Corning Museum of Glass
The Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG), Corning, New York, is the world’s foremost institution for glass research, history, and art. Its Rakow Research Library — the largest art and reference library on glass in the world — holds trade catalogs, patents, company records, and industry publications that directly bear on H&H’s glass supplier chain for the Crystalvac jar (1932–1947+).
Research value for this project:
The Crystalvac jar passed through three suppliers: Three Rivers Glass Company (San Antonio, 1932–1936/37) → Ball Brothers Glass (acquired Three Rivers, 1936) → Owens-Illinois Glass (post-Ball, 1947+). The Rakow Library may hold:
- Ball Brothers Glass corporate records, trade catalogs, and acquisition documents (including the 1936 Three Rivers purchase)
- Owens-Illinois production records and container design patents
- Glass trade journals (Glass Industry, National Glass Budget, etc.) covering the 1930s–1940s Texas glass market
- Hartford-Empire Company patent licensing records (relevant to the 1946 antitrust suit Charles R. Tips brought as lead plaintiff)
Contact / access: cmog.org · Rakow Research Library: open to researchers by appointment. Remote research inquiries accepted.
Specific research targets:
- Three Rivers Glass Company (1922–1937, Three Rivers, Tex.) — founding records, plant capacity, and the 1936 Ball Brothers acquisition terms
- Crystalvac jar mold marks — Glass container mold-mark dating guides at the Rakow would help assign Ball-period vs. Owens-Illinois-period Crystalvac specimens
- Hartford-Empire licensing — Hartford-Empire controlled most vacuum-pack glass machinery patents; any H&H Crystalvac licensing agreement would pass through Hartford-Empire’s portfolio
- The Spice Mill / Tea & Coffee Trade Journal glass-equipment ads — the Rakow holds trade journals that may carry Crystalvac or Three Rivers trade advertising
See also: H and H Crystalvac · Three Rivers Glass Company · Ball Brothers Glass · Owens-Illinois Glass Company · Charles R. Tips