Brockway Glass Works

Most collectors of old glasses and glass bottles have heard of the name Brockway Glass.  This historical business originated in 1907 when it was known as the Brockway Machine Bottle Company.  It later changed its name to Brockway Glass.  It is well known for making glass with detailed designs.  I am fortunate to  be from that tiny corner of the state and to have lived in Brockway for a time and known some of the folks who worked at Brockway Glass during war years. The small items they have from the company and the stories they’ve told about the workmanship are just fascinating.

If you see an antique glass bottle that has the letter “B” with a circle around it, you may be looking at a bottle manufactured by Brockway Glass.  In 1925, the company introduced that mark.
Brockway glass has never been hesitant about promoting itself.  Colorful glasses in white, blue, and green with the famous large “B” logo can still be found.  They were produced in coordination with plant openings, anniversaries, and other special occasions.

You can see Brockway Glass’ famous American Concord pattern on old relish trays and in amber tumblers and goblet that were included free inside boxes of Duz detergent.  This pattern was popular in the 1960s and 1970s.  If you look for them, you can purchase them online.
In 1964, Brockway Glass Company won an anti-trust lawsuit against Continental Can.  One of the outcomes of the settlement required Continental Can to sell 6 of their Hazel-Atlas factories to Brockway.   The factories primarily made glass containers.  Once Brockway took over the 6 factories they became more powerful in the glass-making industry.

In the 1970s, Brockway Glass produced colorful character glasses for Pepsi.  You can still find glasses that contain popular Warner Brothers characters including Tweety, Bugs Bunny, and Daffy Duck.  These collectib  le glasses have the names “Pepsi” and “Warner Bros.” written in white on the side of the glass along with the year of 1973.  In 1976, Brockway glass produced a “super” series of glasses featuring popular DC Comics heroes such as Superman and Green Lantern.
Many glass collectors state they began their fascinating hobby thanks to the character glasses.  If you’re lucky enough to find some of these glasses at a yard sale, try to collect all of them.  Having a complete collection can be a challenge but it does give you important bragging rights.

Owens-Illinois bought out Brockway Glass in 1988. You can still find the glass today by looking for the Owens-Illinois indirect wholly-owned subsidiary Owens-Brockway Glass Container Inc.

Brockway Glass succeeded in capturing the imagination of glass collectors everywhere.  You can find attractive glasses which are fun to collect while not draining your pocketbook.  Discover Brockway Glass today!

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