#4 Notebook - People Behind the Glass

No glasswork was ever the result of a single person's work.

Every Murano glass manufactory depended on specialised knowledge.

Designers imagined new collections.

Master glassmakers transformed drawings into finished objects.

Different masters specialised in different techniques and productions.

Technicians developed colours and materials.

Administrators coordinated the company, while sales representatives introduced new collections to the market.

External artists and designers brought new ideas and perspectives.

The archive makes this complex organisation visible.

Drawings, production records, catalogues, administrative documents, correspondence and photographs reveal not only the people behind the objects, but also the structure and daily life of the manufactory itself.

Each role left different traces.

Designers can be followed through sketches and technical drawings.

Master glassmakers emerge through production records and technical notes.

Administrative documents reconstruct responsibilities, business decisions and the evolution of the company.

Catalogues, photographs and commercial material document how objects reached the market, while letters, notebooks and personal photographs reveal the relationships behind the work.

The archive also documents the close relationships between Murano's glassworks. Correspondence, invoices, production records and commercial documents reveal collaborations that ranged from manufacturing for third parties and the exchange of production lines for commercial distribution to the supply of individual components used in the final production of another manufactory. These records show a network of cooperation that was fundamental to the daily life of Murano's glass industry.

At Fratelli Toso, the history of the company and the history of the family are inseparable. Across generations, members of the Toso family assumed different creative, managerial and commercial roles, working alongside master glassmakers, technicians and external collaborators to shape the identity of the manufactory. The archive preserves this unique continuity, revealing how professional responsibilities and family life became intertwined in the everyday story of Fratelli Toso.