Atterbury's "Log Cabin" Lamp

James S. and Thomas B. Atterbury joined brother-in-law James Hale to form Hale & Atterbury in 1860 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The grandsons of Sarah Atterbury Bakewell (sister of Benjamin Bakewell and founder of Bakewell's Glass Company), opened their White House Factory at Carson and McKee streets in Pittsburgh's South Side. Hale was the firm's glassblower. He was replaced two years later by James Reddick who left Atterbury in 1864. The company's name thus was changed from Hale, Atterbury & Co., to Atterbury, Reddick & Co. , then Atterbury & Co. before finally bearing the name Atterbury Glass Co. in 1893.¹ Thomas Atterbury served as the company's president throughout it's history.

Atterbury's "Shoe" Lamp

Thomas Atterbury was the principal inventor in the firm. His name appears on at least 110 patents relating to the glass manufacturing process and machinery - 71 for inventions and 39 for designs.² Atterbury & Co. was assigned at least forty-two lighting-related patents between July 20, 1869 and May 3, 1887. See the patent table below for details. The design for a screw socket that connects the base and font of kerosene lamps is one patent for which the firm is famous. The screw connector was patented by Thomas and James Atterbury, patent number 82,579, dated September 29, 1868.

Atterbury's Screw Connector Patent #82,579, Sept. 29, 1868. View another version here.

Atterbury & Co. made a variety of items: canning jars and lids, bar bottles, covered dishes, salt & pepper shakers and other tableware, and lamps. Its covered dishes made out of opal or milk glass often featured animal designs - rabbits, ducks, chicks, bulls and boars heads. An industry leader in the manufacture of lamps, the firm won an award in 1876 at Philadelphia's Centennial Exhibition for its lamp chimneys and globes.³

Atterbury remained an independent factory until 1903.

    

Search Atterbury & Company's Patents

   

Patents assigned to Atterbury & Co. between July 20, 1869 - May 3, 1887
RE3556	RE7529	D4298	31714	32739	34345	34555	35429
35430	37267	38087	38457	40594	47267	47268	57063
79298	82579	96986	102204	109369	109370	140988	145548
159061	164669	168863	170219	170431	176160	181618	183277
209542	212421	213605	214273	214274	214345	275562	275563
313399	362415	[ additional patents will be added as they are discovered ]
D = Design Patent, RE = Reissue of an earlier Patent
30662	Some of Atterbury's non-lighting patents						39027
50437	54665	59159	75110	89005	103702	132558	139993

To view any of the above patents, enter the number in the box below and select Query USPTO Database. This will take you to the specific patent images on the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office Database. Learn more about the USPTO here.

• ¹ Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Atterbury Glass Co. 1860 - 1893. (10 Feb. 2003). <http://151.201.61.20/locations/scitech/ptdl/pgh/atterbury_glass.html>
• ² ibid.
• ³ ibid.

• Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Atterbury Glass Co. 1860 - 1893. 10 Feb. 2003. <http://151.201.61.20/locations/scitech/ptdl/pgh/atterbury_glass.html>
• Thuro, Catherine M.V. Oil Lamps: The Kerosene Era in North America. Radnor, PA: Wallace-Homestead, 1976.
• --- Oil Lamps 3: Victorian Kerosene Lighting 1860-1900. Toronto: Collector Books, 2001.