Murano Glass Vase

Abstract

Important information about a society can be learned from studying its institutions, government, industries, art, culture and other factors. This is true also if the information that we want to acquire is about the way this societies lived in the past. For example, much can be learned about the Venetian society between 13th and 18th century by investigating its glassmaking industry. This is because, at that time, being involved in this sector dictated where in Venice you could live, your social status, who you could marry, and whether you could travel abroad. Moreover, if we consider that glassmaking was one of the two largest industries of the early modern Venetian economy - the manufacturing of silk being the other one, employing a substantial portion of the city’s corporate labor force (in the late 18th century about thirty percent of the Venetian artisans were glassmakers), it becomes clear the significant impact that the making of glass had on this society.

Keywords: Patents; Patent History; Glassmaking; Origin of Patents