The Ward M. Canaday Center

for Special Collections

The University of Toledo

Finding Aid

Carl U. Fauster Collection, 1893-1986

MSS-068

 

Size: 1 linear ft.

Provenance: The Carl U. Fauster Collection was donated to the Ward M. Canaday Center 19 September 1988

Access: Open

Related Collections:

Copyright: Permission to quote from published or unpublished portions of the manuscript or proofs of Libbey Glass Since 1818 must be obtained in writing from the donor. The literary rights to this collection are assumed to rest with the person(s) responsible for the production of the particular items within the collection, or with their heirs or assigns.  Researchers bear full legal responsibility for the acquisition to publish from any part of said collection per Title 17, United States Code.  The Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections may reserve the right to intervene as intermediary at its own discretion.

Completed by: Processed by April S. Dougal, November 1990

Reformatted: Arjun Sabharwal, October 2009

Introduction

 

The Carl U. Fauster Collection includes manuscripts of Fauster’s Libbey Glass Since 1818: Pictorial History & Collector’s Guide (1979) as well as papers, publications, and photographic material pertaining to the research and publication of that work.  Fauster is widely known as a collector of Libbey Glass products, especially of the cut glass variety.

There are no restrictions on access to the Carl U. Fauster Collection.

[See also LOF (MSS 066) for videotape of Fauster’s glass collection]

 

Biographical Sketch*

Carl U. Fauster was born in Toledo Ohio and has lived most of his life here.  He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1929 and began his career in the glass industry in 1930.  He was hired by Owens-Illinois as Assistant Advertising Manager that year, and by 1940, was promoted to the position of Advertising Director of Libbey Glass, by then a subsidiary of Owens-Illinois.  He held this position until 1969, when he retired.

Fauster established the Antique & Historic Glass Foundation in 1969, “a corporate identity for the purpose of compiling references, conducting research and sponsoring publication of material” pertaining to glass collection.  He is also co-founder of the Glass Collectors Club of Toledo, organized in 1968.

Fauster is also known for his private collection of Libbey Glass, which he has been amassing since the 1950s.  Emphases of his collection include the Brilliant Period, Art Glass, Nash and Modern American Series. 

* From “About the Author,” Libbey Glass Since 1818; Pictorial History & Collector’s Guide (1979).

 

Scope and Content Note

The material in the Carl U. Fauster Collection documents his research activities and contributions to publications and exhibits on Libbey Glass.  The vast majority of the material consists of proofs in various stages of the publication of his book, Libbey Glass Since 1818; Pictorial History & Collector’s Guide (1979).

This small collection also includes two items of correspondence and typed drafts of two short pieces; “Edward Drummond Libbey: 1854-1925,” a brief biographical sketch of the founder of Libbey Glass in Toledo Ohio and “Pictorial History - 1818-1868,” the captions that would presumably have accompanied photos documenting Libbey-Owens-Ford history.

Many items in the collection served as resources for Fauster’s research into the history of Libbey Glass.  Newsclippings from 1904 to 1986 include pieces from the Toledo Blade, the Libbey Safedge Gazette, Antiques and the Arts Weekly, and Glassware Insights.  The collection also includes reproductions (most often photocopies) of Libbey Glass advertisements and pamphlets.  A catalog featuring Amberina, an early colored glass product, a brochure entitled “Facts on Cut Glass” [1893], and a catalog tentatively dating from the 1920s are included in these materials.

Original pamphlets in the collection date from 1893 to 1984 and include a brochure from the 1893 World’s Fair, where Edward D. Libbey had a temporary glass manufactory constructed.  Other notable items include: “Notes for an Epicure: a Handbook on the Traditions and Service of Wines and Other Beverages” (1933); “Art in Crystal: A Historical Exhibition of Libbey Glass, 1818-1951” [1951], an exhibition catalog from the Toledo Museum of Art; and “An Answer to Toledo’s Glassplexity” [1966], a brochure that attempts to clarify the hierarchy and corporate history of glass companies in the Toledo area.

Some miscellaneous publications are included in the Fauster collection.  A unifying factor among these materials is that they deal with Libbey Glass and its history.  The single issue of Business Week features an article on the Toledo Museum of Art’s fiftieth anniversary glass exhibit (p. 44).  “The Search for Historic Glass,” an article appearing in the Toledo Blade Sunday Magazine, was written by Carl Fauster.  Other publications feature biographical essays on Edward D. Libbey.

The collection also incorporates fairly complete, however brief, runs of two corporate publications, “Lib-Bits” and “Outlook.”  Fauster’s influence is particularly evident in the latter publication, to which he contributed a history of Libbey from 1950 to 1973 (11 January 1973, v. 26, n. 12).

The remainder of the collection consists of photographic materials, including those utilized in Libbey Glass Since 1818.  These photos and slides depict products, line drawings of Libbey factories, and include slides on an exhibit at the Toledo Museum of Art.  Other photos document an advertising series taken by commercial photographer Valentino Serra of Chicago.  Four “photo murals” of glass craftsmen are included, as well as photos of the “photo murals” as they were utilized in department store displays.

This collection provides some insights into the collection and advertisement of glass artifacts, and would therefore be a resource for researchers interested in collecting Libbey Glass.

Box/Folder List

 

Box     Folder

 

1          1          Correspondence, 1982, 1986

            2          Typed drafts - “Edward Drummond Libbey: 1854-1925” and “Pictorial History -1818-1868”, n.d.

            3          Libbey Glass Since 1818: Pictorial History & Collector’s Guide, index, notes on publication

            4^        Libbey Glass Since 1818: Pictorial History & Collector’s Guide, Mock-up

            5          Libbey Glass Since 1818: Pictorial History & Collector’s Guide, Paste-up page proofs, pp. 1 - 59

            6          Libbey Glass Since 1818: Pictorial History & Collector’s Guide, Paste-up page proofs, pp. 60 - 135

            7          Libbey Glass Since 1818: Pictorial History & Collector’s Guide, Paste-up page proofs, pp. 136 - 212

            8          Libbey Glass Since 1818: Pictorial History & Collector’s Guide, Paste-up page proofs, pp. 213 - 313

            9          Libbey Glass Since 1818: Pictorial History & Collector’s Guide, Paste-up page proofs, pp. 314 - 415

            10        Libbey Glass Since 1818: Pictorial History & Collector’s Guide, Thermofax page proofs, pp. 1 - 100

            11        Libbey Glass Since 1818: Pictorial History & Collector’s Guide, Thermofax page proofs, pp. 101 - 200

            12        Libbey Glass Since 1818: Pictorial History & Collector’s Guide, Thermofax page proofs, pp. 201 - 300

            13        Libbey Glass Since 1818: Pictorial History & Collector’s Guide, Thermofax page proofs, pp. 301 - 415

            14        Newsclippings, 1904-1986, n.d.

            15        Reproductions of Libbey Glass advertisements, 1899-1967, n.d.

            16        Reproductions of Libbey Glass pamphlets, 1893, 1933, n.d.

            17        Pamphlets, 1893-1984

            18        Publications, 1951-1981

            19        Publications - “Outlook,” June 1967 - July 1974

            20        Publications - “Lib-Bits,” August 1967 - February 1975

            21        Photographs used in Libbey Glass Since 1818: Pictorial History & Collector’s Guide

            22^      Photographs - Valentino Serra series, [1940]

            23        Photographs - department store displays with Serra photos, [1940]

            24        Slides - New England Glass Works

            25        Slides - Amberina

            26        Slides - 1893 World’s Fair

            27        Slides - Cut and Engraved Glass, 1893 - [192?]

            28        Slides - Libbey - Nash

            29        Slides - Modern American / Miscellaneous

 

 

 

*=oversize cabinet

^=oversize area

**=locked cabinet

 

 

 

 

Last Updated: 6/27/22