Berger Glassworks (Hurdalssjøen)
Berger Glassworks stood at the southern end of Lake Hurdalssjøen in Eidsvoll, Norway, and operated from 1857 to 1872. Mathiesen Eidsvold Værk's history connects the works with Tostrup & Mathiesen and Berger Bruk. Production centred on bottles but also included window glass, decanters and glass fishing floats.
Bottles and marks
Mathiesen Eidsvold Værk describes surviving brown and green beer bottles marked Berger underneath. This provides a documented comparison, not proof that every old bottle of similar form came from this works. Assess the mark together with the complete bottle and documented models.
Collections and identification
Products and manufacturing equipment survive in the Mathiesen collections. The Krutthuset display at Eidsvoll Verk includes objects from the glassworks. Record base marks, neck, lip, dimensions and damage photographically. Avoid a firm attribution based solely on green colour or signs of age. State the evidence supporting an attribution, and separate documented factory history from uncertainty about an individual object.
Sources
Mathiesen Eidsvold Værk: Berger-historikken; Mathiesen Eidsvold Værk: Krutthuset.
