Jean Daum (1825-1885) bought the Sainte Catherine glass factory in Nancy in 1878. He brought his two sons into the business, Auguste in 1879 and Antonin in 1887. After classical studies in Bitche, Metz and Nancy, Auguste Daum obtained his law degree from the University of Paris. He gave up his career as a notary to take up the management of his father's factory. In 1904, he became president of the Nancy Commercial Court. When he died in 1909,  his brother Antonin took over the family business on his own. Antonin studied in Lunéville, then at the lycée in Nancy. In 1887, he graduated from the École Centrale de Paris, and joined the glassworks factory to work on renewing the shapes and decorations of the pieces.

Auguste's management skills and Antonin's creative talent gave the company a new economic and artistic dimension. Around 1891, Antonin Daum, who had the intuition of the revival of the decorative arts and the need to take part in it, created an artistic department. Increasingly popular the workshop's output grew steadily, supported and developed by strong-willed collaborators: Jacques Gruber, Henri Bergé and Amalric Walter, who introduced the pâte de verre technique. The pieces produced were part of the Art nouveau movement. From then on, Daum manufacture participated in nearly all the World's Fairs. The awards it won at these exhibitions ensured its reputation, in particular the Grand Prix it received in Paris in 1900, just like Émile Gallé, whose work became equal in quality for the public’s appreciation. It was in this context that some exceptional pieces were created. As for current production, it combines a whole range of predefined designs and shapes, according to customers’ wishes.

After the First World War, Art Nouveau pieces continued to be produced alongside Art Deco. Developed by Paul Daum, this new aesthetic, which made use of geometric shapes and new colours, was crowned rewarded at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paris in 1925.

After the Second World War, Henri and Michel Daum took over the company, focusing on transparent crystal and refined shapes. At the end of the 1960s, they turned to internationally renowned artists such as Salvador Dali and César, and more recently Hilton Mac Connico, Garouste and Bonnetti and Christian Pillet to create models made in pâte de verre.

One of the remarkable facts about the Daum factory is its longevity and unrivalled reputation. For more than a century, the company has systematically adapted to the tastes of each era and managed the constraints and obligations of an art industry. Alongside the creation of exceptional pieces, improving the quality of current production and developing tableware are still  one of the company’s strong points today.

Daum manufacture appointed a succession of talented artists to run the decoration workshop: the first was Jacques Gruber, a decorator and glassmaker, from 1893, and Henri Bergé from 1895. The arrival of Amalric Walter in 1904, after an apprenticeship at the Sèvres factory, brought the pâte de verre technique to Daum.

Antonin Daum was vice-president and treasurer of the École de Nancy from its creation in 1901.