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Richards & Hartley Glass Company

1865-1891

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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According to Welker, (1985), in 1866 the lease for the property in Pittsburgh for the firm of “Richards & Hartley Flint Glass Co.” was recorded by founders John Wilson, Joseph Richards and William T. Hartley. It was located on Locust St. in Pittsburgh, PA. In 1883 the factory moved to Tarentum PA, 22 miles northeast from downtown Pittsburgh along the Allegheny River where the owners struck gas on the property on which they had just bought the gas rights. The new plant was operational and on line in October of 1884. The Pittsburgh plant was sold at auction. The new company’s name was changed to “Richards & Hartley Glass Company” because the glass produced had been and was non-flint.

By the 1890s the market was ready for consolidation because of:

the low margins due to high raw material cost and scarcity,
aging of plants,
the market saturation by patterns introduced two decades before and the need to develop new patterns,
the opportunity for cost reduction by combining duplicative functions, services and management among plants, and
labor demands and strikes particularly around quality output quotas.

On February 9, 1891, the New York Times reported on the founding of a company, US Glass Company which included seventeen acquired factories. This merger included Richards & Hartley which was designated by the letter E. In 1893 the plant was closed because of deteriorating operations including labor problems. In 1894 the Richards & Hartley plant (USGCo E) was sold.