The John B. Higbee Glass Company is a small, but important part of Bridgeville’s heritage. Some of the very first artifacts collected by the Bridgeville Area Historical Society two decades ago were pieces of Higbee tableware. As the years passed our collection grew slowly. Three years ago, in an effort to generate an interest in Higbee Glass, I published a column reporting the initiation of the J. B. Higbee International Glass Collectors Association (JBHIGCA) and drafted all the members of my extended family into the association. My ineffectiveness exploiting social media has been confirmed by the underwhelming response to this opportunity. A post on the Early American Pattern Glass Society Facebook page did produce several much-appreciated donations. In the ensuing years we did receive two requests for identification of specific pieces. Then, a week ago, we received a delightful email from a dedicated collector that made it all worthwhile.
This lady lives in North Carolina and has been infatuated with Delta pattern Higbee glassware for nearly seven decades. The Delta pattern was introduced in 1911 and is characterized by a prominent thistle design; many uninformed collectors call the pattern “paneled thistle”. Eight years ago, representing the Historical Society, I gave a talk on Higbee Glass to a meeting of the Three Rivers Depression Era Glass Collectors Society, assuming they would know very little about collectibles from the earlier Pattern Glass era. I was pleased (and embarrassed) to learn that some of them knew far more about Higbee glass than I did. It was then I learned the story of the Delta pattern. In 1911 Andrew Carnegie commissioned Higbee Glass to design and manufacture a special pattern in honor of Carnegie Institute of Technology, focused on Scotland’s national flower, the thistle. The result was so attractive that it became Higbee’s 1911 pattern, an impressive successor to Alfa (1908), Banner (1909), and Colonial (1910). Since “Thistle” didn’t begin with a “D”, Ollie Higbee named the pattern Delta, much to Carnegie’s dismay.
Our correspondent reported that her mother (ten years old at the time) had acquired her first Delta piece in 1930. It was the beginning of a small collection which she passed on to her thirteen year old daughter in 1956. Her first addition was a large fluted bowl that she “scored” at an outdoor church auction. Hooked for life, she has continued to add Delta pieces to a collection that currently numbers “several dozens” and is displayed in an antique cabinet in the foyer of her home “kept behind the curved glass, and hand washed, gently, once a year.” She reported that a Higbee Fortuna pattern pitcher sits atop the cabinet, “lovely, indeed, but not worthy of the protection I offer to my beloved Delta.” Her biggest disappointment is the fact that she has been unable to find a stopper for her cruet (a common complaint of us glass collectors).
Unfortunately, no one in her family has any interest in any of the pieces, let alone a desire to retain the collection intact. She would like to find a “person or public entity with the means and ability to preserve, care for, and display them in a proper setting.” It is easy for us to be sympathetic with her dilemma and to want to help her find a solution. I personally am interested in the concept of specializing on one specific Higbee pattern. Our collection is completely random, with a preference for unique items and for different patterns. Perhaps we should focus on a specific piece, an 8” bowl for example, and collect one from each of Higbee’s patterns.
All of which has reminded me that I haven’t been keeping up with the availability of Higbee pieces on the Internet. I had committed to following Higbee glass on eBay and bidding on any affordable pieces that aren’t duplicates of those the Society already has. It had been several months since my last check, and sure enough, there appeared to be a brand new set of items available, most of which turned out to be reproductions (lacking the distinctive bumblebee trademark). We know that the Higbee pattern moulds were sold to several other companies when Ollie Higbee sold “the Glass House” to General Electric in 1918, for the production of light bulbs.
A review of the history of the John B. Higbee Glass Company is appropriate. Mr. Higbee was a resident of Upper St. Clair; his family’s farm was in the vicinity of Mitchell’s Corner. In 1879 he partnered with two Bryce Brothers to found Bryce, Higbee, and Company and to construct a glass plant in Homestead (believed to be that community’s first industrial firm). The company prospered, producing and selling pattern glass tableware until 1906. On April 16 of that year, plant superintendent Charles Bryce was accused of embezzling money from the company; the resulting civil suit resulted in his being fined $22,850. John B. Higbee died on December 9, 1906, leaving a major void in the management structure, resulting in a temporary shutdown of the Homestead plant. On March 15, 1907, “the Monongahela River reached the highest point in local history”, causing massive damage to the plant.
At this point a group of management personnel, led by Mr. Higbee’s son, Orlando (Ollie), incorporated a new firm with $50,000 assets, acquired an (eleven acres) industrial site in Collier Township from the Bridgeville Industrial Development Corporation (C. P. Mayer), and began construction of a new glass plant, with two large furnaces. By 1908 they were producing their first line of tableware (Alfa). The plant flourished through 1918 when it was acquired by General Electric.
Collecting Higbee glassware is an ideal hobby. There are still numerous pieces in circulation, the pieces are attractive and functional, the tie to Bridgeville is special, and the presence of the bumblebee trademark is unique. It is a real treat to connect with another avid Higbee collector. We hope she can find a home for her collection.