Adolph Linke was one of five Bohemian decorators recruited by Carl Prosch in 1901 to work in Christian Dorflinger’s Honesdale Decorating Company in Seelyville, PA. By 1910, Adolph, his wife Pauline, son Richard and daughters Amelia, Adolphine, Bertha, Annie and Frances were living on Beech Grove Road. While he worked at the Honesdale Decorating Company, Linke became the “boss,” with Carl Prosch manager and chief designer. About 10 years after Linke’s arrival, the company began producing a new, gold-decorated band product, which was easier to make and could be made by a glassworker instead of a trained decorator. When Prosch patented the process and designs in his name, Adolph Linke felt he had not been given appropriate credit, and he left the Honesdale Decorating Company and started a plant in his own home in Seelyville. Adolph’s son Richard continued the business after his father retired to Florida; the Linke Colored Glass Shop survived until the Depression forced him to close in 1936.

From the collection of the Wayne County Historical Society, 810 Main St., Honesdale, PA. The museum and research library are open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a. m. to 4 p. m. and museum only 12 noon to 4 p. m. Sunday.