Translated by Karl G Lövstrand, 2000

Chapter HISTORY

In the year of 1675 fate brought a southern adventurer up to our coast. His name was Giacomo Bernardini Scapitta. His original profession was "friar". He was born at Casale Monferrato in northern Italy. He left his country at an early age referring to a dispute with the Holy Church. This might be true but a minor crime causing him personal problems is a more probable reason.

Four years before Scapitta came to Sweden he had lived in Amsterdam, where he worked partly as pastor and partly as an assistant to the workers in a glass works, owned by an Italian, Nicolas Stua. Giacomo soon found this work boring. Thus he went on a journey to live in Osnabrück together with a companion of his at the glass works, Jean Guillaume Rainer. After some travelling to various places and failed trials to obtain privileges in order to run a glass factory at several German courts, among them Hamburg and Danzig, he got the idea to do new experiments further north. In Hamburg the adventurers had convinced the administration to pay them money for the manufacturing of glass that were nothing more than promises. In Stockholm with the ignorant Swedes this was even easier.

To begin with Scapitta thought that a social promotion was a necessity. He was introduced to the inner powerful group of men in Stockholm as the Marquise Giacomo Guagnini. He won his first victory at Lord Major Claes Rålamb. This man ordered money to be paid for a small glass oven. There glass was in fact produced a few times! "The glass production was so successful" that a company was soon founded, "He convinced many of the high and prestigious men in Stockholm to finance the company consisting of 12 lots. It was through the Lord Major Rålamb´s influence that made this possible. The initial successful glass manufacturing was fully due to the companion of Scapitta, Reinier. This also got assistance from an "Apothecary-Chemist" Mr Johan Frise who had followed the adventurers from Osnabrück.

Among the owners of the glass-works were the state-treasurer Sten Bielke, two secretaries of state departments Mr Soop and Mr Kurck, the governor of king Charles XI and of more importance the Chancellor of the Royal Mint Mr Balthasar Grill.

On the 24 January 1676 a privilege letter signed by the king officially founded the company. The manufacturing was intended to be "glass pains, mirror glass as well as drinking glass and rock-crystal glass." Scapitta lost no time. In a contract he was guaranteed among other things one twelfth of the factory and its earnings. Without any investments Guagnini became general manager. A guaranteed salary of 2000 Riksdaler was immediately paid to him, in advance.

The factory was founded at a backyard owned by the City at the St Clara church in the northern part of Stockholm. Several glass ovens were built and workers employed some from the miss-treated Melchior Jung, who may not have been able to pay his people properly. Personnel were hired also some Italian glass blowers from England. Considering all circumstances Scapitta should have been able to maintain his company however ignorant he was about glass making. But he ran the company his way. No bookkeeping and no account for material, money or machinery. He was also totally incapable of directing anything in the glass business. The shareholders were soon disappointed with the adventurer and they were right. They had invested 22,800 Riksdaler silver coins and had borrowed 28,000 Riksdaler. The glass-works had produced some drinking-glass but not one single glass-pain or mirror.

The situation was soon impossible for Scapitta. He probably recognised the symptoms and realised what would follow. In August 1678 our adventurer silently left the country. He had first been removed as director of the company but in the same time he was offered to rent the factory. The debts were too hot and Scapula chose a new marketplace for his adventures, this time England. Except a rather bad reputation he left a birth certificate which made the revelation of him possible. The Marquise again became a poor monk on the run.

After this Mr Balthasar Grill became the soul of the Kungsholmen glass-works. He was convinced to rent the glass-works for four years, together with the company vice president Arvid Ivarsson and the bank commissar Johan Gerdes. After that period Grill alone took over the management of the company. Also this time he was persuaded and got promises about extra money that was never paid. However, the factory was now more productive and the quality improved.

This stabile period was short. In 1686 the Magistrate found that the situation of the factory in the densely populated S:t Clara was too risky for all surrounding wooden houses. A royal resolution was issued on the requirement from the Magistrate, that the glass-works should be moved "to a remote place". Protests were in vain. In a desperate attempt the Glass society managed to find a small rocky island in the lake Malaren, close to Kungsholmen near the bridge to that island. Today this area has been filled and the Karolinska Institute (a main research hospital) is located there. The Owen Street before named the Glass-works Lane constituted the western border to the area.

On the 8^th October 1688 the company received the "owner certificate" of the new place after paying 6000 Riksdaler copper coins, for the grounds and a minor building (Sweden had much copper. Too many copper coins were issued which brought a copper coin inflation. The currency Riksdaler was split into the more valuable Riksdaler silver coins and the much less valued Riksdaler copper coins).

The new factory was not even ready when another royal resolution was issued demanding the factory to move. The first new place suggested, Hastholmen near Danviken met severe protests. Then a location was suggested at Waldemarsudde on the island of Djurgården. The company fought a desperate match in order to be allowed to stay at Kungsholmen in order to avoid new high re-localisation costs. After referring to several large cities in Europe such as London, Paris and Amsterdam they were allowed to stay. The Kungsholms Glass-works could now start its glorious more than one hundred years long period of glass manufacturing. Mr Grill died in 1697. His successor was the company vice president Mr Johan Thegnér, who during 37 years managed to maintain the factory.

King Charles XI had a great personal interest in the glass-works. At the death of Sten Bielke the king bought his shares. King Charles XII eventually inherited them. The latter sold his share at an official auction in 1704. In 1693 the glassmaker Johann Kunchel lived in Stockholm during a 5 months leave from his German glass-works. It is not known whether he was active with the production at Kungsholmen. His task was to "study rock products" in Sweden. Many Swedish glass products are similar to his style and time but one has to be careful when naming him as the artist.

The production had during its first period an obvious Venetian style. This style with its "wing-glass" was modern until the end of the 1600’s in Continental Europe. Italian glass blowers were employed at the glass-works. The southern style had a great influence until ca 1700. The ca 20" tall piece on figure 1 is a good example of this style. Unfortunately this grand piece is fretted by the unavoidable glass-disease.

The production at Kungsholmen is comparable with that from other main continental glass-works. In the beginning the Venetian style dominated. At the end of the 17^th century the advanced trans-alpine art of engraving glass was brought to Kungsholmen. The artistic work is transformed from the glass-oven to the engraving-shop.

Figure 1. Goblet with lid from late 17^th century. 18" tall. Swedish National Museum, Stockholm