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have given the Connecticut factories a run for their money. There
is speculation that Massachusetts had a Pitkin-type production
facility as well.
The style didn’t stop at the Eastern Seaboard. In the early 19th
century, improved conditions for domestic manufacturing and
government support encouraged craftsmen and glass factories to
spread westward, where they found great success in Pennsylvania
and Ohio. According to the Toledo Museum of Art, by 1840
there were eight well-established glass factories in Ohio, includ-
ing factories in Zanesville, the area best known for Midwestern
Pitkins from 1810-1830. Zanesville and others picked up the
Pitkin form and made it their own, maintaining the elaborate,
pattern molded swirled and vertical ribs people loved but adding
unique features to such an extent that collectors now categorize
Pitkins as either New England or Mid-Western Style. Rare blue Pitkin bottle, 1800-1850, A “J.P.F.” mold-blown inkwell,
not half post but put into a dip mold known from archaeological evidence
twice to achieve the pattern. to be a Pitkin product
Picking a Pitkin
Would you like to add a Pitkin flask to your collection? They
were typically produced in loose 1/2 pint and pint sizes, with
variations being rare. Pitkins most commonly appear in olive
amber and olive green but can show up in other colors, including
rare blue and amethyst examples that are particularly desirable.
If you are trying to identify the region of a flask, Michael
George notes that New England Pitkin flasks are lighter in weight
than their Mid-Atlantic or Midwestern siblings and tend towards
more of an “ovoid, elongated shape … [with] flattened sides and
sometimes pointed at the edges.” Midwestern and Mid-Atlantic
factories worked with different materials when making their glass,
resulting in heavier ribbed, brighter colored flasks. George notes
that the Midwestern flasks or globular bottles didn’t necessarily
employ the half-post method and were “heavier, rounder in form,
with tighter execution than the New England counterparts.”
New England Pitkins typically have tight ribbing with thirty-two
to thirty-six ribs, while Pennsylvania Pitkins primarily sport
sixteen or twenty ribs, and western examples tend towards
twenty-four, though don’t stress about the precision of these rib
counts. They can vary on occasion, to the delight of Pitkin
hunters searching out uncommon examples.
In Picking Pitkins!, Michael George suggests looking for some-
thing that first, is attractive, and second, has desirable and rare
traits. These include unusual shapes (such as round or bulbous Note the double layer, half-post method used to create these pieces. The Museum of
forms) or unusual rib counts or vibrant, rare colors. Sizes that are Connecticut Glass has some impressive examples of Pitkin-type glassware and actively pro-
smaller than 5” or over 7” are rare, as are long necks or applied moted their area’s interesting history with regular glass and bottle shows. Stay tuned for
lip treatments. Overall, however, finding a genuine Pitkin and future events involving Pitkin forms and their place in American and Connecticut history.
photo: Quiet Corner Glass, M. Opel 2017, Museum of Connecticut Glass
investing in one is an accomplishment in itself. There are limited
examples on the market, and their condition is key to overall value.
Collectors should look for pieces with a lack of wear on rib high
points and other edges. Rare Pitkins can sell for tens of thousands
of dollars at auction, but to purchase a standard example, expect to
pay $500 to $1,000.
If you’d rather not spend the money but still want to enjoy
that characteristic Pitkin swirl, you are in luck. Their beautiful
form has inspired reproductions, particularly in smaller styles
like inkwells, that can also be used as decorative vases or pleasing
shelf ornamentation.

While Pitkin
flasks are most
common, you
should also be Above: A miniature free-blown chestnut Check out the pattern on this Pitkin!
on the lookout flask, 1.8 inches high, side and bottom Known as “Popcorn,” this 1810-1830
for Midwestern views. This flask was excavated by middle Pitkin displays a pattern reminiscent of an
globular bottles school students working with Connecticut ear of corn, thus its colorful name.
that come in a State Archaeologist Nick Bellantoni at the
variety of colors.
Pitkin ruins, on May 14, 2003. This is truly a unique item, both in terms of its tiny size
photo: Michael George
and impeccable Pitkin attribution. It also seems to be extremely unusual to find intact
glassware actually on the site of an old glass factory. A 2012 article in the Manchester
Journal Inquirer recounts collectors at the time of the dig offering $5,000, and then
$20,000, for this odd little bottle, which has fortunately remained on public display.

24 2021 Annual Glass Section Journal of Antiques and Collectibles