Viking Glass
Viking Glass came to be after New Martinsville Glass went broke in the late 30's. In 1938 the company was sold to people associated with Silver City Glass Company of Meriden, Connecticut. The plant reopened as New Martinsville Glass Company for a short time. In June of 1944 the stockholders formed Viking Glass Company (due to the popular Scandinavian glass that was encroaching on the market), with crystal glass dominating its production during the war years. The Company launched a full-scale ad campaign promoting its patriotism with ads that boasted “Handmade in America” and “For use in American Homes.”
According to Dean Six in the book Mid-Century Glass in America, “Viking was one of the largest and most prolific producers of American glass that embodied the Mid-century Modern aesthetic.” The use of color in everything from fashion to home decor was on-trend and in demand. Capitalizing on the mid-century sense of style, Viking introduced a burst of color into its product lines in 1951, first with evergreen, amber, ebony, cobalt blue, sky blue, and ruby colors, and then in 1953 adding amethyst, charcoal, cherry glo, colonial blue harvest gold, and olive green to the mix. New colors continued to be added into the 1960s but by 1964, the Company had reduced the number of color choices from over 30 to seven: amberina, avocado green, bluenique, crystal, honey, persimmon, and ruby.
The largest product line for Viking was the Epic line (1956-1975), which contained the majority of Mid-Century Modern patterns and colors. Also included in this line was an entire set of Noah’s Ark animals, birds, and a variety of sculptural items both utilitarian and non-utilitarian. Other lines include the Flamenco line which featured a thick, heavy crystal making it more akin to European design; Tundra featured items that looked handmade but were actually pressed glass items that were then hand-tooled at the top to give each piece that hand-blown look; the Scroll line that was somewhat short-lived (1956-1962) and was more utilitarian in nature (items included a gravy boat and a mayonnaise bowl); and the Astra line that arrived just in time to go into orbit as Sputnik flew above the Earth.
By 1980 the company was struggling amid the recession. In 1984 when the company finally closed its doors, its assets were purchased by Kenneth B. Dalzell, the fourth generation of Dalzells at Fostoria glass, who re-named the company the Dalzell-Viking Glass Company. Dalzell tried to revive the firm with traditional pressed patterns (such as pinwheel and star) in popular 1990s colors like magenta, deep red, cobalt, and yellow. Several Fostoria molds were reintroduced as well, but the new lines couldn’t compete with cheap imports and more luxurious hand-blown glass, and in 1998 the Company closed its doors for good. Its demise ended a century of glassmaking tradition … but soon started collectors’ appreciation for Viking’s colorful molded glass.
