NEW BEDFORD, MASS. - When one thinks of the city of New Bedford, one thinks of whale oil and whale-oil lamps. As whaling declined, New Bedford's Pairpoint Corporation adapted to the newly developed technology, electricity. For about 35 years at the beginning of this century, the Pairpoint Corporation sold its unique line of electric lamps, combinations of the firm's decorated shades and primarily metal bases, from its main office at its factory in New Bedford, Mass., as well as from offices in Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Montreal.

Glassmaking came to the city of New Bedford in 1866, just after the peak of the whaling industry. A new company, New Bedford Glass Company, was organized by a group of glass workers from the town of Sandwich, Mass. that moved to New Bedford after a labor dispute. The company was short-lived, closing in 1868, due to the illness of its organizer-superintendent Theodore Kern.

The legacy of that first glass company was the recently constructed modern glass factory. This new facility consisted of a glasshouse of 62 feet square containing a ten-pot furnace, with an additional brick wing of more than 5,000 square feet extending from the glasshouse which contained other cutting and manufacturing processes.

William L. Libbey of Boston purchased the property in 1870 and moved his Mount Washington Glass Works from its aging buildings in South Boston to this up-to-date factory in New Bedford. Reorganized in 1873 as Mount Washington Glass Company, the firm produced both utilitarian and ornamental glasswares, becoming known for its various types of art glass - Lava, Burmese, Peach Blow, Rose Amber, Crown Milano, and Royal Flemish.

In 1880, the Pairpoint Manufacturing Company was established on property adjoining the Mount Washington factory. The company was formed specifically to make plated britannia metal products to complement the glasswares of Mt Washington. London-born Thomas J. Pairpoint of the Gorham Company in Providence, R.I., was hired as superintendent of the new company, and his name was given to the venture. Although physically and organizationally distinct, the two companies shared the services of Alexander H. Seabury, president and treasurer of Mt Washington, who also served as treasurer of Pairpoint. This arrangement continued until 1894 when Pairpoint Manufacturing Company purchased Mt Washington. In 1900, the two companies merged under the name Pairpoint Corporation.

This merger set the scene for the manufacture of lamps and other goods comprised of metal and glass under the name of Pairpoint. The Pairpoint Corporation employed more than 300 persons in 1906 making a variety of blown and molded glasswares and silver plated britannia metal wares from utilitarian to ornamental presentation pieces - flatware, tea sets, prize cups, and cut glass articles.

The firm had offices in New York, San Francisco, and Montreal. A combination of changing taste and the Great Depression finally caused the firm to close in 1937. Successor firms led by former employees have produced utilitarian glasswares in the city and elsewhere since then. Today, Pairpoint Crystal makes a variety of blown and decorated glasswares in Sagamore, Mass.

In 1904, the Pairpoint Corporation advertised for the first time in New Bedford a line of portable electroliers or electric lamps. This product line featured lamps with glass shades blown by hand into molds, and hand decorated, primarily by reverse painting on the inside of the shades. Before decorating, the glass shades were etched with acid on the outside to produce a frosted surface which diffused the light. The effect of this decoration was a soft light pleasing to the eye which would not fade as parchment shades could. During the three decades these electroliers were sold by Pairpoint, the product line included more than one hundred named shade shapes each of which was available in a variety of sizes from the small boudoir lamps of 4Ť inches in diameter to the large parlor lamps with shades up to 20 inches in diameter.

On July 9, 1907 the Pairpoint Corporation received a patent for a new process for making lampshades, known today as the "puffy" or "blown out" shades. The application had been filed at the end of 1905, shortly after the introduction of electroliers. Production of these lampshades was already under way by that year as indicated by the evidence of catalog pages. The surface of the shade was comprised of raised ornamental figures, usually fruits or flowers, frosted on the outside, and decorated on the interior. It was this shade which made Pairpoint unique.

Other companies, such as the Handel Company of Meriden, Conn., also sold painted glass scenic shades. Only Pairpoint sold the "puffies." The designs featured bunches of grapes, fruit trees, and various combinations of flowers. In addition to flowers, the company made one dramatic shade in the shape of an owl, and another, a large shell. The decorations of puffy shades were usually unique to the shapes. However, catalog sheets indicate that some shade shapes were decorated with different flower designs, for example, a generic floral shape which was available as roses, chrysanthemums, or azaleas. Although not so today, the puffies were originally less costly to purchase than the scenic designs because they required less skill to decorate.

During the period 1926-30, the company introduced a line called "electric candles" which were fitted with parchment shades coated with Coralene or fine glass beads. These parchment-shaded electroliers were offered alone and in combination with a cut glass and metal bowl, the base of which was identical to that of the electrolier. In addition to painted blown shades and shades made of painted flat panels, about 1930, the company offered a line of Colonial Revival lamps which included engraved and cut glass electroliers.

The majority of Pairpoint's electroliers were table lamps, although a few freestanding floor models were sold. Their bases were generally made of metal. Approximately 350 different lamp bases are known, many of which were available in more than one size or finish. Names such as Egyptian Brass, Flemish, Japanese Bronze, Antique Green, Gun Metal, and Silver or Gold describe some of the finishes available.

A further custom option available for many of the lamps was the number of bulbs for illumination. Some mahogany, glass, and a few consisting of glass or wood combined with metal were also available. When glass was incorporated in the base, it was usualy decorated to coordinate with the shade design.

Pairpoint made a limited number of shades specifically designed as hall lights or hanging globes, beginning about 1910, the period of most prolific production for the firm. A small number of styles of shades usually sold with bases, the Marlborough shape for example, were fitted with hanging hardware through the opening which usually attached to the lamp base. Other bowl-shaped shades were drilled with holes and hung upside down as hanging lamps. Included in this category are shade shapes such as Vienna and Lucca. As a group, the hanging lamp decorations appear to be stylized and geometric, complex scenes being reserved for eye-level use on table lamps.

Some Pairpoint shades are marked with a stamped identification "The Pairpoint Corp." Some puffies are marked with a similar stamp which reads "Patented July 7, 1907." In addition, a few Pairpoint decorators signed their works. Bohemian-born Frank Guba, perhaps the best known of Pairpoint's decorators, worked for the company for more than 45 years. Another European-born decorator who arrived in New Bedford in 1891 was Adolph J. Frederick, who, like Guba, stayed with the company until its closing in 1937. Lamps signed by H. Fisher and one attributed by family history to Herman Knetchel are also known.

All metal Pairpoint bases are marked. They bear the name of the company, and most also carry the Pairpoint trademark used on all Pairpoint products, the letter P enclosed in a triangle. Wooden bases are stamped with the company name with a rubber stamp. Bases which are entirely glass with no metal parts, such as the small candle lamp bases, have no permanent mark. They may at one time have had a paper label.

Like the products of the whalemen, the products of the Pairpoint Corporation are today known around the world. They have become a fitting continuation of the city's motto adopted in the days of whaling - Lucem diffundo, I spread the light.

"Shades of Opulence: The Lamps of Pairpoint" draws heavily from the collection of the Old Dartmouth Historical Society-New Bedford Whaling Museum. That collection includes Pairpoint lamps, photographs of the company and some of its workers, drawings and glass decorated by Frank Guba, and a collection of 540 design drawings by superintendent and chief designer Floyd Francis Cary.

Much of the research for this exhibition is based on the collection of 572 hand-colored catalog sheets for Pairpoint lamps, several of which are included in the exhibit, donated to the museum in 1988 by Helen E. Frasier. This collection is the only record which exists of the company line, as all other records were destroyed by the 1938 hurricane which washed the waterfront area.

The exhibit is also enriched by the generosity of a number of private individuals who have loaned from their own personal collections. The museum is grateful to them for sharing their lamps with the public in this first exhibit of Pairpoint Lamps in New Bedford. In all, more than 50 lamps, photographs, 21 framed catalog pages, paintings, and documentary material are included in the exhibit. Photography for this exhibit was underwritten by Dr David Ruggieri.

Also on exhibition at this time is a survey exhibition showing the varieties of glasswares made in New Bedford and "Masterpieces of Mount Washington Art Glass," which displays examples of the art glass types which made Mount Washington famous.

The Old Dartmouth Historical Society-New Bedford Whaling Museum is open daily 9 am to 5 pm; until 8 pm on Thursdays, Memorial Day to Labor Day. Telephone 508/997-0046.