The Hazel-Atlas Glass Company was a large producer of machine-molded glass containers headquartered in

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and also contains a tiny portion extending ...

. It was founded in 1902 in

Washington, Pennsylvania Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania. A part of the Greater Pittsburgh area in the southwestern part of the state, the city is home to Washington & Jefferson College and Pony League baseball. The populat ...

, as the merger of four companies: *Hazel Glass and Metals Company (started in 1887) *Atlas Glass Company (started 1896) *Wheeling Metal Plant *Republic Glass Company

History

By the 1900s, Hazel-Atlas was a large glass maker, with 15 plants, including ones in

Ada, Oklahoma Ada is a city in and the county seat of Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,481 at the 2020 United States Census. The city was named for Ada Reed, the daughter of an early settler, and was inc ...

; Clarksburg, West Virginia;

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

;

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

;

Pomona, California Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Pol ...

and

Zanesville, Ohio Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. It is located east of Columbus and had a population of 24,765 as of the 2020 census, down from 25,487 as of the 2010 census. Historically the state capita ...

. Hazel-Atlas made large quantities of " Depression" pressed glassware in a wide variety of patterns in the 1920s–1940s, along with many white milkglass "inserts" used in zinc fruit-jar lids, many types of milkglass cold-cream jars and salve containers, and a large variety of bottles and jars for the commercial packaging industry. "Atlas" was the brand of the company's most popular line of fruit jars for home canning. Hazel-Atlas—then the third largest producer of glass containers in the United States, with almost ten percent of the marketUNITED STATES v. CONTINENTAL CAN CO.
378 U.S. 441 (1964)—became a subsidiary of the

Continental Can Company Continental Can Company (CCC) was an American producer of metal containers and packaging company, that was based in Stamford, Connecticut."CONTINENTAL GROUP COMPANY." ''International Directory of Company Histories''. Ed. Thomas Derdak. Vol. 1. Ch ...

in 1957. The acquisition was challenged under the

Clayton Antitrust Act The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 (, codified at , ), is a part of United States antitrust law with the goal of adding further substance to the U.S. antitrust law regime; the Clayton Act seeks to prevent anticompetitive practices in their incipie ...

in a case that was eventually decided by the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

in '' United States v. Continental Can Co.''. It continued to make containers,

glassware upTypical drinkware The list of glassware includes drinking vessels (drinkware) and tableware used to set a table for eating a meal, general glass items such as vases, and glasses used in the catering industry. It does not include laboratory glas ...

, and

tableware Tableware is any dish or dishware used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. It includes cutlery, glassware, serving dishes, and other items for practical as well as decorative purposes. The quality, nature, variety and number of o ...

into the 1960s. In 1964, 10 of the 12 H-A plants in operation were sold to

Brockway Glass Brockway Glass Company was founded in 1907 in Brockway, Pennsylvania by the Brockway Machine Bottle Company (which later became Brockway Glass). Brockway manufactured and sold glass containers and tubing along with plastic products manufactured th ...

Company, and it is unclear whether the remaining two plants used the H-A trademark after that year.

Patterns

Hazel-Atlas produced dozens of different patterns, with unique names. The Hazel-Atlas mark, usually placed on the back of the product, is an "A" nestled underneath an "H". The mark was reportedly first used in 1923, according to trademark office records quoted by Peterson (400 Trademarks on Glass).

External links and references

Hazel-Atlas Depression glass a field unto itself
from a February 2005 article in ''

The San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

''
Official Hazel Atlas Glass WebsiteSummary of the Hazel-Atlas Glass Company, with discussion on types of glass made (webpage on the GlassBottleMarks.com site)
{{Authority control Defunct glassmaking companies Glassmaking companies of the United States Kitchenware brands Companies based in Wheeling, West Virginia Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Manufacturing companies established in 1902 1902 establishments in West Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Marshall County, West Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Wheeling, West Virginia Defunct manufacturing companies based in West Virginia