Sand Bubbles: Dorflinger Glass Company
Sand Bubbles
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7m 58s
Louis J. Dorflinger, son of the founder of Dorflinger Glass Works, wrote in his diary on Monday, September 25, 1916 that three gentlemen from the Paramount Picture Company came to White Mills, Pennsylvania to “take pictures” of the glass house and shops and left the next day. This film, Sand Bubbles, was lost for almost 95 years until Milestone discovered it in a lot of 28mm films for sale. It is now restored to 35mm and brought to DVD thanks to Colorlab and the Dorflinger Glass Museum.
This is one of the oldest and most detailed portraits of early glass-making ever depicted on film. The Dorflinger Glass Works was one of the most prestigious companies of its day. Beginning the 1860s, Christian Dorflinger transformed White Mills from a sleepy hamlet on the banks of the Lackawaxen River into a bustling industrial center. For more than half a century the Dorflinger Glas Works produced exquisite cut lead crystal that graced many of America's finest tables, including those of several White House administrations including Abraham Lincoln's. Due to the death of its found Christian Dorflinger in 1915, shortages caused by World War I and various other factors, Dorflinger closed in 1921.
The restoration of this film was funded in large part by The Dime Bank with additional contributions from the Dorflinger-Suydam Wildlife Sanctuary, Dorflinger Glass Museum, Historic White Mills and the Keystone Gleaners Chapter of The Questers.