The early history of the Daum glassworks in Nancy

Built in 1875 by Guillaume Avril and Victor Bertrand, the Nancy glasswork f actory was transferred in 1878 to Jean Daum, a former lawyer from Bitch wh had taken up permanent residence in France. After his death in 1885, the bu siness was run by his sons Auguste and Antonin. As they had become dissatis fied with their standard products - watch-case covers,candle-rings, goblets - they decided to expand the quality of their range by establishing an art department in the factory. Initially, improvements in the artistic quality were confined to highlighting the tableware with fleurs de lys or Lorraine crosses motifs in gold. Realizing that they needed to go one step further, in 1893 they engaged the services of Jacques Gruber, a young local artist. With his arrival, their glassware attained the rank of industrial art.