The Bridgeville Area Historical Society kicked off its 2026/2027 program series with an entertaining presentation by Kathy Grant on the “Duncan & Miller Glass Museum”. A docent at the museum, she deftly used a collection of twenty Duncan and Miller pieces to chronicle the evolution of the glass industry in western Pennsylvania, the history of the Duncan & Miller Glass Company, and the changes in what was considered fashionable during the time period 1874 – 1955, while at the same time illustrating the wide variety of tableware and patterns produced in that era.
The manufacture of glass in Pittsburgh began in 1797 when John O’Hara and Isaac Craig opened a glass works on the south side of the Monongahela River, close to “the Point”. The necessary raw materials – sand, potash, and limestone – combined with coal as an economical source of energy to give that area, eventually known as Birmingham, a major advantage in the industrialization of western Pennsylvania. In the early days, each piece of glass tableware was produced by glassblowers and any pattern required added by talented glasscutters, a labor-intensive process whose products could be afforded by only the wealthiest families. This method was eventually replaced by the cost-effective pressed glass process, which utilized reuseable molds to produce attractive patterns automatically. The first patent for a machine to produce pressed glass was issued to Pittsburgher John P. Bakewell in 1825. It was now possible for ordinary families to afford attractive glass tableware.
By the middle of the nineteenth century there were dozens of small glass companies on Pittsburgh’s South Side, including Ripley & Company, located at Tenth and Carson Streets. One of Ripley’s employees was George Duncan, an ambitious young man who eventually purchased the company in 1874 and renamed it eponymously for his family. Three years later he died and was succeeded by his son, James E. Duncan. Typical of the tableware produced by Duncan & Sons were two clear glass pieces that the speaker displayed – a spooner and a small rose bowl. The spooner, whose function was to hold tea spoons, was an inherent part of a matched three-piece set; the other two being a cream pitcher and a sugar bowl.
In 1891 Duncan & Sons joined a group of local glass companies in a merger known as the United States Glass Company. The association was short-lived when their plant was destroyed by fire in 1892. At this point James and Harry Duncan and key employee John Ernest Miller elected to leave U. S. Glass and found a new company in Washington, Pa. Miller had joined Duncan & Sons in 1874 and quickly become their principal pattern mold designer. The selection of Washington as a site for their new enterprise was aided by incentives from the community, including cheap natural gas and real estate for the plant and for houses for employees. The new plant was built along Jefferson Avenue, south of its intersection with Oakland Avenue. In 1900 the company was incorporated as Duncan & Miller.
During its existence, Duncan & Miller excelled in innovation and the production of unique items. A particularly interesting piece shown was a sugar sifter. It looked very much like an oversize saltshaker. The speaker explained that this item was a necessity in the late nineteenth century, when sugar was sold in solid pieces and had to be hand ground, then sieved through holes in the sifter to ensure the sugar was fine enough. This also was the era of the Arts and Crafts movement with its emphasis on simplicity; this was exemplified by an elegant footed compote in a pattern Duncan and Miller called “Colonial”.
Duncan & Miller was an early proponent of colored glass, beginning with the pastel shades that today we associate with the term “Depression glass”. The speaker illustrated this with a small canary colored (toothpick holder?) piece and reported that the color came from a trace of uranium dioxide. Current collectors identify uranium glass by shining ultraviolet light on questionable items to see if they fluoresce. Members of the audience commented that they knew that color as “Vaseline ”. She then displayed an attractive tumbler made of clear glass, with several brilliant ruby-red panels. It was produced by overlaying clear glass with a colored layer, then etching or sandblasting it to provide the desired pattern.
Duncan & Miller excelled in complicated shapes which required significant artwork by their workers. A good example was a lovely clear glass basket with a slender arching handle. Perhaps the piece for which they were most famous was the Pall Mall swan. The one she showed us had a red bowl for a body and a perfect long neck and head of clear glass. The Museum has an impressive collection of these swans in many different combinations of color. They also pioneered the use of opaque colors – cobalt, ebony, and ruby red – and of contemporary styles, as exemplified by a “Modern” tumbler in dark cobalt blue glass. Duncan & Miller operated productively until 1955 when the company was forced out of business by financial problems. Their molds and patterns were acquired by other firms who continued to produce Duncan & Miller reproductions until 1980.
The Duncan & Miller Museum, located at 100 Ridge Avenue in Washington, is open from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm, Thursday through Sunday, March through November. The docents there are knowledgeable and friendly. My daughter Sara and I had a delightful visit there recently and strongly recommend a visit.
Next month’s Historical Society program is scheduled for 7:30 pm Tuesday, October 27, 2026, in the Chartiers Room of the Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department, when Edd Hale will recount “The Great Castle Shannon Bank Robbery”.
P. S. A full-length video of the dramatic reading of our play “Interrogation” is now available on YouTube. Search for “Bridgeville Area Historical Society” and then scroll down to “Brackenridge”.