Nøstetangen - Norway's first glassworks

How is it possible that in the 18th century, fantastic wine glasses and chandeliers of top European quality were made in a small place like Hokksund? Glass had never been blown in Norway before, neither drinking glasses nor window glass.

The reason was that Christian VI and his advisors in…

In 1741, a glass hut was built on Nøstetangen, close to Haug Church in the parish of Eker. This was in direct violation of all legally made decisions and royal decrees. It was the burning of charcoal and tar that was actually supposed to take place on the site, and…

The Royal Most Graciously Occupied Nordic Company, simply called The Norwegian Company, and by some also the Factory Company and the Black Company, was a company that received its privilege on 21 May 1739 from King Christian VI. In practice, it had the right to exploit all natural wonders, except…

Report on the Nøstetangen glassworks warehouse at Bragernes. Prepared for the Nøstetangen Norwegian Glass Museum in February 2020 by Jo Sellæg.

Doctor K Gercke visited Øvre Strøm around 1865. There he got a view of large parts of Drammen. He set up his camera and placed a glass plate on…

When Major Caspar Herman von Storm was appointed director of the Nøstetangen glassworks in 1753, a new and aggressive period began in the history of the glassworks. In addition to being a major, he was first county governor and later county governor of Akershus from 1757. From the very beginning,…

Pot ash, quartz sand, lime as well as lead oxide and manganese oxide

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Quartz sand (SiO2) for the production of crystal has extremely strict requirements for low iron content, otherwise the glass mass will have a greenish tint. Quartz sand from waterways has too high an iron content.

Therefore,…

Here, among other things, it says in the letter of July 20, 1753 from Director von Storm to Count Moltke regarding the road from Christiania to Hokksund: The road here is the most pleasant in all of Norway.

Private archive no. 1: Glassworks, collection; Norske Kompani; Copybook ff. 6

Page…

Letter from Caspar Herman von Storm To And: Schierraad d: 4d Julii 1754:

It was very displeasing to me at my last meeting at Nøste Tangen to find that, according to the order I had given while the furnace was in building, I had not thought of collecting a considerable…

Firewood suppliers Eiker:

Christopher Solberg

Hildebrand Steinsrud

The son of Christopher Solberg who delivered silica in 1755 was most likely Anders Christophersen, who lived

at Hoenseie in 1765, but who took over Solberg after his father Christopher a couple of years later.

1. Peder Christophersen Kolbræk

2. Ole Fossum

3. Poul Grosland

4. Nils…

When Storm left as glassworks director in 1766, a period of constant changes in directors and great difficulties for the glassworks followed. The problem of obtaining sufficient fuel for Nøstetangen became increasingly serious. From the very beginning, there had been competition with the silver mines at Kongsberg for wood. To…

On 23/8-1782 "the Court was seated at Nøstetangen under Hougs-Præstegaard in Eger Parish in a house belonging to De Norske Glass Fabriqver, and now inhabited by Iohan Holand,..." to carry out an inspection and appraisal business: a: A one-storey building called the Vervalter Building, consisting of one floor in which…

In 1926, Drammen Museum carried out a major excavation on the site of Nøstetangen Glassworks.

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Reconstruction

In 2023, a transcription of an inspection and valuation business from 1782 was carried out. With the assistance of Lars Jacob Hvinden Haug, local historian Bent Ek and Jan Erik Skretteberg, a reconstruction…

The founder of the Norwegian glass industry

Major Caspar Hermann von Storm

WIFE:

Ide Sophie von Storm (née Mangelsen)

CHILD:

Helena Margaretha von Bielke (née Von Storm)

Catharina von Wedell - Jarlsborg (born Von Storm)

Miss Storm

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The Nordic Company

Johann Georg von Langen (1741-1745)

Mining Captain Michael Heltzen…

Another person who had a decisive influence on Nøstetangen was the German engraver Heinrich Gottlieb Köhler. He was a court engraver in Copenhagen and engraved a number of trophies for the royal house. But when he borrowed a large sum of money from King Frederik V and was unable to…

Peter Holm had already spent a couple of years in Germany when von Storm took over as director. and he was told to stay down there and continue to lure skilled workers to Nøstetangen by offering wages that were higher than what they received in their home country. In addition,…

Villas Vinter was Heinrich Gottlieb Köhler's student in the engraver's workshop, and the only one who, alongside the master, carried out more complicated work. He started at Nøstetangen in 1754, became a apprentice under Köhler in 1756 and a journeyman in the mid-1760s, but he never advanced to master. He…

Johann Albrecht Becker had also worked at Nøstetangen. He was fully trained as an engraver when he arrived from Saxony in 1767. After 6 years he left Nøstetangen and established a glass shop and engraving workshop in Drammen. The majority of the engraving on Norwegian wine glasses in the 18th…

The industrial spy Morten Wærn stole the recipe for English lead crystal. Equally important was that he managed to recruit English skilled workers to Norway, which was strictly forbidden under English law. In the summer of 1755, the master glassblower James Keith came to Nøstetangen. This had a decisive impact…

In 1739, King Christian VI granted the "Royal Most Graciously Occupied Nordic Company" the right to exploit all of Norway's natural resources except those that had already been put into operation. This led to the establishment of two glassworks, Nøstetangen, which was built in Hokksund in 1741, and Aas Grønne…

In Hurdal there was ample access to firewood, and in 1755 a cabin was established for the production of window glass (crown glass).

When the Nøstetangen glassworks had to close due to a shortage of wood, the production of wine glasses and other clear glass was moved to Hurdal.

There…

Gjøvik Verk was founded as a private enterprise in 1807 by Caspar Kauffeldt. He remained the owner of the works until it was closed down in 1843. The glassworks was his private property, but he was completely dependent on collaborating with the old glassworks, especially with regard to obtaining the…

Between 1751 and 1765, Denis Diderot and Jean Le Rond d'Alembert published their Encyclopédie, in which they included hundreds of engraved images depicting and visually explaining artistic crafts and common trades in preindustrial France.

The glass blowing pipe was invented by the Romans 2,000 years ago, and has since been the glassblower's most important tool. The pipe is simply a long, hollow iron or steel tube used to blow air into the glass mass.

Pliers of various shapes and sizes are used to shape…

It is often the engraving on a glass that indicates whether it is Norwegian or not, by referring to Norwegian conditions, having inscriptions in Norwegian-Danish or by the style being recognizable.

The engraving is done on an engraving chair; a small copper pulley or wheel was attached in a horizontal…

From 1757 onwards, Caspar Hermann von Storm entered into a number of contracts with various commission agents who undertook commission trading in most Norwegian and Danish cities.

The commission agents had the goods delivered freely to the individual locations. The company provided storage space or sea sheds for goods in…

The brickworks in Varlodalen

Another industry that is typical of small-scale industry in the early 19th century is the brickworks. They grew up in the villages as brick chimneys became more common and roof tiles began to replace turf or wooden roofs. According to Hans Strøm, there were two brickworks…