Leo Moser and Roger E. Ritter Papers on Moser Glass

Collection

Identifier: MS-0126

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection of two sets of personal papers merged by Rakow Research Library staff because of their common subject, Moser glass. They are divided into two series:

(1) Leo Moser Papers, 1908-1973

(2) Roger E. Ritter Papers, 1929-Circa 1960

Dates

1908-1973

Creator

Moser, Leo, 1879-1974 (Person)
Ritter, Roger E. (Roger Egon) (1896 (date of birth) - 1985 (date of death)) (Person)
Moser a.s. (Firm) (Organization)

Language of Materials

Collection materials are in English, German, Czech, and French.

Conditions Governing Access

Box 4 / Folder 1, "Corning Museum of Glass Correspondence" is open for staff research. Other researchers must apply to view the folder. Once the application has been approved, museum staff will review the folder for sensitive and/or confidential information. The review may take up to three months, depending upon staff availability.

The rest of the materials are open for public research. Researchers must make an appointment to view this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

The Copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. The user agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Corning Museum of Glass and the Rakow Research Library against all claims, demands, costs and expenses incurred by copyright infringement or any other legal or regulatory cause of action arising from the use of Library materials.

Biographical / Historical

Leo Moser was the son of Ludwig Moser, founder of Ludwig Moser & Söhne. Born in 1879, Leo Moser worked in the family glass business, assuming the technical directorship in 1908 and artistic directorship in 1916. Leo Moser is known for both for his design work and his use of rare earth metals in glass production to achieve more variety in the color of Moser glass.

The worldwide economic crisis of the late 1920s and 1930s hit the decorative glass industry hard, and by 1932 Leo Moser sold all of his shares of the Moser firm. He left the company and worked for other glass firms, including Josef Inwald and Cristalleries de Saint Louis. In the early 1940s, he immigrated to the United States and appears to have sought to establish himself in American glass manufacturing. Leo Moser died in New York in 1974.

Roger E. Ritter was born in Prague in 1896. From 1929 to 1938, he served as the director of the Bohemia - Moser retail store in Prague. After the Sudetenland Crisis in 1938, he immigrated to the United States. He opened an independent Bohemia - Moser store in New York City in 1938. There is some evidence that he intended to return to Prague and help restore the Bohemian glass industry after World War II, but Ritter remained in New York, working as a glass and porcelain buyer for R. H. Macy & Co. Ritter died in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1985.