American Mid-Twentieth-Century Glass Tableware

American postwar prosperity wasn’t long-lasting for its glass industry. Luxury glassmakers, like Heisey and Cambridge, couldn’t compete with increased imports from Japan, Taiwan, and Eastern Europe, where new factories were automated. Additionally, American lifestyles were changing. Dinner and cocktail parties were less formal. By the 1960s, brides weren’t as likely to register for a complete set of fine crystal stemware.