Our Story

In the late 1930s, as Binswanger Glass began to expand nationwide from its original home in Richmond’s industrial district of Scott’s Addition, a young married couple—Carl and Margaret Simms—saw an opportunity and launched their own auto glass shop in the same neighborhood. Simms Auto Glass indeed became a successful operation serving the greater Richmond area until the couple’s retirement in the late 1970s.

At that time, they sold the business to Carl and Mavis Edwards, who had recently established a radiator repair shop just two doors up the street. Carl’s Radiator & Auto Glass soon became a fixture in Scott’s Addition, even becoming successful enough to sponsor a local late-model racing legend. The auto glass side of the business eventually slowed down, however, and most of the inventory was liquidated as the Edwards family concentrated on building the radiator business into an automotive and industrial cooling powerhouse.

An avid restorer of antique cars, Carl Edwards held onto the glass for the oldest models, as he never knew when he might have need of one. In 2019 this collection of antique auto glass was discovered by family while cleaning out the garage, and after years of research and cataloging, the inventory is now available for purchase. Each item is carefully taken out of its original box—by a former art preparator at the Art Gallery of Ontario, no less—for inspection and documentation. Once photographed, an expert researcher scours dusty catalogs to identify those vehicles it fits and uploads everything to eBay.

But how does one package and ship antique auto glass? VERY CAREFULLY.

Each item is protected with fitted foam and industrial bubble wrap before inserting back into its original box, which is then further padded, protected, and double-boxed. We’ve shipped items across the country, with customers ranging from Connecticut to Montana, with no problems or complaints.

If you have a pet project from the 1940s or 1950s that requires hard-to-find curved or bent glass, please send us an inquiry. With over 200 items in our inventory, we may very well have that elusive glass you’ve been seeking!