The name Corning represents 150 years of quality engineering that spans a wide variety of items from collectibles and studio glass to high technology components, such as glass for our computer screens!

Specifically in 1970 their researchers discovered how to make communication fiber from silica and titanium. This was the product that transformed the company in modern times. Literally their products can now be found in industries as far ranging as optics to astronomy (including the world’s largest telescopes), to the tune of over 5 billion dollars a year in revenue.

Returning to less glossy beginnings, Corning Glass Works was established in the late 1800s in Corning, NY. It began with a small T-shaped plant that teamed up with a cut class company, Hoare & Dailey.

The partner company worked upstairs to sell completed pieces while the Corning Flint Glass works made blanks downstairs. From that day forward, Corning would reshape this town and the history of glass including making glass for Thomas Edison’s light bulb, heat resistant glass and pyrex dinnerware that’s nearly unbreakable.

For collectors, the company’s studio glass is among the most desired. These are beautiful, dimensional sculptures in glass what truly astounds.

Today studio artists continue this tradition within the walls of the Corning Glass Museum in Corning, New York. The excitement is palatable at the museum while artisans make items daily for visitors and also offer them a chance at hand blowing glass and other glass modalities.

The museum celebrates more than just Corning Glass, however, it is a standing collection of glass making both in books and in examples spanning every era.

Anyone who is thinking of collecting glass would do well to visit here someday for a more personalized understanding of the art. The center also features one of the world’s top glass making education centers, where students can gain first hand experience and education about many aspects about the craft of glass making.

Other collectibles include early pieces of anything marked Pyrex, since the material changed the way glass was used in the home.

For more information, just visit the Corning Glass Museum web site.