This exhibition showcased the amazing works of Mt. Washington and its successor, the Pairpoint Corporation, one of America’s longest-running luxury glass companies (1837-1957). Constantly reinventing and re-invigorating its business through creativity in texture, decoration, pattern, and color, the companies developed a variety of styles and decorating techniques which were so technically complex that few are practiced today.

The exhibition told the story of the companies as purveyors of innovative luxury items during the "Gilded Age,” a period of exuberant growth and prosperity in the United States. The exhibition featured more than 150 novel and creative glass styles from the 1880s to the 1930s including art glass, cut glass, kerosene and electric lamps, and highly decorative tableware.

Mt. Washington and Pairpoint glass rivaled Tiffany and Steuben in its heyday during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Characterized by innovation in style and technique, Mt. Washington’s art glass was highly successful commercially and helped cement the company as a leader in American art glass.

Mt. Washington’s lighting business, including gas chandeliers and decorated art glass and cut glass kerosene lamps, was central to their success in the late 19th century. With the invention of the light bulb and the rise of electricity, Pairpoint’s new and visually striking Electroliers became popular showcases for electric lighting and remained so for nearly 30 years. In the decade prior to the Great Depression, Pairpoint expanded its market offerings with highly-decorative tableware and lighting made of both colored and colorless transparent glass.

Mt. Washington and Pairpoint Style Guide