It is believed that the first glass vessels were produced about 1500 B.C. in Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Early glassmaking was slow and costly and glass items were considered as
valuable as jewels. Only priests and ruling classes could afford them. By about 30 B.C., the blowpipe was invented along the Eastern Mediterranean coast, making glass available to everyone.
Glassblowing began to spread
throughout Europe with new innovations. For example, during the Middle Ages, Venetian glass blowers perfected a glass known as Cristallo, a nearly colorless transparent glass, which could be blown to extreme thinness in almost any shape.
In America, the glass-making industry was established in 1739, but the height of the glassblowing trade began in the 1800’s. Medicine industries used large numbers of bottles, commercial food packers used glass as containers and glass jars for home canning became
popular as well.
After 1890, machinery was developed for continuous glass manufacturing.
Today, artists continue to create
beautiful glassblown creations by hand.
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