Stained Glass Since 1888 – Kokomo Opalescent Glass Company

Restoring the dome at the Chicago Public Library

Free Land, Free Natural Gas, and A Deal Is Struck

Today, Kokomo Opalescent Glass is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of art glass. It has worldwide distribution and a strong commitment to research, education, and promoting the rich heritage and long-standing tradition of American glass art. Renowned for its vibrant colors, creative textures, and opalescence, Kokomo Opalescent Glass’s reputation is well-deserved. The story of their humble beginning is itself fascinating.

Founder Charles Edward Henry was an expert glass chemist who formed the Henry Art Glass in New Rochelle, New York, in 1883. Henry Art Glass made glass buttons, novelties, and opalescent glass rods. While producing these products, Henry met many glass artists in the New York area, including the world-renowned glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany. Henry heard about the gas boom in Central Indiana and stopped by Kokomo while returning from a business trip to Chicago. On April 27, 1888, the same day he arrived in Kokomo, he met with officials about establishing a glass factory. He made an agreement with local officials to build a glass factory in exchange for a free parcel of land on which to build the factory and free natural gas with which to fire his furnaces.

Production started at Opalescent Glass Works’ new factory on November 13, 1888. The primary products were sheet glass and electric insulators made for Edison General Electric. On November 16, 1888, just three days after opening the factory, one of the first shipments of sheet glass went to Tiffany. The shipment included 600 pounds of blue and white opalescent glass, which was the beginning of a strong relationship with the artist.

Tiffany Studios New York, established in 1880 by Louis Comfort Tiffany, was a decorative arts company best known for its glass windows, lamps, mosaic installations, and luxury items, such as desk sets, using multi-colored, textured, iridescent glass to create a unique type of stained glass. By 1893, the Tiffany Glass Furnaces, as it was known at the time, created a blown glass called Favrile glass, a signature construction for glass in a remarkable amount of designs. In 1895, Tiffany Studios New York began producing their renowned and highly collectible handmade stained-glass lamps featuring the use of mosaics.

By 1888, when Kokomo Opalescent Glass Company (KOG) opened its doors for business, Tiffany was seeking something new and exciting in his glass. He desired new colors and textures that no other company could produce, and he found them with Kokomo Opalescent Glass. This opened up an entirely new world for stained glass, and Tiffany became KOG’s largest customer for the next three decades.

Louis Comfort Tiffany was a major customer of Kokomo Opalescent Glass, buying glass from the company in the late 19th century

• Tiffany was a major customer for the first 20–30 years, buying tens of thousands of pounds of glass. In 1893 alone, he purchased over 10,000 pounds. 
•  Tiffany’s use of vibrant colors and textures and preference for imperfections in the glass influenced Kokomo Opalescent Glass’s style. 
• Kokomo Opalescent Glass still uses the same rolling machines and techniques that were used to make Tiffany’s glass. 
• Tiffany purchased large quantities of Catspaw heavily textured glass, which is still produced today on the original tables used to make Tiffany’s glass. 
• The natural gas is no longer free – far from it. The gas bill is about $1,000/day
• The daily factory tour starts at 11:00 am and lasts an hour (or so). At $6 per head, it is the best $6 you can spend.

The original office

Beehive Furnace

Video is 6:17

Opalescent Glass

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