A producer of hand-blown glass since 1893, Blenko Glass is currently headquartered in Milton, West Virginia, where it has operated since 1921. Among its many illustrious projects are the stained-glass windows it produced for St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Washington National Cathedral. Blenko is known today for the brilliant colors of its glass vases, decanters and other vessels and objects — particularly those produced in the 1950s and ’60s — which range from jewel-like blues and greens to brilliant reds and yellows.
The company was founded by William J. Blenko, an English immigrant who was apprenticed to a glassmaker in his native London as a young man. Blenko developed expertise in the production of rondels, the round panes used in stained glass windows.
Blenko's interest in the potential of natural gas to fire glass furnaces led him to Milton, where abundant reserves of the fuel had attracted a pool of skilled glassblowers. Under the name Eureka Glass, his company began making window glass in 1923, and in 1925, he was joined in the business by his son, William H. Blenko.
When the Great Depression quelled demand for stained glass, William J. Blenko brought local Milton glassblowers into the company to begin producing stemware and tableware, products for which the company, which changed its name to Blenko in 1930, is now best known.
Up until the end of World War II, Blenko’s tableware designs were fairly straightforward, and they sold well at American department stores such as Gump’s, in San Francisco. The company was also commissioned in 1930 to produce a line of reproductions for Colonial Williamsburg.
In 1947, the company hired as its art director Winslow Anderson, who introduced artful, fanciful and modern vessels and objects in vibrant colors. This began what collectors refer to as Blenko’s “historic period.” A number of Anderson’s designs were honored by the Museum of Modern Art’s Good Design Awards in 1950, and throughout the 1950s and ‘60s, the company enjoyed robust sales and critical acclaim. The forms Blenko produced during this period followed the contemporary vogue for biomorphism, or organic modernism, which favored rounded and fluid shapes inspired by nature.
One of Blenko’s most influential designers, Wayne Husted, who was active from 1953 to ’63, is credited with aligning Blenko’s products with the prevailing mid-century modern aesthetic by pushing the envelope on both form and color, particularly in his wedge-cut and Spool decanters and his Echoes series.
Joel Philip Myers, who designed for Blenko in the 1960s, brought a sense of whimsy and visual excess to the product line, in keeping with the psychedelic look favored during the period.
Blenko Glass still produces many of its classic designs in items ranging from stemware and tableware to decorative objects and ornamental decanters.
Among collectors, pieces created under Husted’s creative direction are of special interest. The company has come to the attention of younger audiences through the documentaries Blenko: Hearts of Glass and Blenko Retro: Three Designers of American Glass, both of which aired on PBS. Blenko also designed the glass award trophy for the Country Music Awards.
Find vintage Blenko glass for sale on 1stDibs.
$750Sale Price|40% Off
Blenko Glass Punch Bowls and Glasses with Service for Six
By Blenko Glass
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Beautiful Blenko Glass punch bowls and drinking glasses with service for six. Hand blown green glass with myriad shades and nuance of hues. In good original condition with all the ha...
Blown Glass
Six Silver Plate Service Chargers Ribbon and Reed Border England
Located in Montreal, QC
Whether you are setting your table for a formal or informal occasion, service plates offer the hostess an opportunity to set the atmosphere for the decor of the table with timeless e...
Silver Plate
$260Sale Price|43% Off
H 14.97 in W 4.34 in D 0.2 in
19th Century Silver And Wood Soup Or Punch Bowl Ladle
Located in Copenhagen, K
Very nice silver soup or punch bowl ladle with wood handle.
Silver
Set of Six Early Victorian Cut and Engraved Wine Glasses
Located in Steyning, West sussex
A set of early Victorian green wine glasses on plain foot with unusual facet cut stems supporting a flute cut bowl with engraved fruit and vine.
Cut Glass
$103
H 3.15 in W 5.91 in D 5.91 in
Vintage Transparent Decorative Glass Flower Bowls, Drost, Europe, 1960s
By Jan Sylwester Drost
Located in 05-080 Hornowek, PL
Pair of decorative transparent basket bowls designed by Jan Sylwester Drost in 1960s from Poland. Bowls are in very good vintage condition, no damage or cracks. Original glass. Beautiful piece for every interior! Only one unique set. About the designer: From 1952 Jan Sylwester Drost studied at the Faculty of Glass of the State Higher School of Fine Arts in Wroclaw, in the studio of Stanislaw Dawski (diploma in 1958), from 1959 he worked as a designer at Zaklady Mechaniczno-Optyczne "Opta" in Katowice. In 1960 Drost started working for forty years at the Design Center of Huta Szkla Gospodarczego "Zabkowice" in Zabkowice Bedzinskie, where he was the organizer, designer and design manager. In 1972 he studied in Sweden, he had the opportunity to learn about the work of glassworks in Orrefors, Johansfors, Lindshammar, Sandvisk, Hofmantorp and in Reijmyre glasbruk. He also practiced in the ceramics factories in Rörstrand and Gustavsberg. Also in 1972, he received a scholarship from the Swedish government, he gained knowledge at the Faculty of Industrial Design of the Academy of Fine Arts in Konstfackskolan, at the Centers of Industrial Design in Stockholm and Milan, as well as at the Glass Institute in Växjö. After returning to Poland, he received a two-year creative scholarship from the Council of the Fund for the Development of Artistic Creativity. Drost skillfully combined his technological knowledge of glass pressing with artistic sensitivity, and in the seventies he was granted a patent for a device for forming glass products by extrusion. As a result, vessels with a freely shaped upper rim were created. Drost was constantly involved in coming up with new technological solutions that improved the embossing of patterns. He also experimented in the field of machine processing of the outer surface of the extruder and the inside of the cast iron mold...
Ceramic, Glass
$1,604 / set
H 3.75 in Dm 11.23 in
1960s Majolica Glazed Ceramic Cabbage Serving Set, Platter and Six Bowls
Located in Barcelona, ES
Salad or Fruit serving set cabbage design. Portugal, 1960s. One of a kind set of 6 Majolica ceramic cabbage leaf dishes and a large cabbage centerpiece bowl. Very realistic design in...
Majolica, Pottery, Ceramic
$337
H 2.76 in W 18.31 in D 10.04 in
Vintage Danish Teak Tray with Glass Bowls by Jens Harald Quistgaard, 1960s
By Dansk, Jens Quistgaard
Located in Asaa, DK
Scandinavian Mid-Century Modern teak tray with glass bowls by Jens Harald Quistgaard for IHQ Dansk Designs, 1960s. Serving tray in solid teak with six green glass dishes. Each dish has feet that fits into the lattice on the tray. Length 46.5 cm. Marked JHQ Dansk Designs...
Glass, Teak
$68 / set
H 1.19 in Dm 6.3 in
Pair of Vintage Light Purple Decorative Glass Plates, Bowls, Italy, 1960s
Located in 05-080 Hornowek, PL
Beautiful decorative light purple glass plates/bowls from Italy. Plates are in very good vintage condition, no damage or cracks. Original glass. Uni...
Ceramic, Glass
Six Silver Plate Service Chargers Ribbon and Reed Border England
Located in Montreal, QC
Whether you are setting your table for a formal or informal occasion, service plates offer the hostess an opportunity to set the atmosphere for the decor of the table with timeless e...
Silver Plate
$1,000Sale Price|20% Off
H 10 in Dm 12 in
1950s Herbert Krenchel Colorful Krenit Serving Bowls Set of Six Denmark
By Herbert Krenchel
Located in Chula Vista, CA
AMBIANIC presents 1950s Herbert Krenchel Colorful Enamel Serving Bowls Set of Six Denmark. No label remains. Ghost label visible on one bowl. Copper e...
Copper, Enamel, Iron
Six Silver Plate Service Chargers Gadroon Border England
Located in Montreal, QC
Simply Beautiful! Whether you are setting your table for a formal or informal occasion, Service Plates offer the hostess an opportunity to set the atmosphere for the decor of the table with Timeless Elegance. These stunning under plates are always larger than the dinnerware that will be set on top of them, framing your culinary delights! Six Silver Plate Service Chargers...
Silver Plate
$280 / set
H 1.25 in W 11.75 in D 3.5 in
Set of Six Finger Food Bowls and a Serving Bowl, Shape as Leaf, Vintage German
By Edelstein
Located in Nuernberg, DE
A set of 6 small finger food bowls in the shape of a leaf and a serving bowl. Made from porcelain in the 1960's by "Edelstein Bavaria". A beautiful set to serve your guests small del...
Porcelain
Spanish Ceramic Fish Bowls and Rattan Tray Snacks Set
Located in Barcelona, ES
Eye-catching set of 4 small fish shaped bowls on a rattan serving tray, Spain, 1950s The set is comprised by: 4 colorful hand-painted ceramic fish dishes 1 hand-woven rattan basket ...
Ceramic, Majolica, Wicker, Rattan