Chalet Everyday
The Chalet Artistic Glass factory operated in Cornwall, Ontario from 1962 until 1975. Located in the 1919 addition to the Dundas Mill at 50 Harbord Road at Edward Street, it was part of the everyday Cornwall landscape. People drove and walked by these buildings everyday. Factory tours took place everyday. Cornwall retailers showcased and sold Chalet glass everyday. Pieces in homes were dusted everyday. It was given as gifts and prizes everyday … However, viewing Chalet in this context is not the lens through which we collectors view Chalet. We typically see only the glass and only as a cherished collectable. Therefore, I thought it would be interesting to look at some everyday aspects of Chalet glass as it was experienced and available “back in the day.”
Chalet actively promoted itself and its glass as an important and integral part of life in Cornwall
A 1971 Chalet company advertisement run in the Cornwall daily newspaper – the Standard Freeholder. Courtesy of the Cornwall Community Museum archives
Cornwall retailers (gift shops, department stores and jewellers) carried it as everyday inventory along with a miscellany of other products
A 1964 advertisement. Also run in the Cornwall daily newspaper (the Standard Freeholder) and again, courtesy of the Cornwall Community Museum archives.
It was given as prizes
Courtesy of Mario Panizzon.
It was given as trophies
From the Ottawa Journal – January 14, 1965 edition. Courtesy of the Cornwall Community Museum archives.
It was given as tribute awards in recognition of accomplishments
At a May 6, 1965 Cornwall Lions Club ceremony honouring Edouard “Newsy” Lalonde. Lalonde was a star NHL forward from Cornwall. He was given the nickname “Newsy” because he worked at a newspaper plant during his teenage years.
It was presented to visiting dignitaries as a symbol of Cornwall excellence
November 20, 1971. From the archives of the Cornwall Community Museum.
It was everyday household décor
It was collected everyday – even back then
This trip down family memory lane from 50 Shades member Jeremiah Shaver. A visit from his cousins circa 1986. Note a few of his mother’s Chalet elephants and the eagle figurine on the middle shelf.
Sometimes it was “downsized” in household auctions
At left, from the March 21, 1968 edition of The Whig Standard (Kingston, ON) which is a division of Postmedia Network, Inc..
It was given as gifts
For holidays.
Christmas in Cornwall.
Christmas in the greater area.
At left, a December 17, 1968 advertisement and at right, from March 21, 1965. Both ran in the Ottawa Citizen which is a division of the Postmedia Network, Inc.
Christmas in western Canada.
From the Wednesday, December 2, 1964 edition of The Edmonton Journal. This publication is owned by the Postmedia Network, Inc.
On Special Days.
Thursday, May 7, 1970. The Leader Post (Regina,Saskatchewan) is a publication owned by the Postmedia Network, Inc.
To celebrate special life-events.
As a housewarming gift.
From the Wednesday, September 25, 1968 edition of the Innisfail Province (Innisfail, Alberta) newspaper. Great West Newspapers Limited Partnership is the owner of this publication.
As a bridal shower gift.
May 9, 1964. The Leader Post (Regina, Manitoba) is a publication owned by the Postmedia Network, Inc.
As the quintessential “teacher gift.”
At the 2010 exhibit, a former Cornwall teacher told me that she had received at least one Chalet apple a year as a gift from a pupil throughout her entire career. These were packed away in a large box in her attic! According to several of the Chalet artists, the cranberry apple was in honour of the McIntosh apple which is grown in many orchards around Cornwall.
It could be a customized “Special Order”
Chalet accepted special orders from both companies and individuals. How do we know this? Not only have the artists confirmed it, but we also have direct accounts from customers who commissioned special pieces. In fact, I am fortunate enough to have one of those in my collection and heard about it directly from the source.
This set of mouth-blown pear bookends, shown below in my collection. was a special order. The standard production sets contained an apple and a pear. However, the Cornwall native who ordered these did not like apples. So, voilà!
The set of little orange ashtrays directly behind them is also quite special as both are etched with the rare “Chalet Canada Cornwall” signature.
This unique piece was also a special order - an anniversary gift from a husband to his wife. Both worked at Chalet at the time, not as glassblowers, but in sales and administration.
Photographs courtesy of Jeremiah Shaver.
And we have irrefutable, company etched and Chalet branded proof of a corporate special order. To honor Canada's 1967 Centennial, Grace Plastics (Howards & Sons Ltd., the Cornwall subsidiary of this worldwide company) ordered these for their employees. This also coincided with the company's expansion in Cornwall.
It was a tourist destination- school groups, service clubs, families and women’s groups from both near and far visited
October 3, 1964 notice in the Ottawa Citizen which is a division of the Postmedia Network, Inc.
Featured in the travel section of the May 6, 1972 edition of The Toronto Star. This newspaper is owned by Nordstar Capital LP, which is the parent company of the media conglomerate Torstar Corporation.
From the Woodlawn Observer (Chicago, Illinois) June 22, 1967.
Chalet Artistic Glass ceased operation 50 years ago but everyday its legacy lives on.
