A Brief History of Fenton Art Glass
(Click on Images to Enlarge)

The Fenton Art Glass Company opened their doors 105 years ago and they are still in business today. Owned and operated by third and fourth generation family members, the factory is located in Williamstown, West Virginia, on the same site as the original factory.

If we were to cover Fenton's entire history and all their product lines, it would fill a book. As a matter of fact, there are a number of Fenton reference books on the market that do cover their rich history and all of the wonderful glassware they have produced since the beginning. If you have one of these books, we are sure you will agree that the pictures are beautiful. Fenton was and still is very innovative when it comes to design.

Frank L. Fenton and his brother, John W. Fenton, started the Fenton Art Glass Company in 1905. They were soon joined by three other brothers - Charles, James and Robert.

Fenton's initial product line was iridized glass, better known to most of us as carnival glass. The Fenton Company proved to be the largest producer of carnival glass with the most patterns for roughly 15 years.

What sometimes happens in a lot of families, happened to the Fenton brothers. Frank and John had conflicts that caused John to leave the company very early on. Upon leaving, John went to Millersburg, Ohio. Once there he sold his interest in the Fenton Company, borrowed additional monies, and built an elaborate glass facility of his own. Naming it after the town, The Millersburg Glass Company began producing what was very high quality glass in 1909.

During the next couple of years, Millersburg Glass enjoyed great success adding dozens of new patterns. However by the end of 1911, John Fenton found himself in serious financial trouble with his creditors.

Having to declare bankruptcy, John Fenton sold the Millersburg Glass Company in 1911 and it was reopened as the Radium Glass Company. Just like John Fenton, the new owners were unable to make a go of it and they sold out in 1913 to the Jefferson Glass Company. Jefferson's tenure was also short lived and the factory closed up in 1919. So ended the existence of the Millersburg Glass Company and its glass molds, which had been passed to both the Radium and Jefferson Glass Companies as part of the purchase and sales agreements.

Although Millersburg Glass has been out of business for some 90 years it has in no way been forgotten. The beautiful glass they produced during those few short years lives on and is prized by collectors. Some of the rarest pieces they produced sell for thousands of dollars.

The Fenton Art Glass Company obviously did not suffer the same fate under the tutelage of Frank L. Fenton, who was very conservative and had a good head for business.

After the popularity of carnival/iridized glass waned, Fenton developed new lines such as hobnail glass, stretch glass and the well-known Depression glass of the 1920's and 1930's. The Depression Era took its toll on the Fenton Company as it did with so many others. However, rather than closing its doors, Fenton cut corners, cut wages and postponed factory improvements. The company also borrowed money anywhere it could and hung on as best it could.

Between the development of a line of mixing bowls for a special account and, believe it or not a cologne bottle, the Fenton Company got to keep its doors open and actually began to slowly prosper once again. Someone had brought in an old Hobb's cologne bottle hoping that Fenton could reproduce it for his wholesale business.

A buyer for Wrisley Cologne saw the finished bottle, which had been made in Fenton's hobnail pattern, and wanted it mass-produced for his cologne. It was so successful that Fenton had quite a difficult time trying to keep up with the demand for their now famous No. 289 bottle.

The setbacks suffered due to the Depression were now behind them but it was not the last setback the Fenton Glass Company would face.

When WWII broke out Fenton had to make adjustments because of mineral shortages as well as labor shortages. However, they surprisingly managed to grow their business during the war, which was most certainly not the case for many other businesses.

The next blow dealt to the Fenton Glass Company came in 1948 when they not only suffered the loss of Frank L. Fenton but his brother, Robert, as well. This threw Frank L. Fenton's two sons into the spotlight. Having two inexperienced people at the helm caused worry among some of their stockholders and those stockholders sold out. Wisely, the two young brothers quickly bought up this stock themselves.

With new blood in the company, new innovations took place and Frank's two sons, Frank Jr. and Wilmer, began to stray from their father's very conservative principals. They promoted their business, built new buildings, bought new updated equipment, many new lines were developed and a good size expansion was under way.

Although the company continued to experience some minor reversals of fortune, Fenton continued to grow and continued to enjoy many successes. In the late 1970's, Frank L. Fenton's son, Frank Jr., gave up his position of President to become Chairman of the Board, a job he held until his retirement in 1985. When this happened Frank's brother, Wilmer, gave up the presidency to Frank's son, George, took his brother's seat and continued on as Chairman of the Board.

For many years, Frank L. Fenton's sons lead what has become the most prominent hand made glass manufacturer enjoying worldwide recognition. The innovations and new strides in marketing continue to keep Fenton one step ahead of all the rest. A good example of this is the marketing venture between Fenton and QVC.

Today, the children of Frank Jr. and Wilmer run the company.

Written by Anne Benedetto, Auction House Talk
 All Rights Reserved

.