Pilgrim Glass

Capturing the classic style of the Victorian age, Pilgrim Glass Company enjoyed a 50-year legacy as one of America's most popular glass creators. Originating in Huntington, West Virginia, Pilgrim produced a remarkable array of lines from cranberry to cameo glass.

Established in 1949 by Alfred Knobler, a ceramist by training, Pilgrim developed an early following for their blown-glass objects. They were developed in a rich rainbow of colors and featured their iconic crackle treatment created by dipping a glass piece into frigid water and then rapidly heating it to high temperatures to yield the textured surface.

Creating an entire array of household wares from ashtrays to pitchers and in colors ranging from amber to tangerine, Pilgrim excelled. By the mid '50s, they expanded production into an even wider range of decorative objects, such as animal figurines. Pilgrim Glass also added a pair of Italian glass designers to their team: brothers Alessandro and Roberto Moretti. The Moretti brothers complemented the high glassmaking standards already in place in the Pilgrim production line.

Pilgrim continued this innovative spirit into the '80s, when they pioneered their own brand of cameo glass. Intricately carved with some featuring more than six layers of carved glass, these pieces, alongside the vast field of Pilgrim production, reinforce why the brand is one of the most celebrated.

Quick Facts

• The late '90s saw Pilgrim acquire the molds from the defunct Consolidated Glass company. They resumed production of some of Consolidated's popular Lalique Reproduction pieces
• Since the vast majority of Pilgrim pieces were mouth blown, the only sign of manufacture should be the remainder of the polished pontil scar on the piece's bottom. In rare cases, the original paper label remains as well
• Knobler was the singular owner of Pilgrim Glass for the entirety of the company’s existence. Unable to secure a buyer when he attempted to sell the company in 2002, Knobler simply shuttered his facilities and ceased production