American Pilgrim Glass Signed Kelsey, Green Leaves Vase. Unique cascading effect using cameo glass techniques all around the exterior, with a narrow throat and a wide mouth over the apple-shaped body. Signed along the edge of the flat round base and dated 1997. 

Size: 7 1/2 x 7 1/2 x 9 1/2 in. 

During the Great Depression Alfred Knobler graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute with a degree in ceramic engineering, and went to work as a salesman for Trenton Potteries in New Jersey. One of his suppliers was Tri-State Glass Manufacturing Company in Huntington, West Virginia, whose owner, Walter Bailey, began to have trouble getting enough natural gas in the wintertime to run his kilns. Knobler struck a deal with him by convincing Columbia Gas to extend a larger pipeline to the company, and in 1949 the Pilgrim Glass Corporation was established in the former Tri-State facility. Knobler took over operations completely a year later, and relocated the factory to nearby Ceredo in 1956 with a sales office in New Jersey. During the early years, Pilgrim’s main product was hand-blown crackle glass in a variety of colors, similar to works at nearby Blenko Glass. The onion-skin or crackle effect was achieved by immersing the hot piece in cold water and then reheating it. In the mid-1950s two brothers from Italy, Alessandro and Roberto Moretti, came to work at Pilgrim, and their off-hand novelties quickly evolved into an extremely successful series of glass animals. After Alessandro (known as Sandy) retired and Roberto died, their brother-in-law Mario Sandon continued to create glass animals and other sculptures until the plant closed. In 1968, plant manager Karel Konrad introduced cranberry glass, and the company became the largest producer of cranberry glass in the world. From the mid 1980s onward cameo glass was produced at Pilgrim under the supervision of Kelsey Murphy and Robert Bomkamp. The Pilgrim Glass Company closed for good in 2002 when the aging Knobler was unable to find a purchaser before his death.

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