2023 Calendar of Events
Special Exhibit:
“By the Book: Using Trade Catalogs and Advertisements to Identify Dorflinger Glass”
Unlike some other companies in the industry, the Dorflinger companies never permanently marked their glass. This poses a challenge for researchers and collectors seeking to identify and attribute Dorflinger glass. Fortunately, fifteen Dorflinger trade catalogs, a substantial collection of line drawings (a one-dimensional view of the object and pattern), trade cards, and numerous magazine advertisements illustrating Dorflinger glass have been identified to date. This special exhibit illustrates how this material can be used to identify and authenticate Dorflinger glass. The exhibit pairs a Dorflinger object with an actual catalog page, line drawing, or advertisement showing an object in the same design or pattern, allowing the viewer to compare all elements of the design.
Special Exhibit:
“Reflected Brilliance: Dorflinger’s Rich Cut Oil Lamps”
Elaborately cut oil, or Kerosene, lamps became popular in about 1885 and went out of fashion in about 1905 when electric illumination became widely available. These rich cut oil lamps were among the most complex and expensive wares produced by the American cut glass industry. C. Dorflinger & Sons was the leading producer of both finished lamps and blanks sold to other cutting firms. These lamps are relatively rare today. This special exhibit features 13 Dorflinger oil lamps, representing every size and style produced by the company from large Banquet lamps for the dining room to smaller Princess, Globe Princess, and hand lamps.
Special Exhibit:
“A Dining Table Set with Dorflinger’s Kalana Art Glass from the J. Raymond Moran Collection”
Back by popular demand, this exhibit features a dining table with place settings and serving pieces in the Kalana Poppy pattern. The glass tableware in this exhibit is part of a generous gift to the Dorflinger Factory Museum by J. Raymond Moran of his extensive collection of Dorflinger Kalana art glass. Dorflinger produced the Kalana line of art glass from 1909-1915. Unlike the cut glass in which designs were cut into the glass using metal and stone wheels, Dorflinger’s Kalana art glass designs were etched onto the glass using hydrofluoric acid. The glass tableware produced by this process was light and delicate, with numerous floral designs reflecting elements of the Art Nouveau movement. This exhibit presents a rare opportunity to see an entire table setting using one of Dorflinger’s most popular art glass lines.
Exhibit: opens June 15, 2022; through September 18, 2022
Walter B. Barbe Memorial 2023 Lecture Series
The Museum is pleased to announce its 2023 lecture series. This year’s series includes ten lectures during the summer and fall on a wide range of topics. As in the past, we have assembled an interesting group of lectures on the history of the region and, of course, glass. The lectures will take place at 2:00 P.M. on Sunday afternoons and are open to the public. There is no charge for Dorflinger Factory Museum members; there is a $5.00 charge for nonmembers, which includes free admission to the Museum. All lectures will be held in the Blue Room of the Dorflinger Cutting Shop.
May 21, 2023, 2:00 P.M.
Kurt Reed, Curator, Dorflinger Factory Museum
By the Book – Using Dorflinger Catalogs, Line
Drawings, and Advertisements to Identify Dorflinger Glass.
This lecture will accompany the Museum’s 2023
“By the Book” special exhibit.
This lecture will accompany the Museum’s special exhibit
on Dorflinger glass in color. The lecture will be followed by
a guided tour of the new exhibit.
June 4, 2023, 2:00 P.M.
Kurt Reed, Curator, Dorflinger Factory Museum
Christian Dorflinger, the Middle Years.
This lecture will cover the history of the Dorflinger
companies from 1859-1890.
June 11, 2023, 1:00 P.M.
Before Chet Cassel’s lecture, there will be an
organizational meeting for the new Northeast PA
Chapter of the American Cut Glass Association.
All are welcome and encouraged to attend and join.
June 11, 2023, 2:00 P.M.
Chet Cassel, leading cut glass dealer and researcher
Good, Better, Best: Evaluating American Brilliant Cut Glass.
In this lecture, Chet will explore the fine points in
evaluating and comparing cut glass pieces.
June 25, 2023, 2:00 P.M.
Jim Asselstine, Director, Dorflinger Factory Museum
Dorflinger’s Presidential Glass.
This lecture will discuss the glass designed by the
Dorflinger companies for U.S. Presidents from
Lincoln through Wilson.
July 16, 2023, 2:00 P.M
Jim Asselstine, Director, Dorflinger Factory Museum
The 1876 Philadelphia Exhibition and the Birth of the
American Brilliant Period of Cut Glass.
July 30, 2023, 2:00 P.M.
Sarah Piccini, Assistant Director, The Lackawanna Historical Society
Local Place Names in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
This lecture will explore the names of places in Northeastern PA
and what they tell us about the history of the region.
August 6, 2023, 2:00 P.M.
John Revak, local historian
A Tour of the D&H Gravity from Carbondale to Honesdale
in Photographs and Maps.
This first lecture in a two-part series will explore the route
of the D&H Gravity Railroad from Carbondale to Honesdale.
August 20, 2023, 2:00 P.M.
John Revak, local historian
A Tour of the D&H Gravity from Honesdale to Carbondale.
This second lecture in the series will cover the return trip
from Honesdale to Carbondale, which followed a different route.
September 17, 2023, 2:00 P.M.
Mary Ann Moran Savakinus, Director, The Lackawanna Historical Society
Eastern European Immigration in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
This lecture will explore the history of immigration from Eastern
Europe to the region, and its influence on the region’s history and culture
Dorflinger White Mills Brilliant Weekend
The Dorflinger Factory Museum will hold its annual White Mills Brilliant Weekend on September 28 through October 1, 2023. The Brilliant Weekend includes an opening reception in the Dorflinger Factory Museum, a Dorflinger Glass Symposium featuring a day of lectures, a banquet, and a Glass Dealer Show and Sale with five of the leading cut glass dealers in the country. Advance registration is required for the Brilliant Weekend, and there is a registration fee of $125 per person, which includes all event activities. The Glass Dealer Show and Sale is open to the public with a $5 per person admission fee. Additional details on the lecture program and registration materials will be available shortly.