The story
Early history
Eureka Art Glass
In the January 1922 edition of a glass trade magazine, it was noted that a "W. Blenko, of Lancaster, Ohio" recently purchased land at Huntington, West Virginia, and he expected a plant for the manufacture of colored antique glass would be operating by mid-March 1922. Blenko named his new glass business Eureka Art Glass Company. By 1923 the company was listed as an antiques and specialties business, and it had eight employees. A new Eureka employee was William Henry Blenko Sr., who joined his father's company during the year. Born in 1897, he was described as "energetic and commercially astute" and an important contributor to the company's success.
Instead of using the new automated Colburn process to make flat glass, or the Lubbers machine to blow the glass without human glassblowers, Blenko's antique flat glass was made using a variation of the older cylinder method. Blenko's process involved hand blowing the glass into a cylinder inside of a mold, cutting the glass lengthwise, and flattening it in an oven—a system that made the glass appear old. William Blenko filed for a patent on this process in 1924, and the patent was granted in 1926.
Another innovation for the elder Blenko was his 1924 success in developing a formula for ruby-red glass that could be reheated without altering its color. By 1926, Eureka Art Glass could replicate most of the glass used in old European stained glass windows. One use of Eureka Art Glass in this form was for the stained glass windows of the Liverpool Cathedral in England in 1927. Business improved enough that in 1928 plans were made to erect a larger plant.
Glassware production begins
An economic depression began in the United States during August 1929, becoming known as the Great Depression. The downturn caused a sharp decrease in demand for stained glass. To keep the business from failing, William Henry Blenko championed producing an additional line of glass: decorative glassware. Because the Blenkos only knew how to make flat glass, they hired two Swedish-American brothers from the Huntington Tumbler Company to train Eureka employees in glassware production. The brothers were Louis Miller (a finisher) and Axel Muller (a glassblower), and they had been trained at the Kosta glass works in Sweden.
The Eureka glassware products were originally sold by Carbone and Sons of Boston, which was a reseller of high-quality Italian goods. Eureka wares had Italian and Scandinavian influences on their designs, and took advantage of the company's ability to create hundreds of shades of colored glass. Carbone's sales brochure called the glassware "Kenova" glass, and said it was made in the foothills of West Virginia by foreign craftsmen. Aware that glassware made by Eureka Art Glass could have trouble competing with European makers, an editorial in the May 1932 issue of Carbone's sales brochure known as The Shard described tool marks and unevenness in hand blown glassware as qualities to be desired. The writer of the article was "W.H.B", and one author says the writer was "presumably William Henry Blenko".
Big changes in 1930s
Eureka Art Glass Company was renamed Blenko Glass Company during August 1930. An advertisement in the December 1931 edition of a Charleston newspaper said that "distinctive and different hand made" glassware could be purchased at the Milton factory, and used the name Blenko Glass Company. During 1932, Blenko glass was used for windows in the American Memorial chapel on the Meuse-Argonne battlefield at Romagna, France. The artists designing the windows preferred the Blenko glass because of the colors available and the texture of the glass. William J. Blenko died suddenly on November 24, 1933, at the age of 79. His son, William Henry Blenko Sr. became company president.
After discussions that occurred in 1936, the Blenko Glass Company was contracted in 1937 to produce all glass reproductions for the Colonial Williamsburg restoration project. The original quality and shapes of the Williamsburg glassware were determined by glass fragments found on site. Using the company's old-style process, Blenko glassblowers were able to replicate the original glassware. For its own line of glassware, the company began producing a somewhat rectangular water bottle in 1938, which is still being produced in the 21st century.
Post war history
During 1947 the company hired Winslow Anderson as its first full-time designer, and the company began to establish itself as a leader in contemporary art glass. During the same year, the company received a new charter on May 1. The firm was incorporated by "W. H. Blenko, Marion H. Blenko, and W. H. Blenko Jr." with a capitalization of $250,000. Blenko's son, William H. Blenko Jr., had joined the company in 1946—a third generation of the Blenko family.
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The Blenko Glass plant employed 115 people near the end of 1950. Daily production was about 1,000 square feet of stained glass sheets and about 3,000 pieces of glassware. William H. Blenko Sr. was the president, and his son William H. Blenko Jr. was company secretary and plant manager. The factory was producing about 280 types of glassware sold by retailers throughout the world. Its flat glass was produced in about 1,000 different tints.
In 1955 Blenko Glass became the first American manufacturer of a thick slab type of glass previously made in France known as dalle de verre. Blenko's dalle de verre was used in the 1964 New York World's Fair at the Hall of Science. By the beginning of 1965, Blenko had grown to 160 employees, and continued to produce glass using its handcrafted method.
Visitor Center
William H. Blenko's wish for a visitor center became reality when the center was dedicated in 1966. The two-story building has an outlet on the first floor that sells factory seconds that have minor flaws. The upstairs is a museum with products on display such as stained glass, the Colonial Williamsburg restoration glass, and collectable pieces. It is also the starting point for tours of the factory.
Blenko died on March 11, 1969, only three years after the visitor center dedication. His son, William H. Blenko Jr., became company president. In 1972, the Blenko Visitor Center and Museum was visited by as many as 2,000 people per day during the tourist season. Stained glass windows made by Blenko were still popular in 1974, and a major reason was the "vivid, clear colors" of the glass.
1990s
By 1990, Blenko was one of the few glass factories still operating in West Virginia. As of 1995, about 30 percent of Blenko's business was flat glass such as hand-blown window panes. The remaining 70 percent was glassware such as bottles, vases, and lamps. Blenko Glass Company employed about 130 workers. Blenko had produced the glass globes for lights at the United States Capitol, and was involved with replacement windows for the White House. Blenko glassware was sold at Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, and Sharper Image.
Richard D. Blenko had joined the company in 1976, and he represented the fourth generation of the Blenko family. He became president of the company in 1996. He often promoted Blenko glassware by making appearances at retailers to interact with customers. He was also involved with documentary films about the company. Near the end of the century, a PBS documentary called "Hearts of Glass: The Story of Blenko Handcraft" was released that described William J. Blenko's quest to produce glass in the United States. Additional documentaries were produced, including "Blenko Retro: Three Designers of American Glass" (2001); and "Blenko - Spirit of American Stained Glass" (2005). Even more documentaries were produced more recently, such as "Blenko Glass: Behind the Scenes" (2012); "Blenko Glass: Creating Iowa Sunrise" (2015); and "Blenko Glass - The Collectors" (2020).
From Wikipedia’s article on Blenko Glass Company, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4