Collection: Elme (Sweden)

Elme Glasbruk was a Swedish glassworks in Älmhult, Småland, operating from 1917 to 1970. Its history encompassed technical glass, everyday household wares and more ambitious decorative pieces, with production ranging from hand-blown goblets to large series of pressed glass.

The factory was established beside the main railway line, giving it convenient transport for raw materials, fuel and finished goods. Its early backers included the Stockholm glass wholesalers Brising och Fagerström and AGA founder Gustaf Dalén. Engineer Hans Wilhelm Hanse supplied technical expertise, and the works could produce lenses and other glass components for AGA’s lighthouses.

Elme’s early years were unsettled. Following bankruptcy in 1921, the works reopened in 1923 and was taken over by Sten Kjellgren in 1925. Changes of ownership and periods of financial difficulty continued throughout its history, but these were accompanied by important developments in design and production.

A particularly significant period began in 1926, when artist and designer Edvin Ollers arrived after working at Kosta. During his time at Elme, which lasted until 1930, he designed pressed glass as well as blown, engraved and cut glass. His contribution helped establish the late 1920s as a high point in the factory’s creative history, demonstrating that its output extended well beyond inexpensive utility wares.

The Borgarp family ran the works from 1962 until its closure. Designers associated with this later period included Carl-Olof Borgarp, Kjeld Jordan, John Hall, Charlotte Rude and Hjordis Olsson. Together with the earlier work of Ollers, this later generation contributed to a catalogue spanning different techniques and changing tastes across more than five decades.

Manufacturing ceased in 1970, although remaining stock continued to be sold afterwards. Some moulds were transferred to Bergdala, where production of those designs continued, while the Elme factory itself was demolished in 1980. This continuation of forms beyond Elme’s closure makes documented designs, provenance and surviving marks more useful for identification than shape alone.

Read more in Smålands museum’s glassworks history here, the historical account of Elme’s founding here, and the glass identification guide here.