Beaver Falls Glass Company
Insulators:
Only one insulator, the CD 133.2 has the B.F.G.Co. embossing on it. There are two variations of the embossing. Both have embossed on the crown in an arc L.A.C.'S PAT JULY 25TH 1865 and on the front skirt B.F.G.Co. The difference between the two variations is that one has a number on the dome and the other has a small "C" embossed over an "I" on the dome. All know marked insulators are in shades of aqua.
Other no-name insulators are also attributed to the company.
Other Products of the Company:
According to the 1886 Annual Report of the Secretary of Internal Affairs of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, besides insulators, the company is listed as making flint vials and bottles (cylinder or window glass).
History of the Company
A Supreme Court case on the disposition of William F. Modes' estate indicated that "he was doing business as the Bever Falls [Glass] Company, and that he was insolvent on the 18th day of December 1872" (1875, p. 503). On January 29, 1873 at noon, the sheriff sold the property of W.F. Modes, consisting of manufactured glassware, material, etc. for the sum of $14,866.66 (p. 504)
Description of the Company:
The company had 1 furnace and 10 pots according to the 1886 Annual Report.
Financing for the Company:
Financing for the company came via an agreement between John B. Canfield and William Modes. In a December 1871 agreement, Canfield
agreed that he would furnish Modes with mateials for the manufacture of glass, and advance him money to assist him in carrying on his business, Modes agreeing to give Canfield a lien, by way of security, on all the products of the glass works, Canfield to have a right to sell the goods if he should desire and retain the proceeds to apply to the indebtedness, and if Modes should sell, Canfield to have the avails, and upon settlement Canfield to pay Modes any over-payment. (Supreme Court. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 1875. p. 502).
If Canfield sold the goods on his own, he would get $1 of goods for every seventy-five cents of "material furnished, moneys advanced, and liabilities incurred" (p. 503).
References
Annual Report of the Secretary of Internal Affairs of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. (1886). Part III: Industrial Statistics: 1885. Volume XIII. Harrisburg, PA: E.K.Meyers, State Printer. Found on Google Books.
Supreme Court. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. (1875). Pennsylvania State Reports. Vol. LXXVI. Comprising Cases Adjudged in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. By P. Frazer Smith, State Reporter. Vol. XXVI. Containing Cases Argued at january, May and October and November Terms, 1874. Philadelphia: Kay & Brother, Law Booksellers, Publishers and Importers. Found on Google Books.