Royal Leerdam Crystal
Royal Leerdam Crystal, also known as Royal Leerdam, is the designing and glass blowing department of Dutch glassware producing factory, Glasfabriek Leerdam. The company was founded in 1765 as a manufacturer of bottles in the Dutch city of Leerdam.
Designing and glassblowing
Designing and glassblowing were in the past strictly separated. Several well-known designers as Hendrik Petrus Berlage, Andries Copier and Willem Heesen have contributed to the Royal Leerdam reputation with a wide range of designer glass, both serica and unica. Best known has become the so-called range of products Gilde Glass (1930) by Andries Copier, as an example of both simplicity and beauty. Glass art created by Royal Leerdam Crystal was and still is very sought after by museums and collectors worldwide.
Museums
- Nationaal Glasmuseum in Leerdam
- Museum van der Togt in Amstelveen
- Museum Boymans-van Beuningen in Rotterdam
See also
In popular culture
- The factory of Royal Leerdam Crystal was featured in the 1958 short documentary film Glass by Bert Haanstra. The documentary won an Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject in 1959.
Company news
Royal Leerdam was from 1938 until 2002 part of the Vereenigde Glasfabrieken in Schiedam itself more recently a subsidiary of Groupe Danone S.A. in France. In 2002, the factory became part of the American glass and tableware company Libbey Inc.
As of January 2, 2008, Royal Leerdam has merged with porcelain factory De Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles, better known as Royal Delft for its Delftware.