 | |
| Formerly | Bakewell & Ensell Benjamin Bakewell & Co. Bakewell, Page & Bakewell Bakewell, Page & Bakewells Bakewells & Anderson Bakewells & Co. Bakewell & Pears |
|---|---|
| Company type | Partnership |
| Industry | Glassware |
| Founded | 1808 |
| Founder | Benjamin Bakewell, Benjamin Page, Edward Ensell |
| Defunct | 1882 |
| Fate | closed and factory site sold |
| Headquarters | Water and Grant streets (1808-1854); Bingham Street (1854-1888), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Key people | Benjamin Bakewell, Thomas Bakewell, John Palmer Pears |
| Products | blown and pressed glassware, including lead crystal with cutting and engraving |
| Revenue | $150,000 (1877) (equivalent to $4,291,875 in 2023) |
Number of employees | 125 (1877) |
Bakewell, Pears and Company was Pittsburgh's best known glass manufacturer. The company was most famous for its lead crystal glass, which was often decorated by cutting or engraving. It also made window glass, bottles, and lamps. The company was one of the first American glass manufacturers to produce glass using mechanical pressing. In the 1820s and 1830s, Bakewell glassware was purchased for the White House by presidents James Monroe and Andrew Jackson. Founder Benjamin Bakewell is considered by some to be father of the crystal glassware business in the United States.
The company was founded in 1808 by Benjamin Bakewell, Benjamin Page, Robert Kinder and Company represented by Thomas Kinder, and Edward Ensell. The original company name was Bakewell and Ensell, and the factory was called the Pittsburgh Flint Glass Manufactory. The company had nine different names through its lifetime, which typically changed when principals in the partnership changed. The name Bakewell was used in all nine names. Bakewell family members, as well as members of the Page and Pears families were involved with the company. The name Bakewell, Pears and Company was used for the longest period, 1844 through 1880. The glass works was closed in 1882, and the facility was sold to a wire manufacturer.
English businessman Benjamin Bakewell recruited skilled English glassworkers that enabled the company to become well known for its glass cutting and engraving. Some of the company's local workers became skilled enough to start their own glass companies. Among those glass men were John Adams (Adams & Company), James Seaman Atterbury (Atterbury & Company), James Bryce (Bryce Brothers), David Challinor (Challinor Taylor), and William McCully (McCully and Company). Pittsburgh became the nation's glassmaking center by the 1850s. Its location provided access to river transportation, coal for fuel, and good quality sand.