Nyon, Switzerland, c. 1880/85, probably produced under a licence agreement by S. Reich & Co, Vienna, c. 1900, mould-blown glass, the surface hermetically sealed by molten glass, all parts marked: FALCONNIER, height each approx. 20 cm, 14 x 12 cm. (DRAX)

All parts undamaged and waterproof. The glass blocks were originally used for two large windows in a building erected in 1890, which housed a can factory. The dismantling of the glass blocks in 2014 was documented.

Provenance: Erste Altmärkische Konservenfabrik, Letzlingerstrasse, Gardelegen, Germany, in situ until 2014. Falconnier’s glass building blocks were included in the collection of the New York MoMA.

Lit.: cf. P. Antonelli, Design. Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York 2003, p. 152

Gustave Falconnier was a successful Swiss inventor and businessman who had his “briques de verre”, which he manufactured with the aid of special technology, patented in France in 1886 and in the USA in 1889. That same year he was honoured for his invention at the Paris Universal Exposition, and subsequently such prominent architects as Hector Guimard, Auguste Perret, and Le Corbusier used the new, highly weatherproof, and versatile material for their modern translucent glass walls, which met the highest standards also in terms of technical quality. Falconnier’s invention was so successful that licence agreements were concluded in numerous European countries and the USA.