Fostoria Pine

When I posted about the new tea cart/bar a few days ago, I mentioned that I needed new wine glasses, and someone recommended that I give Fostoria a look on eBay. I remembered my grandmother having Fostoria stemware when I was a child, but that was the first time I had thought about it in years.

I was immediately taken with the Pine pattern and made an offer on three glasses. The seller accepted my offer, and the glasses arrived yesterday. As soon as I complete sets of wine and cordial glasses, I plan to start buying contour snack plates.  The Pine pattern, which was introduced in 1953, is a botanical etching which manages to have a tiny bit of starburst feel without really being "atomic."

The Fostoria Glass Company opened its doors for business in Fostoria, Ohio, on December 15, 1887, but soon moved to Moundsville, West Virginia, where gas and coal for the factory were more plentiful. During its first decade, the company made pressed glassware, but early in the 20th century Fostoria began to produce fine blown stemware. Soon afterwards, they began to manufacture complete crystal dinner services.

In 1924 the company raised the bar for the industry by starting a major national advertising program, which made them so well-known that they were commissioned to do custom work for officials in Washington, D.C. Fostoria provided glassware to every president from Eisenhower through the Reagan administration. 

The company was at its height in 1950, producing over 8 million pieces of glass that year, and was the largest maker of handmade glassware in the United States. However, foreign competition and failure to keep up with technological advances in their factory forced the company to close in 1986, after almost 100 years of glass making.

From fostoriaglass.org

My three Fostoria Pine glasses

Close-up of Fostoria Pine
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Fostoria Pine contour snack plate
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