Treasured American Glass

In 1902, the Viking Glass Company first opened its doors in New Martinsville, West Virginia. This small friendly city is nestled between the West Virginia and Ohio hills in the very heart of the Ohio Valley. Actually, New Martinsville is located in the Allegheny foothills, known as America's Little Switzerland.

Much has been written about the history and tradition of glassmaking. All companies existing today owe a great deal to the artisans and craftsmen of the past, who discovered the secrets of the fantastic process that fashions sand and metal into a glistening new material. No single company in this country or any other country can take credit for the general knowledge gathered through the centuries. For glassmaking was known in the time of the Egyptians and part of the glory Of Venice can be attributed to the reputation of its skilled glass craftsmen.

Tradition and heritage will always be an innate part of glassmaking. The subtle secrets of the past reach into the present to touch even the most ordinary glass bowl with romance and beauty, but the secret that has made Viking glass different has been an attitude rather than a method. For the Founders of Viking and those who followed have felt that good taste existed among all people, and they have honestly tried to create lovely glassware within the reach of all.

If Viking glassware is treasured, it is because the essential quality of the glass itself is there, and more than this that the designs themselves are pleasing and easy to live with, "wear well" when you see them day after day.

And although Viking is deeply appreciative of its heritage of glassmaking skill, it is even more aware of its obligation to the people whose taste it must satisfy and influence. Viking designers perform a dual job, on the one hand creating objects in glass that are readily acceptable to the great majority, and on the other hand, injecting enough of the new in design trends to be an influence for good taste in the American home.

It is our intention to carry on even greater experimentation in the realm of finer design at lower prices keeping faith with our public and our dealers in this fashion. Today Viking continues to search for new style ideas and glass-futures through channel we can discover. We would like you to think of Viking as a firm with an affectionate regard for tradition, but whose destiny is linked with the future.

And since a company is as great as its ideas and vision, it is well to remember that in sixty-two years Viking has grown from a tiny plant to a thriving business with a solid trade acceptance and a continuously growing demand established by national advertising. We know it will continue to grow in direct relation to the quality of its handmade glassware (pressed and blown)—plain, cut and etched, colored-tableware, novelties, gifts and specialties as well as private mould work. Viking will be treasured because Viking is lovingly created!

Reference: 1964 Viking Glass Company Catalog