Glass Collection
Beginning in 1866, New Bedford became almost as famous for art glass as it was for whaling. Glass manufacture was a key industry in the city until the 1950s, and New Bedford glass was internationally renowned. When the New Bedford Glass Museum closed its doors in 1991, many of its most significant collections – including glass, metalware, and archival materials – were entrusted to the New Bedford Whaling Museum, which today holds more than 3,500 examples of glass owned or manufactured in the region.

A sumptuous permanent exhibition, opened in 2001, features highlights – a noteworthy array of lamps, vases, serving vessels, and purely decorative pieces, representing all of the major producers: the New Bedford Glass Company (founded 1866), the Mount Washington Glass Works (1870), Smith Brothers (1873), Samuel R. Bowie (1876), Pairpoint Manufacturing Company (1880) , Pairpoint-Mount Washington (1894), Gundersen (1939), and Gundersen-Pairpoint (1952).