass thread using a special spinning wheel. Some went a step farther and wove the threads into neckties, bonnets, shawls, and dresses. One bonnet was so famous it went on its own tour of post offices across the United States.

This spun glass bonnet, made by F.A. Owen, was exhibited in U.S. post offices for all to see. Spun Glass Bonnet!, 1884. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 131369.
Spun glass was also used to make this dress for Princess Eulalia of Spain. Glassmakers at Libbey Glass Co. wove the spun glass with silk to form the fabric of this nearly 14 lb dress. The Famous Glass Dress Royal Robe of Princess Eulalia, 1893. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 134150.

3. Scientific experiments

The earliest known itinerant glassworkers incorporated scientific experiments like Cartesian divers into their demonstrations. Often, they would describe the movement of the “divers” as magical – the glass figures would supposedly respond to the commands of the glassworker (rather than to the pressure applied to the top of the glass tube). One glassworker claimed the figures in his glass container would obey commands in four different languages!

This early itinerant glassworker claimed the figures in his Cartesian diver bottle responded to his commands, rather than to the pressure he is applying to the top of the container. Dieser Hollaendische porcellain-glass-blaser, 1670? Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 112252.
John Backman flameworks a ship with a steam engine on one side and a Cartesian diver on the other. John T. Backman Flameworking Glass Ship, McCroskey Studio, 1930s. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 152150.
S. Owen styled himself as a professor and featured many scientific experiments and displays in his exhibition. He also gave lectures on natural philosophy. Science and Art Prof. Owen, O. Dickinson, 1850. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 142780.

By the mid-1800s, audiences were hungry for scientific knowledge, and some glassworkers centered their entire shows around science and natural philosophy. Professor S. Owen gave a lecture on natural philosophy, all while demonstrating the “action of water in vacuum” with a philosopher’s hammer, the “principle on which thunder is produced” using vacuum bulbs, and the “elasticity of the air” with balloons. Other popular experiments included pulse glass circulators, cryophorus deception glasses, and hydro-pneumatic fountains.

gif of glass cartesian diver in use

Glass Cartesian diver. Source: Kathryn Wieczorek.

4. The celebrated Glassoblowoprestitwistidigitator

He’s positively supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Actually, this title was used by at least two different glassworkers in the 1800s: William Woodroffe and W. Jerome Earl. It’s uncertain what these men did to merit this mouthful of a title, but it certainly sounds exciting.

William Woodroffe, one of the Woodroffe brothers, used this title while a member of Madam Nora’s troupe. The Glass Blower, Alfred Seabury, vol XXI, no. 6894. New York: 1889. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 112113.
W. Jerome Earl was another glassworker who claimed the Glassoblowoprestitwistigitator title. He was a member of Madam Reith’s troupe. Second and Positively Last Week of Madam J. Reith’s Troupe of Bohemian and American Glass Blowers. Jeremy S. Clark, 1881. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 45698.

5. Ships, trains, fire engines, and … skeletons?

Beyond glass steam engines, itinerant glassworkers built all sorts of models and machines from glass. Just a few examples include: models of famous ships, well-known monuments and bridges, and carriages pulled by teams of horses.

A glassworker, likely William Allen, adds details to a flameworked ship. Madame Nora’s Original Troupe of Glassblowers, 1876? Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 132079.
Charles Mapel flameworking before onlookers, 1940. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 152161.

Scott, a British glassworker, displayed a “beautiful Hydraulic Skeleton, in Glass, which is kept in continual motion by itself, showing how the blood passes through the different channels of the human frame.” It was so spectacular that it was “patronized by the Royal Family, and every Family of distinction in England.”

Illustration of a glass engine in the shape of an old-fashioned fire engine

The Columbia, a hand fire engine, could shoot water 15 feet into the distance. CMGL 112113.

The Woodroffe brothers displayed a steam-powered glass train that ran around a track “eight feet in diameter.” The train carried two cars and a coal car and was able to move at a speed of six miles per hour. The Woodroffes called it “one of the wonders of the nineteenth century.”

Madam Nora’s Original Troupe of Glass Blowers, Glass Spinners, and Glass Workers promoted the Columbia, a glass hand fire engine that reportedly spouted a stream of water 15 feet into the distance. It’s one of the few models and machines that has survived until today — you can see Columbia (and the glass steam engine Excelsior) in the Lightner Museum.

6. Beautiful babies, homely men, and talented dancers

During the 1800s, many glassworking troupes added other entertainments to their shows. These included everything from lectures and dances to competitions with glass prizes. The homeliest man and the best male dancer won Turkish pipes at one show in Massachusetts, and troupes led by the Woodroffe brothers gave prizes to the “best comic singer,” “best jig dancer,” “best lady dancer,” and the “handsomest lady,” among others.

Glassworkers gave prizes to audience members who were particularly homely, handsome, good dancers, and good singers. Last Night of the Glass Blowers! Taunton, Massachusetts: Gazette Press, 1860. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 112187.
Dances were a popular way to engage audience members after the glassworking show. Great Bohemian Troupe of Fancy Glass Blowers, A. M. Lunt. Boston: A. M. Lunt, 1869. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 61257.
Bizarrely enough, baby beauty shows were another popular event associated with several glassworking acts. Second and Positively Last Week of Woodroffe’s Original Bohemian Glass Blowers! Utica, New York: Grove & Bailey, 1881. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 151258.

Perhaps the oddest add-on was the baby beauty pageant or, as one advertisement put it, the “Grand Carnival of Croesus and Contest of Infantile Beauty.” Both the Woodroffes and Madam Nora’s troupe held these competitions at their shows and gave cases of their best glass to the winners and runners up.

These are only a few of the curiosities audiences could see when they attended an itinerant glassworker show. Learn more about their shows, their lives, and the world around them on this site. Keep up with new posts by subscribing to my monthly newsletter.

A version of this post was originally published on the Corning Museum of Glass blog on September 15, 2017.

What is an itinerant glassworker?

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An itinerant glassworker was a lampworker (or flameworker) who traveled from town to town performing for audiences, much like a member of a circus or a traveling theater troupe.

For more than 300 years, itinerant glassworkers entertained and educated crowds on the art, science, and skill of glassmaking, and the dizzying array of wonders that could be made of glass. These artisans contributed to a tradition that lives on today in flameworking demonstrations at museums, studios, and other attractions.

Itinerant glassworkers, likely Mrs. and Mr. F.A. Owen, stand behind a table covered in lampworked glass.

Glass Exhibition Featuring Spinning Wheel and Glass Steam Engine, 1904. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 131372.

Shows

A typical itinerant glassworker show included three main elements:

  1. Demonstrations of lampworking techniques such as glassblowing, spinning, and working.
  2. Showpieces such as elaborate glass models and scientific experiments.
  3. Displays of glass objects that audiences could purchase or were given with the price of admission.

Additional entertainments included lectures, live music, dancing, and competitions for glass prizes.

Timeline

Here is a rough timeline of the history of itinerant glassworkers:

1670s-1800s: Earliest known performers

handbill with text and two images of itinerant glassworkers blowing glass and using a cartesian diver

Dieser Hollaendische porcellain-glass-blaser, 1670? Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 112252.

As early as the 1670s, itinerant glassworkers performed in Europe. There are few records for this period; most are from the United Kingdom. These early artisans established the blueprint for itinerant glassworker shows going forward. They performed for royalty and tavern-goers alike, and positioned themselves as entertainment suitable for all audiences. Most demonstrated solo, and they typically offered practical items for sale alongside more fanciful objects. They did not list admission prices on their handbills or in newspaper advertisements, so it is unclear whether onlookers had to pay to watch their demonstrations.

1800s-1830s: Glassworkers demonstrate in Europe

handbill with text describing a glassworking demonstration. the handbill also has an illustration of an itinerant glassworker lampworking in front of a table covered in objects; he is surrounded by onlookers.

Scott’s Splendid Glass Working Exhibition in Miniature. United Kingdom: 1830. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 138463.

Based on surviving evidence, the number of itinerant performers and the popularity of their shows increased, especially in the United Kingdom. Glassworkers demonstrated in large towns like London, Glasgow, and Bath. They also traveled through the countryside visiting small towns and villages. Several first-hand accounts from audience members survive from this period, documenting the public’s fascination with the art of glass. These glassworkers created models based on famous landmarks and scenes that their audiences would have recognized. Some offered custom gifts such as the likeness of any dog in glass.

1810s-1850s: Glassworkers come to North America

handbill describing an itinerant glassworker show

Exhibition of Fancy Glass Working and Spinning United States Hotel, Private Entrance : Mr. Finn. Augusta, Georgia: 1840-1843. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 164968.

Eighteenth-century Americans, influenced by their Puritan backgrounds, often shunned traveling entertainers and educators of any sort, some going so far as to outlaw circuses, traveling menageries, and acting troupes. Once those restrictions were lifted, entertainers found success touring cities along the East Coast. The earliest known performance in the United States by an itinerant glassworker was in New York City in 1819. More European and American-born glassworkers followed, touring large cities like Washington, D.C., Boston, and New Orleans, as well as small villages and towns. Glassworkers continued to tour in Europe as well.

1840s-1890s: The rise of troupes and the glass steam engine

Illustration of a steam engine made of glass

The Great Double Working Glass Steam Engine Fairy Queen!, 1861. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 45696.

The Woodroffe brothers, three of the best-known glassworkers of this period, helped to establish new traditions in the trade with the formation of glassworking troupes and the popularization of glass steam engines. This was the heyday for itinerant glassworkers all over the world. Their shows were well-attended attractions in towns, at world’s fairs, in circuses, and in museums, and they traveled to places like South Africa, Indonesia, and Tasmania. This was also the time in which women-led troupes traveled in their highest numbers, including those of Madam Nora, Madam Anderson, and Madam J. Reith.

1900s-1930s: The advent of mass entertainment

a black and white photo with an itinerant glassworker in a white coat and beret seated and flameworking at a table. on the table are a cartesian diver, a glass steam engine, and several other small models

John T. Backman Flameworking Glass Ship, McCroskey Studio, 1930s. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 152150.

With the increased availability of entertainment technology such as phonographs, radio, movies, and later, television, as well as faster and cheaper transportation, potential audiences had more options for how to spend their leisure time. Because of this, itinerant performers of all types were forced to adapt. Many still went on tour, but others began to rely more heavily on appearances alongside other attractions. Some formed troupes with other types of entertainers or created dime museums. This was the beginning of the end for those lampworkers who could survive by leading a truly itinerant lifestyle.

1940s-1970s: From performers to artists

nona and john deakin demonstrate lampworking in their shop in sarasota florida

Nona and John Deakin Flameworking, Robert H. Ford, August 26, 1946, Larry Williams Collection. Collection of the Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass, CMGL 152152.

Most of the remaining performers grew roots, and the itinerant lifestyle all but died out. Families of flameworkers opened shops or contracted with attractions like Disney World. Other glassworkers demonstrated at museums like the Corning Museum of Glass or stayed close to home. With the advent of the Studio glass movement, many flameworkers distanced themselves from the itinerant tradition. They began to establish themselves as members of the fine arts/crafts world and didn’t want to be associated with glassworkers who demonstrated flameworking at state fairs and shopping malls, making what they saw as kitsch or low-quality glasswork.

1950s-today: New performers

jen kuhn flameworker demonstrating at the corning museum of glass

Jen Kuhn demonstrates flameworking at the Corning Museum of Glass. Collection of The Corning Museum of Glass.

The tradition of glass demonstrations continues in museums, at studios, and with mobile hotshop programs like GlassLab and GlassBarge (both projects of the Corning Museum of Glass). Flameworkers are eager to learn more about the history of their craft, and a new generation of flameworkers are inspired by their itinerant predecessors. Some create models inspired by glass steam engines, while others find innovative ways to make flameworking more mobile. Still others recognize the value of this part of lampworking history and document it through articles, exhibitions, book chapters, and websites. A new awareness of itinerant glassworkers and their legacy is emerging.

Learn more about itinerant glassworkers, their shows, and the world around them on this site. Keep up with new posts by subscribing to my monthly newsletter.

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