Hemingray Glass Company - Muncie, Indiana

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CHIMNEY BUSINESS.

BY THOS. EVANS

The manufacture of lamp chimneys has received but little notice in the literature of glass making, although for more than one-third of a century it has occupied a prominent place in the front rank as a large contributor to the service of man.

Where and when the first lamp chimneys were made cannot be accurately stated. Ami Argand, of Paris, the inventor of the Argand burner, is said to have substituted glass for metal as a chimney for his famous lamp about or near the close of the eighteenth century.

It is probable that the glass chimney first used by Argand was of a cylindrical form, as the historical account of the Argand lamp states that subsequent experience suggested a shoulder or constriction in the chimney at a point a little above the level of the flame to improve combustion. From Argand's first effort sprang all the innumerable chimney shapes that have since engaged the attention of the lamp makers.

It appears, from what meager data we have on the subject, that chimneys continued to be used on both fixed and mineral oil lamps in a limited way, for in 1834 Young introduced his Vesta lamp for the use of spirits of turpentine, under the name of "camphine," on which he used the Argand burner, Liverpool button, and constricted chimney.

It is probable that about this time, or soon thereafter, the manufacture of lamp chimneys, in a limited way, was introduced in the United States factories. It is certain that as early as 1855 Mr. James McClatchey, Mr. John Wheeler and others, workmen in the employ of Bakewell, Pears, & Co., of Pittsburg, were engaged in making chimneys for the "Camphine" lamp, and it is probable the chimneys were among the line of manufacture of the other factories then in existence in the United States, among which we may note McKee Brothers of Pittsburg; Ledlie & Ulam, Pittsburg; Curling, Robertson & Co., Pittsburg (afterward Dithridge & Co., Pittsburg); Phillips & Best, Pittsburg; New England Glass Works, Boston; and the O'Hara Glass Works, Pittsburg. There were other flint glass works, distributed principally through the East, that occasionally may have made chimneys, but of those we have no accurate information. Of those old factories, nearly all have been dismantled long ago, and with their founders time has dealt as with them - they have long since turned to dust. All hail to their memory and peace to their ashes.

The method of production at that time, so far as the work of the labor is concerned, was nearly like that of the present day. The demand for chimneys was very limited and the output was made to correspond. I venture to say the aggregate production of all the factories in the United States at that time would not exceed the output of five pots of modern equipment and method. Within another decade the bowels of the earth were to belch forth a commodity that was to give opportunities for employment and stimulate the weak chimney industry to limits beyond the conception of the wildest imagination. Petroleum, the mineral that contributed so much to the prosperity of the United States, which probably had been noticed since the earliest time of history, had not in 1855 come into general commercial use on account of its scarcity. In this year it was refined and offered for sale in the city of Pittsburgh, but the quantity was so small as to scarcely influence trade. From this time on, however, the development of petroleum was prosecuted with vigor, so that in the early sixties there was ample supply for the market, which afforded cheap illuminating material. The effect of cheap oil for illumination stimulated the chimney industry, factories that had been working on chimneys in a limited way now doubled, trebled, or quadrupled their capacity, others that had not before made chimneys now entered upon their manufacture, and as profits prevailed at this time production increased enormously.

Between 1860 and 1870 the following factories were engaged to some extent in the manufacture of chimneys: New England Glass Works, Union Glass Works, Cape Cod Glass Works, and Mt. Washington Glass Works, Boston; J. K. Cummings and the Great Western Glass Works, St. Louis; C. Dorflinger and Francis Storm, New York; Hemingray Glass Co., Covington, Ky.; McKee Bros., Alex. King, Ripley & Co., Adams & Co., Pittsburg, (who I believe were the first to manufacture chimneys exclusively.), Dithridge & Co., Excelsior Flint Glass Co., Bennett & Co., Ledlie & Ulam, Bakewell, Pears & Co. (at which factory the writer received his first lesson in the glass business), Phillips & Best, Challinor, Hogan & Co., Reddick & Co., (which company was organized by the writer.), Benjamin Powers, Plunket & Co., Fahnestock, Fortune & Co., and the Bridgewater Glass Co., Pittsburg; Gillinder & Sons, and Rohrbacher & Horrman, Philadelphia

The daily output of these factories as near as I can estimate would amount to 9,000 dozen chimneys, or about twenty-two tons.

In the next ten years, 1870 to 1880, there is to be noticed the tendency of glass manufacturers to make a specialty of one or more lines, and equip themselves accordingly. It was during this period that the crimped top lamp chimney made its appearance, and Dithridge & Co. introduced a crimping machine which occasioned the twenty-five months' strike of the chimney blowers, during which time Challinor, Hogan & Co. and Thos. Evans Co. operated a plant in Chicago for the purpose of breaking the strike. It was during this period also that the craze for blue glass struck the country and held it for some few months.

Many changes took place during this period - some factories ceased making chimneys and took up other lines, others abandoned other lines and took up chimneys, others again increased their capacity and finally the following concerns took up the manufacture of lamp chimneys: E. de La Chapelle & Co., J. N. Huwer, N. Dannenhoffer, and Mayer Brothers,   Brooklyn, N. Y.; South Boston Glass Co. and the Suffolk Glass Works,   Boston, Mass.; Buckeye Glass Co.,   Martin's Ferry, O.; Rodefer Bros., and the Star Glass Works,   Bellaire, O.; Sweeney & Co.,   Wheeling, W. Va.; Gill Bros. & Co.,   Steubenville, O.; Gill & Co.,   Philadelphia, Pa.; Geo. A. Macbeth Co., Challinor, Hogan & Co., Thos. Evans Co., Duquesne Glass Co., Lindsay Glass Co., and the Phoenix Glass Co.,   Pittsburg, Pa.

The daily production of this period approximated 19,000 dozens, or about forty-seven tons.

From 1880 to 1890 the production reached its highest point. While some of the old factories gave up their existence, or ceased to manufacture chimneys, others increased their capacity, besides, new factories sprang up, among the latter the following: C. Newman, San Francisco, Cal.; Atlanta Glass Co., Atlanta, Ga.; Smith Bros., Harlem, N. Y.,; Enterprise Glass Co., Ravenna, O.; Joseph Doyle & Sons, Monaca, Pa.; Crown Glass Co., Ravenna, O.; J. J. Murray, Philadelphia, Pa.; Penn Glass Co., Pittsburg, Pa.; Buena Vista Glass Co., Richmond, Va.; Braddock Glass Co., Rankin, Pa.; Minneapolis Glass Co., Minneapolis, Minn.

The daily production between 1880 and 1890 reached about 40,000 dozens, or about one hundred and two tons.

We have now reached the last period with which this paper has to deal - 1890 to 1901. Changes still occur - old firms have dropped out and new ones have taken their places, but it must be noticed that the number dropping out far exceeds the number coming in. Among the new factories of this period - 1890 to 1901 - are the American Lamp Chimney Co., Toledo, O.; Lippincott Glass Co., Alexandria, Ind.; W. R. McCloy Glass Co., Elwood, Ind.; Marietta Glass Co., Red Key, Ind.; Crystal Monument Co., Arcadia, Ind.; Kaufield Glass Co. and Indiana Lead Glass Co., Matthews, Ind.

The daily production of this period, figured on the same basis as the preceding periods, would amount to 37,500 dozens, or about ninety three tons.

Near the close of this period an automatic machine for blowing chimneys was introduced by the American Lamp Chimney Co. of Toledo, Ohio, and created much excitement in the trade. By many it was feared that the introduction of the machine would destroy the trade, others made light of the machine and seemed to think it could not be made a commercial success. To prevent the demoralization of the trade, the present Macbeth-Evans Glass Co. was formed to purchase the machine. Since the purchase of the machine in 1899, up until the present time, this company has continued to operate it with results beyond the most sanguine expectation.

From an insignificant beginning in 1855 the chimney business reached its greatest point of activity between 1880 and 1890, and then began to move backward between 1890 and 1901. There are only a few houses left in the trade to-day. Of the many houses engaged in the business 20 years ago, only seven now remain. There are a few out-side of this number, but the indications are that the present total number of factories manufacturing chimneys cannot long continue.

New conditions are arising, which move with such rapidity in the changes they work that sometimes some manufacturers are left far behind in the race before they become fully aware of what is going on around them. New illuminations have been introduced, making new requirements on the trade, and changing the whole course of business, and other conditions are imminent. If they work as many changes as those already upon us, no one can predict what the end will be.

Read before the American Association of Flint and Lime Glass Manufacturers at its annual meeting, July 19, 1901.