Imperial Glass on display at Barnesville Library
On display at the Barnesville Library this month will be a collection of about two dozen Imperial Art Glass vases and bowls from Imperial's Free Hand and Lead Lustre lines.
Additional examples of Imperial's art glass (as well as hundreds of examples of other types of Imperial Glass can be seen at the National Imperial Glass Museum in Bellaire, Ohio. The Museum is open until October 31, Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Admission is $3.
Over 280 examples of Free Hand and Lead Lustre glass can also be seen at the educational Web site www.imperialartglass.com, maintained by Barnesville resident Ernie Albanese.
Imperial Free Hand began being made in 1923. It was initially produced by a handful of very talented glass artisans, some of whom had originally emigrated from Sweden. Local men eventually became skilled enough to produce the glass after the original artisans had left Imperial by late 1924.
Being very expensive to produce and subsequently buy (in 1925 a Free Hand vase was $25 while a box of Kellogg's Corn Flakes cost 9 cents), sales were poor and Free Hand was not a financial success. Looking for a cheaper alternative, Lead Lustre, made in paste molds was introduced in 1924. Some of it was decorated to resemble Free Hand but whereas wholesale Free Hand sold 12 pieces for $50, the same $50 got you 30 pieces of Lead Lustre. Both continued to be made until about 1929.
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