Edgar Bostock was apprenticed to the window glass trade by his father, Edward Bostock on October 14, 1890 through the offices of the Window Glass Workers Association. He was apprenticed for the designated period of 3 years. The files contain Bostock’s workers’ account book beginning date November 11, 1893, his Glass Workers Association due book – both of which any glass worker would have had – as well as a World Glass Workers Association Delegate pin. Correspondence, photographs and a beautifully-colored trade catalogue from the plate and decorative glass company that Bostock would later found called Bostock, Rhoades & Co., though undated, give us a glimpse of how far Mr. Bostock came in his career.
The files are based on Mr. Bostock’s professional life and also contain letters, chemical formulas, articles and hand-written notes pertaining to the chemistry of glass. Perhaps the jewel in the crown of this find are the writings of Edgar Bostock - handwritten and typed - including professional journal articles, speeches, and the manuscript for a book regarding the history of glass and other glass-related subjects. The articles and manuscripts were found bound with heavy twine and the pages are carefully numbered and revisions are included as if the author were preparing for careful professional editing and publication. Bostock’s chief concern appears to be maximizing the chemical composition and shape of glass for maximum lighting capabilities, though his company also made colored decorative glass, which accounts for the deep chemical interest in tinted glass. The bulk of the materials contained in these files appear to be from the nineteen-teens and twenties, and other than Bostock’s Union paperwork and wage books, there is no account of his early career.
Please keep an eye on our blog for more surprising finds!
- SMR
