Museums 101: American glass fishing floats (photo diary)

The North Lincoln County Historical Museum in Lincoln City, Oregon, has a display case filled American glass fishing floats. The early glass floats were used to fish for cod, salmon, and sturgeon on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

The S. H. Davis Gillnet Float shown above is the earliest known American float.

According to the display:

“These are truly a collectors dream. Very few of these are known to exist, and this float is one of the few known to exist in collections.”

The Never-Sink Corporation was located in White Lake, New York. They probably contracted with a glass company in the Detroit or Chicago area to make these floats.

The Crystalite Products Corporation of Glendale, California, was initially founded to make street lighting globes and letters for signs.

The Cincotta Brothers Hardware and Suppliers in San Francisco, California, had floats produced in limited production numbers by the Owens-Illinois glass foundry in Oakland.

Northwestern Glass Company was founded in South Seattle, Washington, and began making a limited number of floats by hand in 1932.

Shown above is a triple float that was used in Neah Bay, Washington.

More Museum Exhibit Photo Tours

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Museums 101: Commercial Fishing (Photo Diary)

Museums 101: Weddings (Photo Diary)

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Museums 101: The Railroad (Photo Diary)

Museums 101: The Timber Industry (Photo Diary)

Museums 101: Logging (Photo Diary)

Museums 101: Cabinets of Curiosity (Photo Diary)