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L. E. Smith Glass Co. - Revival / Contemporary Carnival Glass

​A Brief History of L. E. Smith *

The Early Years


In 1907, Louis ("Lew") E. Smith and his associates founded the L.E. Smith Glass Co., at Jeannette, PA, where they leased the decorating plant of the McKee-Jeannette Glass Co. The Society for Historical Archaeology report that “Smith had been the manager of the McKee-Jeannette decorating establishment since 1906 and essentially continued in that position with the new corporation”. In 1909, the L.E. Smith Glass Co., of Jeannette, PA, purchased the Mt. Pleasant, PA plant of the Anchor Glass Co. (in a bankruptcy sale), which then re-opened under Smith in January 1910. 

In the early years production focused on making various lines of practical glassware for home and kitchen use - such as salt and pepper shakers, sherbet glasses, tumblers, beer glasses and mustard pots (even packing the pots with its own "German-style" mustard!). One of its early customers was the famous F. W. Woolworth retail chain. Smith branched out into many innovative areas of glassmaking, often with a practical, utilitarian slant. It is credited with making the first headlight lens for the Ford Motor's Model T automobiles, and subsequently developing non-glare headlights. Other innovations included the original glass coffee percolator domes, juice reamers and the vault lights seen on sidewalks.

Milk Glass represented one of their early - and very successful - products, which was a top seller over a long period of time.
Smith catalogue
Above: milk glass items in an extract from a Smith catalogue from around 1930. These moulds were re-used for Contemporary Carnival production - see the Swan and Dancing Ladies pictures in the Gallery.
Newspaper ad
A Smith ad in the ​Richmond Palladium, Indiana, December 1921

​* When we were researching for our second Schiffer book - A Century of Carnival Glass - we were in contact with many of the glassmaking companies around the world that were still in business at that time. L. E. Smith Glass Co. very kindly sent us some wonderful and fascinating material that included the L. E. Smith Story - as told in their own words. We have reproduced it in full here: The L. E. Smith Story.

Revival Carnival Glass Production

​In the 1950s-1960s, the business developed into decorative glassware. In the 1960s they experimented with iridescent ware and in January 1971 they went into production with Revival Carnival Glass with their first two items - John F Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln collector's plates. Each one was made in amethyst, and was originally limited to 2500 pieces, numbered on the base. Also in 1971, the company was purchased by Owens-Illinois, with Smith operating as a wholly owned subsidiary.

Glass labelled "Fayette" was also made by L.E. Smith. Our understanding is that the name was used c. 1960s to sell via discount outlets such as K-Mart. This enabled Smith to do that without compromising their established trade (as per research by Tom Felt). 

In 1985, Dorothy Taylor’s Carnival Glass Encore reported that Hank Opperman, president of L E Smith (and a one-time Imperial employee), stated that the company had “probably 100 to 200 moulds from Imperial.” Smith had also bought many moulds from McKee in the 1950s and, having used them over a long period of time, some were reused for Revival Carnival production. Examples of the reproductions from old Imperial moulds include the Windmill pitcher and tumblers, the 7” Windmill bowl (see right) and the 8” inch oval pickle dish, the Pansy pickle dish and the Open Rose / Lustre Rose bowl; most of these that have since been made by Smith are in red and cobalt Carnival.

​Interestingly, this means that Smith have produced re-issues of re-issues! (Imperial re-issued them in the 1960s and 1970s before they closed, and the moulds were later bought and re-used by Smith).
Picture
A Windmill bowl in red - a reproduction made by Smith from the Imperial mould. Marked with Smith's " S ". Seeck Auctions.
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​
Carnival Patterns and Colours

​
Carnival colours used by Smith have been amethyst / purple, red / amberina, pale pink, iridized crystal ​(called crystal lustre), green, amber and ice blue.
​
​Noticeably, red was a favourite Smith colour, but an information note issued in November 1988 by Rossos, the wholesale glass dealers, reported that Smith had been ordered by the Environmental Protection Agency to cease production of red glass until their furnaces had been renovated. The reason cited was that chemicals were being released into the air which were not permitted.

​The delightful miniature vase on the right is about 5 inches high, and the flower holder is centrally placed between the front and back of the horse. It has the whimsical name Carol's Sure Win!

Cherished Glass Wares (CGW - Mary Walrath / Walrath’s Limited Editions) saw the design in an old Smith catalogue, and Smith was able to locate the original mould.

​CGW obtained the rights to the mould and had it trademarked on the base with CGW in a heart shape. Smith then made it for CGW as an "exclusive" - initially in amber and in amberina in 1979, selling at $12.50 and $15 respectively.
Picture
 Carol's Sure Win in amber.
Picture
Green ​Hobstar Variant water set with Smith labels. The original McKee pattern, Valtec dates from c.1913. Seeck Auctions.
​
​Later the Carol's Sure Win vase was made in blue ("Mediterranean Blue") and crystal lustre.  Each colour was to be limited to 2000, but only only 840 were made in amber, 501 in amberina and 665 in blue. ​Smith also made other "exclusive" Carnival Glass items for Cherished Glass Wares, for example, an amberina Ohio Star vase, of which only 600 were actually released, and an amberina Daisy and Button vase, #4666 (limited to 314).

​​Two magnificent amethyst punch sets were manufactured by Smith in 1972: Inverted Feather and Hobstar (aka Hobstar and Feather) with eight matching cups, and the Grape and Vine (aka Heavy Grape) with twelve cups - see Gallery below. A white Hobstar punch set was made for Levay in 1976.​

Hobstar water sets in green, amber and white Carnival as well as red Moon and Stars items and several covered hen and turkey novelties are also typical Smith products (see Gallery below).

On the right is an unusual Smith item which is not often seen or recognised - it is their #65 Swan - shown here in purple, courtesy of Sandy McClintock. It is about 8 inches long, and it has a unusual base (see top row, far right).

​​It was also made in non-iridised colours such as the "Almond Nouveau Slag" colour, shown bottom row, far right, courtesy of Gail Ann Bradley.
Swan #65
Swan #65
Swan #65 base
Swan #65 slag glass

One design that Smith used for a range of shapes showed a clever use and reuse of their moulds - it was a pattern that they called Eagle and Federal Eagle, both names being used in c. 1960s Smith catalogues for a range of shapes and non-iridescent colours, shown below on the right.

In the 1970s when Smith started making Revival Carnival, the Eagle plate (#4500) featured in several of their Revival Carnival catalogues - see the Carnival catalogue section below, where the plate is shown in amethyst and gold/amber. Smith recognised that this same pattern was perfect for the USA Bicentennial, and they made it in several shapes, which they featured in amethyst, in their special "Bicentennial Collection" (also shown in the Carnival catalogue section below). Interestingly, Smith did not add the date of the Bicentennial to these pieces, presumably so that the moulds could be used again later if necessary.

A fascinating tumbler in crystal lustre appeared in our NetworK Facebook Group January 2025. The design seemed somehow familiar ... but what is it, and who made it? Glen turned to extensive records that had been bequeathed to us by our close and dear friend, Carnival Glass tumbler expert, the late Bob Smith of Boston (no relation to L. E. Smith!). It was a wise move, because there it was! 
Eagle / Federal Eagle tumbler, crystal lustre
Eagle / Federal Eagle tumbler #2, crystal lustre
Above: L. E Smith's Eagle / Federal Eagle tumbler in crystal Lustre.
Left: the image in our archives from the late Bob Smith, and
​right the picture posted in our Facebook Group, courtesy of Rachel Hopkins
Smith's Eagle line, 1960s
L. E. Smith catalogue, c. 1960s showing a range of pieces in their Eagle / Federal Eagle design, including 4 tumblers - all were in non-iridescent glass. ​Courtesy of Glass Paper Fanatics.

​Bob's is not perhaps the best image, but at that time, he only had limited digital technology available to record his fantastic tumbler collection (which sadly was removed from our control and broken up after his death). Nevertheless, the image was clear enough to identify the tumbler as L. E. Smith's Eagle/Federal Eagle in crystal lustre. Bob's picture of it is shown above, along with the one that appeared in our Facebook Group, shown thanks to and courtesy of Rachel Hopkins. The tumbler does not appear in Carnival in Smith's catalogues we have seen, although there are other shapes in this design.
​

Commemoratives and other limited "collector" editions were also produced by Smith.

​In 1977, they made the HOACGA red / amberina Good Luck hatpin holder shown here on the far right.

In 1980, five hundred Wine and Roses miniature water sets in ice blue opalescent were produced for 
Dorothy Taylor’s Encore.  The pitcher is marked on the base: "ENCORE CARNIVAL GLASS, K. C. MO., 1980.

The moulds for the miniature set (goblets and pitcher) were made in Cambridge, Ohio by Al Botson of Botson Machine Company.
Wine and Roses
Hatpin Holder
Smith's Marks
​
​All items at Smith were handmade, with most glass (but not all) being marked with their trademark letter S which also appears with tiny letters G and C within the curves of the S (right, courtesy of Dave Doty).

On the far right is Smith's " S " mark - this one is on the base of the Morgan Dollar plate, with the Limited Edition information for the plate, number 2723, 7-71 (July 1971).
L E Smith mark
S mark

​Smith's first two collector's plates, John F Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln, were released in 1971 in Limited Editions of 2500 each. They were popular and much in demand, and in 1971-72, Smith issued more Limited Edition plates, as below. The catalogue states that 5000 of each were to be made, but only 2000 of Lee and Davis and the full 5000 of the Morgan Dollar plates were made, after which the moulds were broken. The same open edge was used by Smith on an amethyst ICGA souvenir plate in 1973, that featured the club’s motif, the town pump (see picture in the Smith Gallery).
Picture
​Closure

In July 2004, a bank filed a federal suit against Smith Glass, claiming the manufacturer had defaulted on loans totalling $5.01 million, and in November 2004, court papers confirmed that judgement had been entered against Smith Glass. Glassmaking ceased on June 30, after 11th-hour talks to find a buyer collapsed, but a few weeks later, some glassworkers were rehired to try to keep the business going.

At the time, Smith’s customers were said to include Williams-Sonoma, and Martha Stewart Living. Smith’s products were seen in catalogues for Bloomingdale's, Spiegel, Restoration Hardware and Neiman-Marcus.

In January 2005, William A. Kelman, a Pittsburg businessman, bought the assets of Smith Glass including equipment, inventory, machinery and receivables. He formed a new company, Port Augustus Glass Co. LLC, which was named after a town in his native Scotland. The intention was to preserve nearly a century of glassmaking history at one of the last handmade glass factories in the USA, but ultimately it was not to be, and the business finally closed. (Source: C.M. Mortimer writing in the TRIBUNE-REVIEW, January 18, 2005).

​Smith's Revival Carnival catalogues.

Shown below are four catalogue pages of Smith's showing some of Smith's very extensive range of Revival Carnival Glass. They are small size "thumbnail" images - if you click on each one of them they link to full size, high resolution images.
L E Smith
Amethyst Carnival
​Click for Full Size Image

Picture
Ruby Carnival and
​Moon and Star

Click for Full Size Image

Picture
L. E. Smith 1988
​catalogue
Click for
Full Size Image
L E Smith
Gold / Amber and Crystal Carnival
Click for Full Size Image

L E Smith Ruby Carnival 1985
L. E. Smith 1985
Ruby Carnival ​catalogue
Click for Full Size Image

Picture
​Bicentennial Carnival Collection 1975-6
Click for Full Size Image
L E Smith
Green Carnival and collector's plates
Click for Full Size Image

L E Smith Cobalt Blue
L. E. Smith Cobalt Blue
​1986-7 catalogue
Click for Full Size Image


L. E. Smith Picture Gallery - click on any thumbnail to open a larger image.
Smith #388
#388 4" rose bowl, red. Courtesy Emily Cooley. See Note *
#3551
#3551 7" nappy, Woodrose Pink. Courtesy Cynthia Hampton Prince
Carols Sure Win
Carol's Sure Win toothpick, amber.
Corn Vase
Corn Vase, white. Seeck Auctions
Covered Duck
Covered Duck, pink. Burns Auctions
Covered Turkey
Covered Turkey (#207), amethyst. Seeck Auctions
Covered Turkey
Covered Turkey (#207), crystal lustre. Seeck Auctions
Eagle, Federal Eagle ashtray
Eagle/Federal Eagle/Bicentennial ashtray, purple. Burns Auctions
Eagle, Federal Eagle
Eagle/Federal Eagle tumbler, crystal lustre. Courtesy Rachel Hopkins
Daisy and Button
Daisy and Button vase, amberina. Seeck Auctions
Daisy and Button aka Rotec
Daisy and Button (OMN Rotec) punch set, teal. Burns Auctions
Dancing Ladies
Dancing Ladies planter, amberina. Seeck Auctions
Egg Candy
Covered Egg candy, crystal lustre, Smith marked. Arlene White Bianco
Good Luck
Good Luck / HOACGA hatpin holder, red/amberina
Grape and Vine
Grape and Vine punch set, amethyst. S marked. Seeck Auctions
Heritage
Heritage Series #520 comport, red. Ann Roberts Silverman
Heritage
Heritage series / Quintec basket, red. Seeck Auctions
Hobstar Variant
Hobstar Variant (Valtec) tumbler, amethyst
Hobstar Variant
Hobstar Variant (Valtec) water set, green. Seeck Auctions
Hobstar Variant (Valtec) water set, amber. Seeck Auctions
ICGA commemorative
ICGA commemorative plate, amethyst
Moon and Star
Moon and Star
Moon and Star
Moon and Star pitcher, ice blue. Burns Auctions
Moon and Stars
Moon and Star punch bowl / stand, ice green. Burns Auctions
Morgan Dollar
Morgan Dollar plate, amethyst
Ohio Star
Ohio Star (Nortec) vase, amberina. Seeck Auctions
Ohio Star
Ohio Star (Nortec), amethyst. Smith label. Seeck Auctions
Pinwheel and Hobstar
Pinwheel and Hobstar sugar and cream, amethyst. Burns Auctions
Pinwheel and Hobstar
Pinwheel and Hobstar butter, amethyst. Seeck Auctions
Robin
Robin water set, red. Seeck Auctions
#4732 aka Shell
#4732 basket (aka Shell), red. Seeck Auctions
Swans
Swan, 2 sizes, marigold. Courtesy Jerry and Carol Curtis
Tiger Lily
Tiger Lily pitcher, smoke. S marked. Seeck Auctions
Whirling Star
Whirling Star aka Galaxy **, punch set (metal stand). Seeck Auctions
Whirling Star
Whirling Star, red / amberina. Seeck Auctions
Windmill
Windmill bowl, red. Seeck Auctions

* L E Smith #388 pattern. Part of Smith's Heritage Line in the 1980s. It was made in crystal, as well as red and blue Carnival. It is an old United States Glass pattern - their No. 15124 - that collectors know by the Heacock name of "Omnibus" (OMN Keystone).
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** The Whirling Star punch set was also called Galaxy by L. E. Smith. It was originally a McKee pattern called Wiltec.
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