DETRIMENT ; ;. ,;| I v-# 1— / J V v_> *~J •» V 1 li ^- * -j . LfiHMA/MJ LIBRARY OF THE NEW YORK STATE COLLEGE OF HOME ECONOMICS CORNELL UNIVERSITY ITHACA, NEW YORK Cornell University Library HD 9623.A2L4 The glassware department. 3 1924 014 494 219 The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924014494219 DEPARTMENT STORE MERCHANDISE MANUALS EDITOR OF SERIES BEULAH ELFRETH KENNARD, M.A. Director of Department Store Courses, New p York Uni- versity; Chairman of Committee on Merchandise Courses for New York City Public Schools; Former Educational Director, Department Store Education Association. CONSULTING EDITOR LEE GALLOWAY, Ph. D. Associate Professor Commerce and Industry, New York University; Secretary of National Association of Corpora- tion Schools; Director Educational Courses, National Commercial Gas Association. Courtesy of United Stales Glass Co. Forming the Stem of a Goblet (upper) Finished Goblet Ready for Annealing (lower) DEPARTMENT STORE MERCHANDISE MANUALS THE GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT BY MARY A. LEHMANN, B.A. Educational Director, Frederick Loeser & Co., Brooklyn, N. Y.; Instructor of Non-Textile Merchandise Courses, New York University; Former Store Teacher, Stern Broth- ers, New York City. NEW YORK THE RONALD PRESS COMPANY 1918 Copyright, 1918, by The Ronald Press Company ®t?i0 Merita is Brftirateb to Mrs. Henry Ollesheimer, Miss Virginia Potter, Miss Anne Mor- gan, and other organizers of the Department Store Education As- sociation, who desiring to give greater opportunity for advance- ment to commercial employees and believing that all business efficiency must rest upon a solid foundation of training and education gave years of enthusiastic service to the testing of this belief. EDITOR'S PREFACE This series of department store manuals has been pre- pared for the purpose of imparting definite and authen- tic information to that growing army of salespeople who are not satisfied, to be mere counter servers — to those who realize that their vocation is one of dignity and opportunity, and that to give satisfactory service to the customer they must possess a thorough knowledge of the goods they sell, as well as a knowledge of how best to sell them. These manuals were planned and prepared as the result of many months of teaching department store salespeople in a number of large stores in New York and other cities. Later a series of courses for teachers of depart- ment store salesmanship was introduced into the curricu- lum of the School of Pedagogy of New York University. This gave additional opportunity for the study of store conditions and needs from the point of view of the teacher. Thus the material in these books has been tried out with the salespeople in the store and also with those who have proven themselves to be successful teachers. In the preparation of these manuals we have received the most cordial co-operation from experts in the various lines of merchandise and from manufacturers who have freely given their time and valuable counsel. To all of these the authors and editors of this series wish to express their grateful appreciation. Beulah Elfreth Kennard. AUTHOR'S PREFACE The increase of general knowledge regarding the qual- ity, style, and types of glass makes it essential for the salesperson in the Glassware Department to know more definitely and accurately about the materials and process of manufacture of the merchandise for the sale of which he is responsible. His ability to answer the customer's questions regarding the piece most durable or suitable for the purpose determines to a large extent his own sales and the growth of the department. The purpose of this manual is to furnish the salesperson with this information in a simple form. The author is indebted to the editor of this series for the chapter on design; to Mr. Frank E. Freese of the United States Glass Co. for reviewing the section on the manufacture of glass; to Mr. E. W. Bryce, Super- intendent of Factory B, United States Glass Co., for valuable notes on manufacture ; to Mr. A. Douglas Nash, Secretary, Treasurer, and Assistant Manager of the Tiffany Furnaces, for reviewing the chapter on Tiffany glass and contributing the section on peacock glass ; to C. Dorflinger & Sons and to Mr. G. M. Jaques of The Crockery and Glass Journal for reviewing the parts on tableware and cut glass; and to L. Solomon & Son for reviewing the chapter on silver deposit ware. For illustrations thanks are due to C. Dorflinger & Sons, United States Glass Co., and A. Gredelue. Mary A. Lehmann. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I Introductory I Effective Display- Divisions of the Glassware Department Characteristics of Glass Utility Durability Beauty PART I — MANUFACTURE OF GLASS II Glass Materials Nature and Composition Difference Between Precious Stones and Glass Materials of Which Glass Is Composed Sand Occurrence of Sand Quality of Sand Depends on Constituents Sand Beds Sandstone Quartz Flint Kelp or Seaweed Alkalies Potash American Potash Soda Soda-Ash Salt-Cake Chile Saltpeter Lead and Lime Forms of Lead Used ix x CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE Kinds of Lime Used Other Materials Used Coloring Materials III Manufacture of Glass 20 Careful Preparation of Materials Preparation of the Sand Mixing the Batch Fusing and Fining Glass Furnaces Careful Construction of Furnaces Fuels Pot Furnaces Fire Clay Manufacture of Pots Tank Furnaces Calcar Furnace Fusing Process Fining Process IV Finishing Processes 34 Removing Molten Glass from the Furnace Methods of Shaping Gathered Glass Glass-Blowing How a Glassblower Works Pressing Glass Pressed Glass Used in Imitations Molding Annealing Process of Annealing Varieties of Kilns Polishing Defects in Glass " Differences in Glass ^^ V Bottles and Other Special Forms of Glass ... 47 Bottle-Making Blown Bottles Molded Bottles The Owens Automatic Bottle Machine Manufacture of Crown and Window Glass Special Forms of Glass J Uses of Colored Glass CONTENTS xi PART II — CUT GLASS AND TABLEWARE CHAPTER PAGE VI Cut Glass 53 Characteristics Materials Process Designing and Cutting Tracing the Design Cutting Wheels Expert Knowledge Required Roughing Smoothing Polishing Figured Blank Glass Acid Polishing Glass-Cutting Machines How to Judge Values Differences Between English and American Glass Cut Rock Crystal Genuine Rock Crystal Works of Art Carved from Rock Crystal VII Engraved, Etched, and Carved Glass . 66 Methods of Decoration Engraving Etching Needle-Etching Plate-Etching Sand-Blast Etching Frosting Carving Embossing Trailing VIII Tableware 71 Stemware Shaping Stemware Variety of Shapes Stem Variations Tumblers Sets for Many Purposes Single Articles xii CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE IX Plateaux or Table Reflectors ... 79 Used for Decorative Purposes Mirrors Manufacturing Mirrors X Design in Glassware 82 Fundamentals of Design Importance of Shape Shapes of Cut Glass and Blown Glass Articles Purpose for Which Article Is to be Used Designs for Cut Glass Standard Cut Glass Patterns Engraved Glass Patterns Laws of Design Elements of Design Good Design The Use of Color in Design PART III — DECORATIVE GLASS XI Methods of Decoration 93 Possibilities of Glass Colored Decoration of Glass Surfaces Gilding Gold Resist Gold Banding Gold-leaf Painting and Enameling Lacquering or Japanning Silver Deposit Glass Process of Manufacture of Silver Deposit Ware Sketching the Pattern Firing Electroplating Polishing Engraving the Silver Deposit Original Process Meaning of the Term "Art Glass" Colored Glass Flashed Glass CONTENTS xiii CHAPTER PAGE XII Venetian and Bohemian Glass . . . 105 Beauty of Design and Coloring in Venetian Glass , Composition Curious Shapes Process of Formation Filigree Glass Cameo Glass Mosaic Glass Frosted Glass Laticella Glass Millefiori Glass Coloring of Venetian Glass Bohemian Glass Methods of Ornamentation History of Bohemian Glass XIII Tiffany Favrile Glass 115 Old Industry Revived Window Glass Peacock Glass Shapes Characteristic Colors of Tiffany Favrile Glass XIV Vases and Candlesticks 119 Varieties Table Vases Ornamental Vases Glass Candlesticks PART IV — THE GLASS INDUSTRY XV History of Glass-Making 123 Wonders of Glass-Making Glassmakers of Egypt Theban Works of Art Glass of Other Oriental Countries Assyrian Workmanship Persian Glassware Characteristics of Grecian Glacs Roman Glass Varieties of Glassware XIV CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE Glass of Pompeii and Herculaneum Varieties of Bottles Other Glassware Venetian Glass Murano a Famous Glass Center Development of Art in Other Countries Spanish Glass Bohemian Glass Other Varieties Early Art in France English Glass Growth of the Glass Industry in England Characteristics of English Glass XVI The Glass Industry in the United States 142 Early Experiments Pioneer Glass-Making Concerns Growth of the Industry Pressed Glassware Pressed Lime Glass Invasion of Foreign Markets The Owens Bottle Machine Improvements in Furnaces In the Middle West .i XVII Suggestions to Salespeople .... 149 Qualifications for Selling Glass Manufacture Other Points of Importance to Customers Suitability Arrangement Care Cleaning Things to be Avoided XVIII Classification of Stock of a Typical Glassware Department 156 Appendix 161 Books for Reference CONTENTS xv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Forming the Stem of a Goblet Frontispiece Finished Goblet Ready for Annealing .... Frontispiece FIGORE FACING PAGE i. Open Pot for Glass-Melting (on page) 26 2. Covered Pot for Glass-Melting (on page) 26 3. Diagram of a Furnace with a Horseshoe Flame . . . (on page) 30 4. Rolling Glass on Marver 36 5. The Evolution of a Tumbler (on page) 37 6. Cutting Glass 56 7. Cut Glass Goblet in Poppy Design 62 8. Patterns in Miter Cutting 86 9. Examples of Venetian Glassware no 10. Example of Bohemian Engraved Glass 112 n. Examples of Roman Molded Glass 128 12. Ancient Venetian Glass Furnace 132 13. Ancient Glassmakers' Tools (on page) 133 GLASSWARE DEPART- MENT Chapter I INTRODUCTORY Effective Display One of the most beautiful and effective displays of the modern store is found in the Glassware Depart- ment. It is sometimes situated where the natural light is strong; but more often it is lighted artificially with an arrangement of mirrors and reflectors to give the most brilliant and dazzling effect. Glassware is placed on glass shelves — often mir- rors with mirror backgrounds — on polished tables, or on velvet or felt. Sets are arranged on mirror pla- teaux which give them a double reflection. Colored glass is grouped harmoniously ; a few pieces are often introduced among the crystal to heighten the beauty of each by contrast. The decorations in 2 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT gold, silver, and enamel are brilliant and glistening and add to the effect of splendor. Divisions of the Glassware Department There are usually three general divisions of the Glassware Department : i. Tableware 2. Toilet sets 3. Decorative or art glass Sometimes a division is made between the domestic and the imported glass; but the American glass is so excellent in quality that there is no need for such a distinction. Glass is also divided according to its composition, into: Flint, lead, or crystal glass Lime or lime-crystal glass Common or bottle-glass Manufacturers are known as flint or lime manufac- turers, according to the kind of glass they produce. Cut glass is made of lead or flint glass and is some- times called cut rock crystal; pressed or molded glass is lime-crystal; and the cheaper grades may be bottle- glass. Glass is also referred to commercially as American, INTRODUCTORY 3 Belgian, Bohemian, Swedish, French, or English, in- dicating the country in which it was made; and in other cases it may be referred to by the name of the manufacturer. Characteristics of Glass Glass is one of the most valuable of all manufac- tured materials. It has the three most essential quali- ties: Utility Durability Beauty Utility The usefulness of glass is primarily due to its great adaptability. As a container of food it is almost per- fect, as it can be attacked by only one acid and that acid is not found in food. It is, however, slightly affected by strong alkalies. Because of its smooth surface it can be kept clean andjwilljioLretain odors; and thus it makes the best possible container for liquids, medicines, and nearly all chemicals. Because of its transparency it is the best material for windows, lamp chimneys, shades, and all illumi- nating fixtures. Its use in photography, astronomy, and all the phys- 4 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT ical sciences is unequaled, and it is the one material which can preserve and aid the sight. Durability The durability of glass is not generally realized. It is brittle, of course, and may be fractured by a blow or by too sudden expansion or contraction caused by sudden applications of heat or cold. On the other hand, ordinary usage does not wear it out and the atmosphere does not disintegrate it. Its durability is largely dependent upon careful an- nealing, which is one of the finishing processes. Beauty The transparency and the refraction of light by col- orless glass makes it beautiful. This beauty may be increased by cutting, polishing, and other modes of decoration and by the addition of color. The dazzling beauty of artistic glass almost equals that of perfect gems. Part I— Manufacture of Glass Chapter II GLASS MATERIALS Nature and Composition Glass is an artificial substance of mineral composi- tion. It has some of the characteristics of metals and some of those of the non-metallic minerals. It re- sembles metals in that it may be molded or drawn out into thin threads or tubes when heated to a certain temperature ; but it is far more brittle. When heated, glass becomes viscous; that is, in a condition between that of a liquid and that of a true solid ; when cool, the materials of which it is composed are held together in solution but not actually united. Under ordinary conditions glass is transparent, though it may readily be made so that one cannot see through it. It might easily be mistaken for those nat- ural mineral formations which we call precious stones, except that it never crystallizes. 5 6 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT Difference Between Precious Stones and Glass All transparent minerals, and many which are not transparent, have a crystalline formation — that is, the tiny particles of which they are composed are grouped in regular geometrical figures. These figures may be too small to be seen without a microscope ; but they are always there, and it is the reflection of light from these tiny particles that makes polished stones used in jew- elry more beautiful than glass. Glass has none of these tiny crystals. Materials of Which Glass Is Composed Glass contains: Sand or silica Lime Lead or flint Soda or potash It may also contain metallic oxides for coloring mat- ter and frequently other metals, such as aluminum, iron, zinc, magnesium, barium, borax, arsenic, and' antimony. Glass containing a number of different materials melts at a lower temperature, but is less perfect in structure, than that composed of pure silica, lime, and soda; or silica, lead, and potash. These materials mixed together form what is called the "batch," that GLASS MATERIALS 7 is, the mixture which, when sufficient heat is applied, becomes glass. Sand As clay is the main element in all pottery, so is sand the essential material in the making of glass. No glass can be made without it. It contributes toughness and strength to the batch and the viscosity which makes it possible to shape the molten glass into proper form. In an elementary class in chemistry, experiments in which acids and alkalies combine are often shown early in the course. The instructor perhaps pours hy- drochloric acid into a dish containing soda, and the students observe the violent boiling and bubbling that follows. This is known as a chemical reaction. After things quiet down and evaporation takes place, the dish contains a substance neither acid nor soda, but a neutral compound formed by the union of the chlorin of the acid with the sodium of the soda, which proves to be sodium chlorid, or common salt. A similar happening takes place in the making of glass. An acid is generally thought of as a liquid with a sour taste and pungent odor, and it may seem an absurd statement to say that sand is an acid. Nev- ertheless from a chemical standpoint the statement is true. When the sand is mixed with the soda and lime 8 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT the high temperature of the furnace is all that is needed to bring about just such a reaction as occurs when hydrochloric acid and soda are brought together. The resulting compound, glass, is therefore a neutral salt (silicate of sodium and calcium), although its properties differ greatly from other salts. Occurrence of Sand Sand in one of its various forms exists everywhere. It is formed by the wearing away of rocks by wind, rain, snow, and other forces of nature. It is finally deposited in a pure state in sea, river, or lake beds, and in a less pure state in the sandy soils of certain districts. What is called " sand " may be almost any- thing from nearly pure silica (sand that is 99.9 per cent pure) down to clay marls, a crumbling deposit consisting chiefly of clay mixed with limestone, which contains very little silica. Quality of Sand Depends on Constituents The quality of sand is largely determined by the amount of other substances it contains, such as com- pounds of iron, lime, aluminum, and magnesium. If pure it is perfectly white and does not effervesce or change color when treated with an acid. It is insolu- ble in all acids except hydrofluoric. The value of sand is largely determined by the GLASS MATERIALS 9 amount of iron it contains, because iron gives glass a greenish-yellow or clouded appearance. As nearly all sand contains some iron, cobalt or manganese is usually added to neutralize the undesirable color. The sand used in making the best grades of glass- ware must be free from impurities, fine, and of uni- form quality. If the sand is too coarse it will not fuse quickly, and if it is too fine it will melt too rapidly. Sand Beds The most desirable sand is usually found on the seashore or in the beds of rivers or lakes, where the grains are ground to a uniform size and shape by the constant friction of the water. Two famous sources are the Forest of Fontainebleau near Paris and Alum Bay in the Isle of Wight. Epinal, Belgium, has sand of almost equally pure com- position. English sands are not of such high quality. Most of the sand in the United States is tinged with yellow or gray. Practically every state in the Union contains sand fit for glass. The most important de- posits in the country, however, are located in West Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. Sand from the Berkshires in Massachusetts is prac- tically free from iron, and that from Pennsylvania contains less than .01 per cent. The finest quality is found in West Virginia. The mountains there con- IO GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT tain mines of sand said to be as pure as that from Fontainebleau. Sandstone Pure sand may be obtained by crushing sandstone, but the grains thus obtained are not likely to be so uniform in size as those from a sand bed, and the necessary grinding makes its preparation more expen- sive and tedious. Quartz Quartz is crystallized sand. It appears in nature as rock crystal, a transparent and colorless variety, and also in a number of semiprecious stones, such as the amethyst and false topaz. These forms of silica might be crushed and used for glass, but their hardness and intrinsic value make them too expensive for such use. Low-grade quartz is sometimes used. Flint Flint is a form of quartz containing lead and potash, which appears in certain localities in the form of boul- ders or large pebbles. It was used very generally by the early English glassmakers. The name " flint " is still applied to a kind of glass that is soft, brilliant, and suitable for cutting. Now, however, this kind of glass is usually made from oxide of lead and is more com- GLASS MATERIALS II monly referred to as crystal or lead glass. In France these flint pebbles are still gathered on the sea and river shores and carried by the peasants to the glass- makers. Flint must be finely ground before being used, and as this is an expensive and tedious process, it is suit- able only for the best grade of glassware. The various trade terms in use are apt to be some- what confusing. " Lead flint " glass contains : Sand or silica Oxide of lead Potash or pearlash (a special form of potash) Saltpeter " Lime flint " glass contains : Sand Lime Bicarbonate of soda Saltpeter " Strass " is a flint glass with a large amount of lead ; it is used for making artificial gems. Kelp or Seaweed Seaweed and other forms of plant life were at one time another source of silica, as the stalks of many sea plants, such as kelp, are stiffened with it. Modern 12 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT invention, however, makes it more profitable to utilize such sea plants by extracting the potash and soda they contain rather than the silica, which may be obtained by less expensive methods. Alkalies Next in importance to sand or silica among the con- stituents of glass are the alkalies, potash and soda. They are necessary in order to make the other materi- als melt and combine and are called " fluxes." Modern glassmakers obtain them from natural deposits and prepare them in special factories. Both are found in nature in various combinations : chlorids, sulphates, carbonates, and nitrates. The forms generally used, carbonates and sulphates, are the most desirable from the glassmaker's point of view, since they are the pur- est and of the most uniform composition. Potash Pearlash (potassium carbonate) is the form of pot- ash most commonly used. Crude pearlash is obtained from ashes as a by-product of the beet-sugar industry and is used for inexpensive glass. Saltpeter (potas- sium nitrate) is another form valuable for its oxygen and alkali. Ancient glass contained potash made from seaweed or kelp, but this was inferior to modern pot- ash because of its impurities. GLASS MATERIALS 13 Natural deposits of potash were discovered in the mines of Strassfurth near the River Elbe in Germany, and almost the entire world became dependent on them. Since war conditions shut off the supply, the potash situation has been very serious. Fortunately for the American industry, local deposits and fields of kelp are being discovered which should soon bring relief. American Potash A potash mine is being worked in New England, where a shaft 1,000 feet deep has been sunk. Night and day shifts are working the deposits. It has been known for a long time that there are considerable pot- ash deposits in the vicinity, but they were not mined to any extent until the cutting off of the European supply made the mining of potash in this country worth while. Large amounts of the compounds of this element are present in the vast beds of kelp floating on the waves of the Pacific near the western coast. Each year the waters of the Pacific coast yield a crop from which potash salts possessing a normal value of more than $90,000,000 can be readily extracted for use in agriculture and the arts. Not only are there inex- haustible supplies in the waters of the Pacific, but also remarkable deposits in the arid waste about Searles 14 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT Lake in California, and in Utah. Beds of kelp have also been discovered in the Philippines. Soda The general use of soda as a flux is a more recent development than the use of potash, though much of the glass of ancient times was soda glass. As with potash, it was first obtained from the burning of seaweed. Soda-Ash Soda-ash (sodium carbonate) is the purest form and is used in the better glass works. It is made by treating the natural soda deposits with certain chem- icals. Salt-Cake Salt-cake (sodium sulphate) is a cruder form used in making bottles and the heavier glassware. It is produced in the same manner as soda-ash. Chile Saltpeter Chile saltpeter (sodium nitrate) is used in the crude state or refined for the better ware. The nitrates of both soda and potash are valuable for the alkalies they contain, but more particularly for the oxygen which aids in freeing the batch from bubbles. GLASS MATERIALS 1 5 Lead and Lime The third necessary ingredient of glass is either lead or lime. Lead is used for the best cut glass, because of the brilliancy, resonance, and weight which it gives. It also lowers the melting point of the batch. Forms of Lead Used Lead oxide is an expensive material for glass- making. Red lead, the form generally used, is of a bright red color. It is preferable to other oxides be- cause it is easily decomposed by heat. It is made by roasting metallic lead in furnaces to eliminate the impurities present, such as silver, iron, and silica. Red lead is very poisonous and the workmen in flint glass factories have to wear respirators to keep them from inhaling lead dust while they are preparing it. In good factories perfect cleanliness is also insisted upon so that the lead may not poison the workmen's food. Kinds of Lime Used Lime (calcium oxide) is a much less costly mate- rial. It makes a harder glass than lead, and for this reason lime glass is not suitable for cutting. It may be used, however, for all kinds of pressed ware and for many varieties of art glass where lightness and delicacy are desired. Lime adds to the viscosity of 16 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT the molten glass, and so increases the toughness and serviceability of the finished product. If used in ex- cess, it gives the glass a milk-white color. Lime is found in many parts of the world, appear- ing as: Limestone rock Chalk (calcium carbonate) Chalk is a soft, brittle rock which can be easily ground into a fine powder. It is often mixed with iron, flint, and magnesia, which impair its quality. Gypsum (calcium sulphate) is a form of lime less pure than limestone, sometimes used in glass-making. Other Materials Used Other materials added for special purposes are : Aluminum Arsenic Barium Borax Magnesia Zinc Aluminum is found in small quantities in nearly all glass, but a larger percentage is used in opal or optical glass. Arsenic acts as a flux and neutralizes certain objec- tionable colors. GLASS MATERIALS 17 Barium replaces lead for some purposes of glass- making. It is an expensive material. Borax adds to the density and brilliancy of glass. Magnesia is similar to lime, for which it is some- times substituted. Zinc contributes some of the same qualities that soda and potash do. It is used in special optical glass. Coloring Materials Transparent colored glasses are made by simply adding coloring components in relatively small quanti- ties, to the clear glass batch. These are usually me- tallic oxides: copper or cobalt for blues; chrome or iron for greens ; silver or uranium for yellows ; and gold chlorid or seleniun for ruby. The deep amber used for bottles is made by adding carbon with sul- phur in some form; this is generally coal dust, but any of the grains wheat, oats, barley, or even saw- dust, will make a rich amber color. The opaque and semiopaque glasses require the same foundation mixture, but other materials in larger pro- portions are needed to insure sufficient opacity. Some of these other materials do not become chemically components of the glass, but remain in mechanical sus- pension only, i.e., floating in fine particles, and tend to destroy the uniformity and strength of the glass. 1 8 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT Others exert a destructive action on the pots or cruci- bles holding the batch. These are some of the reasons why opaque glass has not been in more general use for the manufacture of hollow wares, but recent progress has been made in eliminating or neutralizing the injurious effects of the ingredients referred to, and producing a material which will stand rough usage. Opaque glass is there- fore now invading a field which hitherto has belonged exclusively to the potter. The translucent lighting glass now so much in favor, because of its superiority, is crystal glass to to which has been added opacifying components, the most essential being oxide of aluminum. Lead and bismuth are the only metallic oxides which can be added to silica and alkali without discoloring the batch. Even an excess of lead gives a yellowish tinge. Owing to the presence of metallic substances in nearly all sand used for glass-making, colored glass has always been more common than that which is clear and colorless. Color which is muddy and dull, such as the green or the brown tinge of common bottle-glass, is due to the use of low-grade materials; but the colors which may be produced by the introduction of carefully prepared metallic oxides, which are used with a scientific knowl- GLASS MATERIALS 19 edge of their effect on the silica and alkali of the batch, add the final touch of beauty to decorative glass which brings it into the region of the fine arts. The further discussion of color therefore belongs in the section devoted to art glass. Chapter III MANUFACTURE OF GLASS Careful Preparation of Materials The quality and the appearance of finished glass- ware depend upon the purity and fineness of the ma- terials of which it is made, and the proper propor- tions of each in the mixture which forms the batch. Each material must also be as free as possible from water, as moisture hinders the melting process. Preparation of the Sand Sand for the manufacture of glass is first carefully examined under the microscope and analyzed by chem- ical tests for purity. It is then emptied into recepta- cles containing a large quantity of clean, pure water, moved about vigorously, and allowed to settle. As it is heavier than water it naturally falls to the bottom, while the particles of foreign matter which float upon the top are drawn off with the water. The sand is next burned to remove the moisture and to destroy any vegetable matter which has not been taken out. For this process it is placed on the bed 20 MANUFACTURE OF GLASS 21 'of a moving oven which travels continuously through flames. From the oven bed it is dropped into a vault through a series of sieves covered with fine copper gauze. This sifting process not only removes impurities but also aids in procuring a sand with grains of uniform size. The other materials are usually refined and prepared before they reach the glass manufacturer. Mixing the Batch The mixing of glass materials must be done with scientific accuracy, as an excess or deficiency of any one of them affects the appearance and quality of the finished product. Too much sand keeps the batch from melting, and too little potash or soda has the same result. Too much lime or lead affects the color and quality. All coloring compounds must be used with a knowledge of their chemical reactions in order to produce the proper effect. Each formula must therefore be prepared by a trained chemist, and every ingredient carefully weighed. The formulas for certain kinds of glass are secret, and even the workmen are kept in ignorance of them lest they should disclose the processes to a competing manufacturer. For small batches the weighing and mixing are done by hand, but for larger 22 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT quantities by machinery. In the weighing process only the ends of the scale beam may be seen by the workmen, the exact proportions being known only to a few members of the concern. After weighing, the materials are all collected in an " assembly box " and dumped into a hopper, which empties its contents into the mixing machine. This machine rotates in various directions while revolving steel arms within the mixing chamber stir the contents. Samples of the batch are taken out and examined. When the sample shows that the whole mass is uni- form in color and texture, the " cullet " or " frit " is added. This is a special mixture of materials in a pulverized and half -molten state which hastens the process of melting and fusion for which the batch is now ready. Fusing and Fining The fusing of the materials into a uniform molten liquid out of which glass articles may be formed is a most interesting process. After the fusing the next step in the manufacture is fining. By means of intense heat and some material containing oxygen, impurities and gas bubbles are re- moved. Both of these important processes are de- scribed in greater detail in the latter part of the chap- ter. Both take place in glass furnaces. MANUFACTURE OF GLASS 23 Glass Furnaces Three kinds of furnaces are needed in a glass fac- tory: 1. The working furnace, either: (a) Pot or crucible furnaces, or . (b) Tank furnaces 2. The calcar furnace for making frits 3. The annealing oven The first two kinds are described in this chapter, the third in Chapter IV. Careful Construction of Furnaces Furnaces for making glass must be built with a view to durability, regularity, and intensity of heat, and also economy of fuel. Since they must resist a tem- perature of between i,8oo° and 2,700° F., glass fur- naces are constructed of fire-proof bricks made of an infusible clay mixed with cement obtained from the pulverization of old pots — the containers for molten glass. The fire of the furnace never goes out until the furnace wears out after one or two years of service. Glass furnaces have much in common with pottery furnaces except that the heat of the glass furnace is more constant. Upon the regularity of its heat de- pends the safety of the crucibles as well as the quality 24 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT of the glass they contain. Sudden variations of tem- perature tend to crack the crucibles and irregular cool- ing " striates " or streaks the glass. The furnace must be constructed so as to resist great heat and avoid drafts, and must be very durable. The fuel must be as free as possible from impurities, and the degree of heat applied and the duration of the fusing process must be carefully regulated or the entire batch may be wasted. Fuels The kind and the quality of the fuel used in a glass furnace is of importance. Wood was naturally the first fuel to be used. It made a clean heat but one of slow and uncertain temperature, varying with the kind of wood used and with its wet or dry condition. The old glassmaker, like the old potter, knew the value of the various kinds of woods for his purpose and chose them accordingly. The use of coal necessitates covering the pots in which the glass is melted to prevent the soot and sul- phur from coming in contact with the glass and thus filling it with small particles of harmful matter as well as affecting its color. This was a constant annoyance to the glassmaker. The introduction of the hooded pot necessitated the addition of more fluxing material or of more heat to MANUFACTURE OF GLASS 2$ make the batch melt, because the hood prevented the flame from touching the batch as in the case of open pots. The discovery of gas as a fuel solved the prob- lem for this country. The glassmaker of modern times owes much to the discovery of natural gas as a fuel. It makes a smoke- less flame and has scarcely any impurities. It pro- vides a uniform heat and there is no discoloration from smoke. It gives no trouble through the accumulation of ashes or dirt. The introduction of gas as a fuel has revolutionized the whole glass-making industry. In the United States both gas and petroleum are used. Even for pot furnaces gas is used ; in tank furnaces it is indispensa- ble. Natural gas is employed wherever it is obtain- able. Where there is no natural gas, artificial gas is made from other fuels. Pot Furnaces The pot furnace is circular, with a chimney in the middle through which the smoke, flame, and heated air escape. At the base of this enormous chimney is a central fire, and fire bars occupy the middle of the furnace floor. On the sides of the furnace are recesses in which the workmen stand ; and on the inner sides of these recesses are openings into the pots or crucibles 26 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT which are placed opposite on a clay stand or shelf around the circumference of the furnace. Each crucible has one small opening only, near the top, in the shape of a neck projecting out through the furnace wall . Through this opening the batch is poured into the crucible ; during the melting it is tightly sealed so as to be practically air-tight, and no direct flame, smoke, or heat gets to the fusing glass. Because of Figure I. Open Pot for Figure 2. Covered Pot for Glass-Melting Glass-Melting this protection from outside influences it is possible to make glass of greater luster and better color than can be made otherwise in the present state of the art. The word "color " is here used in its technical sense as applied to crystal glass. When a glassmaker says his glass is of good color, he really means that it is with- out color, or as nearly so as he can get it. A furnace is described as having so many " pots," the number of these indicating its size. The pots vary in shape and capacity. They may be round, oval, or rectangular, from 18 inches to 3 feet in height, and MANUFACTURE OF GLASS 27 with open, or " hooded " or domed tops. They may hold a few pounds (monkeys), or several tons of molten glass. Figure 1 shows an open pot; Figure 2 a covered one. Pots last only a few weeks though it takes months to make them. While in use they require the most careful attention, as the intense heat widens even the smallest crack and soon breaks the pot. This means the loss of the entire batch of glass. The process of making glass in a pot furnace may be more carefully regulated than is the case with other processes, because the glass is in comparatively small quantities and the molten mass may be kept from con- tamination by the gases and other impurities always present, especially when the fuel is other than natural gas. The pot furnace was the one used by the old Venetian glassmakers in making their beautiful and fragile glass. Pot furnaces of an improved type are largely used today in making cut or pressed glass, and especially in making optical and colored glass where quality is of the first importance. Fire Clay The pots must be made of a special grade of fire clay. An extraordinary amount of care is required in the manufacture. Fire clays are clays which contain a large amount 28 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT of silica and a small percentage of fluxes or binding materials, so that they can withstand a high tempera- ture. Fire clay is found in nearly every part of the United States, especially in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Missouri. The pot clay found near St. Louis is said to be unsurpassed even by the most cele- brated clays of Europe. Manufacture of Pots When the clay has been finely sifted it is well mixed with burnt clay or unglazed fragments of broken pots, which tend to bind it together. Skill is required in mixing and working the ingredients in order to drive out every particle of air which, by expansion in the furnace, would break the pots. After the mixed material has been made into the creamy substance known as " slip," as if for pottery, it is given a definite shape by casting, molding, or building. (See manual for the "China Depart- ment.") The practice is to make several pots at a time so that one may partially set while another is being built. The pots are allowed to stand for from 8 to 12 months in a temperature of from go° to ioo u F. They are then placed on fire clay blocks in a bak- ing furnace and subjected to a red heat (i,8oo° to 2,700° F.) for several weeks. If they do not crack or melt at this temperature, they are fit for use. MANUFACTURE OF GLASS 29 In addition to the prolonged heat of the glass fur- nace, the pots must be able to withstand the corroding effects of some of the raw materials in the batch, such as red lead, potash, soda, and borax. This corroding may even go so far as to make a " specky " glass, which is formed by a combination of the aluminum, usually found in the pot clay, and the alkaline or metal- lic ingredients of the batch. To prevent this, the cru- cible is glazed on the inside. Tank Furnaces The tank furnace is a square or rectangular oven with doors at the ends. It varies in depth from 20 to 42 inches according to its purpose. One end is called the " filling hole " and into this the batch is shoveled. The other end is called the " working hole " and from it the molten glass is taken to be molded. This arrangement permits continuous working. The portions of the tank which come in contact with the molten material must be made of the special grade of fire clay which is used for the pots in the pot furnaces. The tank furnace is in reality a single open crucible. In practice it is often of large dimensions and is never closed nor covered. A horseshoe flame (shown in Figure 3) is used in a tank furnace and is so regulated that each part of the furnace remains at the same temperature during the 3° GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT whole time that the furnace is working. The flames of the fuel play over the melting batch so that the fusing is much more rapid and efficient, with a result- ing economy of fuel. Unfortunately, exposure to the atmosphere and the direct contact of the glass with ISLET -^^ CXIT Figure 3. Diagram of a Furnace with a Horseshoe Flame hot gases in various stages of combustion, make the regulation a much more difficult and uncertain matter than in the closed pots. For making glass of the finest quality, such as that for cutting and the best grades of pressed or blown wares the pot furnace is best suited. The tank furnace, on the other hand, has the ad- vantage of producing glass of greater uniformity, free from cords and streaks, and is therefore well adapted for making blown ware such as bottles of all sorts, lamp chimneys, glass lamps, thin blown tumblers, etc. — in fact any or all articles in which clearness is of more value than the color tint. Progress is being MANUFACTURE OF GLASS 3 1 made in the building and manipulating of tanks, and it is not unlikely that in the near future this type of furnace will produce glass which will in all respects equal that made in pots. Glass which is in no respect inferior to pot glass is even now being made in tank furnaces. This, however, is not through any change in furnace construction, but through increased knowl- edge as to the use of decolorizing materials which, when added to the glass batch, neutralize objectionable tints. The C tank is a modern type of furnace invented in 1 86 1 and used largely throughout Europe and America. It is made from pot clay and divided into " floating compartments," each at a lower level than the one immediately before. The raw material is put in at the door, and as it melts, flows from the first compartment into the second, which is the refining compartment. Here the temperature is higher and the refining takes place. From this compartment the refined liquid passes into the gathering compartment, where at a lower temperature it cools and thickens for the form- ing. These furnaces may be worked continuously and are in many ways better than the old style of tank furnace. Calcar Furnace The calcar furnace is in the form of an oven about 32 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT 10 feet long, 7 feet wide, and 2 feet high, in which some of the batch materials are partially melted, form- ing a pasty mass out of which the moisture and gases have been driven. This mass is allowed to solidify, and while yet soft is cut into squares, which are stored for use as f rit or cullet. (See page 22.) When these frits are mixed with the batch they hasten the process of fusion. Fusing Process In the case of a tank furnace the batch is put in through openings in the melting end by means of long- handled shovels or some mechanical device, and new material is added every half-hour for four or more hours. When pot furnaces are to be filled, the pots must first be entirely emptied and the temperature of the furnace brought up to 2,500° F. before the new ma- terial is put in, since a low or an unequal temperature has a disastrous effect on the batch. As in the case of any boiling liquid, allowance must be made in each pot for the bubbling up of the boiling mass so that the pots may not overflow and cause the loss of valuable material. As they boil down, fresh material is added; four to eight fillings are custom- ary. MANUFACTURE OF GLASS 33 Fining Process The batch has now become a mass of foaming, seeth- ing, molten glass. Gradually it changes to a viscous and entirely transparent substance full of gas bubbles. As any bubbles in the finished glass are an obvious defect, however, their removal has been provided for by putting into the batch some materials containing oxygen. The heat of the furnace is increased until this oxygen is freed and forms large bubbles, which rise to the surface and carry the smaller ones with them. This is called the fining process. The more liquid the mass is, the more readily will the gas bubbles disengage themselves. For this purpose " fluxes " — substances which promote the chemical action just de- scribed — are added. The glassmaker sometimes uses arsenic or a substance containing moisture, such as a potato attached to a rod. When the fining process is completed, the melter takes out samples or proofs of the liquid on a rod or a long spoon and examines them for bubbles. If im- purities have gathered the surface is also skimmed. The melting and fining process takes about 24 hours. Then the temperature of the furnace is lowered to working heat and the shaping and working of the glass is begun. Chapter IV FINISHING PROCESSES Removing Molten Glass from the Furnace Molten glass, as has been said before, is not liquid but viscous; as it cools it passes to the solid form without crystallization and while cooling can be shaped according to the glassmaker's will. While in this semiliquid condition glass has the malleability and duc- tility which metal has, that is, it may be hammered or rolled without cracking, and it may be drawn out into a wire. The glassmaker speaks of the molten glass as " metal." There are three methods of removing it from the pot or tank : Gathering Ladling Pouring Gathering is the process of removing a part of the mass by twisting it around the end of a long tube. It is the method employed in making all blown glass and much of the molded and pressed ware. Gathering re- 34 FINISHING PROCESSES 35 quires great skill, and makes an admirable display of dexterity. Like the art of juggling, it can be learned properly only in early youth. Ladling is the process of transferring the molten glass to large tables by means of long ladles. Pouring is done by machinery which lifts and tips the heavy pots so that the glass flows out. Methods of Shaping Gathered Glass The glass obtained from the pot by gathering is shaped or formed by : Blowing Pressing Molding Glass-Blowing Blowing is the most primitive and characteristic way of forming glass. Formerly all glass, even that for window panes, was shaped entirely by this process. It is the method still used to form the blanks for the best cut glass and for all pieces of delicate design. The glassblower's tools are: Blowing iron or blowpipe Working rod " Battledore " Glass blowpipe 36 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT Shears Pincers Tongs and similar pronged wooden tools Measuring stick and compass Spring balance The most important tools in the process of blowing are the blowpipe and working rod. The blowing iron or blowpipe is a long hollow iron rod varying in length from 5 to 6 feet and in diameter from % to 2 inches, according to the weight of glass to be gathered. The working rod is a light, tapering rod of solid iron varying much in both length and strength. It is used to hold the vessel in the last stages of manipulation. The " battledore " is used to flatten the square bot- toms of tumblers or other vessels; the glass blowpipe in expanding the opened end of bulbs; the shears in re- moving surplus glass, or cutting the ends of handles or rods ; the pincers in shaping the handles of jugs or the decorative filigree work on vases; tongs and simi- lar pronged wooden instruments in handling and open- ing up certain pieces ; the measuring stick and the com- pass for marking with wax the amount of surplus glass to be removed with the shears; the spring balance in comparing the weight of each vessel with that of its patterns. Courtesy of United States Class Co, Figure 4. Rolling Glass on Marver FINISHING PROCESSES 37 A " marver," or table upon which the glass may be rolled about while it is being shaped, completes the equipment. How a Glassblower Works The blower gathers a mass of the viscous glass from the pot on the end of his iron blowing pipe, adding Figure 5. The Evolution of a Tumbler more and more as it cools until he has the amount necessary for the article he wishes to make. By rolling or marvering the ball over the polished surface of the table just referred to, he makes it uni- form in shape and free from bubbles. Figure 4 shows this operation. He then inflates the mass by blowing air into it through the tube, also exposing it from time to time 38 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT to the heat of the furnace, which further expands the air until the article is enlarged as much as he wishes. Figure 5 shows the various stages in the making of a tumbler. The flat bottom is shaped by pressing the lower end of the elongated bulb of glass on the marver. The process of glass-blowing is fascinating to watch. The shapeless mass is twirled, pulled, and thrown about with perfect control and ease until it assumes its final, beautiful shape. We are accustomed to think of glass as so fragile that it can be handled only with great care and this, makes the glassblower's work seem almost magical. The blowing of glass by the breath may have been originally suggested by the bubbles which appear in the molten glass. It was evidently practiced in Egypt, for Egyptian monuments as early as 2000 b. c. show glassblowers working with their pipes. The blowing was done entirely by the breath until 1824 when M. Robinet of the Baccarat factory in- vented the Robinet pump, by the aid of which large cylinders could be made. This gave rise to the com- pressed air and automatic blowing machines which do much of the work today. Pressing Glass The metal for pressed glass is gathered on a solid iron rod from 4 to 6 feet long, called a " punty." The FINISHING PROCESSES 39 punty is thicker at one end to allow a good hand-grip, and forged at the other end into the shape of a knob. The worker heats this knob, dips it into the molten glass, and by twisting it covers it with a layer of glass, which he manipulates into the shape of a ball, and cools until it is nearly solid. The ball of glass is called the " moil," and is made larger or smaller according to the amount of glass to be gathered. The gatherer now inserts the punty into the pot mouth, dips the moil into the liquid glass, and begins a rotary movement, slowly at first, then with greatly accelerated speed literally gathering up the glass, until he has the needed amount suspended in a droplike fashion beyond the end of the punty. He then carries, or rather juggles, the ball of liquid glass to the con- veniently placed press, and drops it deftly into the mold. Another worker, the presser, severs the con- necting thread between the body of glass and the punty with a pair of scissors. Molds for pressed ware are usually made of cast iron, and are simply matrices of the size and shape of the article to be made, marked with any pattern which is desired for the outside of the article. A plunger, forced into the mold by a lever operated by hand or machine, shapes the inside of the article. The molds must be constructed to admit of a ready removal of the pressed article. They are, therefore, either of 40 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT one solid piece of iron, from which the article can be dropped out by turning it over ; or they are made of a number of sections jointed and hinged together. The latter sort are used for shaping the more complex forms of glassware or those ornamented with deep de- signs, as, for instance, an imitation of cut glass. The temperature of mold and plunger is carefully regulated by streams of air blown against them; otherwise the surface of the glass might be cracked or roughened. When the glass has hardened the plunger is removed and the shaped article is taken from the mold. It must be smoothed on the inside to remove the rough- ness made by the plunger and if marks of the mold are left, plain pieces are reheated in the " glory hole," as the side openings into the furnace are called. Pressed Glass Used in Imitations Pressed glass is made to imitate cut glass and the old hand-carved art glass of Venice or Bohemia. There are three ways of telling an imitation : i. The angles of the design in the imitation are blunt and rounded instead of being clean cut and sharp. 2. The design is very symmetrical and usually com- monplace. FINISHING PROCESSES 41 3. The glass lacks the brilliancy given by the "■"processes of hand-cutting and hand-polish- ing. Molding is a combination of the blowing and press- ing processes. Molding A mass of molten glass is gathered from the cru- cible on the end of the blowpipe. After being mar- vered and slightly expanded it is thrust into the mold, which shapes the outside while continued blowing forms the inside. Molded glass differs from pressed glass in the fineness of its finish, as it is, partly a hand- process. Molds are of many shapes and may be of complex construction. They may be of two, three, or more separate pieces hinged together so that the molded article may be easily removed. They are made of cast iron or other metals, plaster of Paris, clay, or wood. The metal molds are strongest, but the metal is apt to discolor the glass. This difficulty is met by lining the molds with wood or carbon. Cork-lined molds are sometimes used to give blown ware a uniform shape and size. Figure 11 in Chapter XV shows four old Roman molded glass pieces. 42 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT Annealing After the glass articles have been formed and cooled, it is necessary to subject them to a process known as annealing. Annealing is the reheating and cooling of the formed glass, and is one of the most important operations in glass-making, since it is this process which makes it resistent to blows and changes of temperature. Glass- ware which is not properly annealed is very fragile and easily broken. Annealing also adds to the bril- liancy of the glass. Process of Annealing The glass articles are placed in annealing kilns or ovens (often known as "lehrs"), and heated to a temperature of 8oo° F. The heat is gradually raised to i,20O° F. and then gradually lowered, so that the articles cool slowly. It is this gradual cooling which makes the glass strong, durable, and of uniform and consistent texture, since the pores, expanded by the heat, are allowed to contract evenly throughout the entire substance. When cooled quickly the surface shrinks more rapidly than the inside and therefore is under a greater strain. Large heavy pieces require a longer time and greater heat than small thin pieces. The time may vary from a few hours to a week. FINISHING PROCESSES 43 Varieties of Kilns Ordinary kilns or ovens are used for heavier articles, such as blanks for cutting and plate glass, which must remain in the kiln for a considerable length of time. The continuous lehr or kiln is used for lighter arti- cles. This style of annealing oven has a long rectan- gular chamber or tunnel of brick heated at one end and provided with numerous small iron trays or trucks, which are moved by an endless chain. The pieces of glass are placed on the trays at the hot end and grad- ually moved towards the cooler part of the oven, mak- ing room for fresh pieces. The labor required for piling up and taking down the glass in a kiln is saved by using this continuous oven. The famous Murano glass works, described in Chap- ter XV, ,had a simple arrangement for annealing, con- sisting of a tunnel about thirty feet long, which was heated by the waste heat from the melting furnace. It had a tramway running down the center with mov- able trucks, on which the glass was drawn from one end to the other. The intermittent kiln or oven is heated by gas and fitted with a shelf on which the glass is set. When filled with ware it is closed, heated, and allowed to cool; the process is controlled by carefully regulated drafts. 44 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT A novel method of annealing was invented by a Frenchman named De la Bastie. The pieces were put in a wire frame while yet soft and immersed in a hot liquid, preferably mutton fat. For various reasons the process was not very successful and did not dis- place the annealing oven. Polishing Much of the beauty of glass is due to its brilliancy and the reflection of light from its polished surface. A natural polish is produced by the processes of fusing and annealing, but in cut glass this is destroyed by the action of the water and sand on the cutting wheels. Polishing is an important feature of the glass-cutting process. Pressed glass is dulled by coming in contact with the sides of the metal molds, which chill the surface too quickly. This luster may be restored by placing the piece in the " glory hole," where it is held in an intense flame, which gives it what is known as fire polish. Old glassmakers reheated their glass many times, since each period of heating and cooling added to its brilliancy. Today the acid polish, described in Chapter VI, is given to the better grades of pressed glass and to all but the finest cut glass. FINISHING PROCESSES 45 Defects in Glass If the materials of which glass is made are impure or improperly combined, the color will be poor; for instance, an excess of iron will give a greenish or a brown tinge. Too much manganese gives a pink tinge. " Bottle glass," which is used for the cheaper grades of bottles, is colored by the iron and other impurities which it contains. Glassmakers have trade terms for defective glass, such as: " Seedy " glass, which contains small air bubbles caused by too rapid melting or too low tem- perature in the furnace. " Stony " glass, which contains tiny lumps of un- dissolved material or clay from the sides of pots or tanks. " Cordy " or wavy glass, with waves or streaks of crystallized glass instead of a clear, even tex- ture. " High color " is the pink tinge from manganese. " Low color " is the green tinge from iron. Glass may be imperfectly formed or it may be poorly finished. Cut glass should not be cut too deeply and the edges, 46 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT while clear and sharp to the eye, should not be knife- edged or rough to handle. Differences in Glass Lead glass is heavier and more brilliant than lime glass, but the difference is not always apparent to the untrained buyer or salesperson. Pressed glass has a dull finish as the result of the chilling given the hot molten glass, or " metal," as it is called, by the mold. This may be removed by re- heating, and the " fire polish " is restored to all good pressed glass. Colored or decorated glass is subject to many acci- dents in fusing or firing the color. Defective articles are usually discarded by the manu- facturer to be sold as seconds, or, if too imperfect, to be remelted and formed again. Chapter V BOTTLES AND OTHER SPECIAL FORMS OF GLASS Bottle-Making Bottles were among the earliest forms of glass ves- sels, and bottle-making is still a special division of the industry. They are: i. Blown and shaped by hand. 2. Molded. 3. Pressed by automatic machines. Bottles made entirely by hand are now found only in art glass or among articles of luxury. Even finely cut bottles are usually molded. Blown Bottles For blown bottles the process is as described in Chapter IV. The molten glass is gathered on the blow pipe, rolled or marvered on the flat metal plate, and blown with the breath until it is nearly the required size. During the process the pipe is swung gently to 47 48 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT and fro, so that the glass settles downward, leaving a thinner part next the pipe to form the neck. It is then reheated and is either blown into a mold of fire clay or metal, or shaped by hand tools. If there is to be a con- cave bottom, as in wine bottles, this is made by pushing up the hot glass by means of an iron rod called a pontil, upon which a small mass of glass has been gathered. The bottle is now attached to both the pontil and the pipe, but by chilling the glass the pipe is broken off at the point where the neck is to end. The neck is heated to make it smooth, and a thread of glass is wound round it to give the proper stiffness and finish. By various inventions machinery has been substi- tuted for each of these processes in bottle-making. Molded Bottles The first change consisted in operating the mold by a lever, one-half of the mold being attached to the floor and the other raised by the workman by means of a rod. This mold gave the bottle its final shape. By another machine the glass is gathered on an iron rod and dropped into a measuring mold, which assures the right quantity. This material is then forced into a neck mold, which gives the shape of the neck of a bottle. While the neck mold is still firmly attached a plunger is forced down through the material and then by means of compressed air the lower part of the SPECIAL FORMS OF GLASS 49 bottle is blown out to the proper length and fitted into a third mold, called the finishing mold. Levers open the finishing and neck molds at the same time and re- lease the perfect bottle. This machine is capable of producing 120 bottles per hour. The Owens Automatic Bottle Machine The automatic machine takes the place of human hands and requires no skilled workmen at all. A fur- nace is built with revolving pots, in front of which the machine is placed. As the pots revolve, the machine, driven by an electric motor, moves with them. It has either six or ten arms carrying " blanks " and finishing molds. As each blank mold passes over the pot the molten glass is sucked up into it by a vacuum process, which is regulated to supply just the right quantity for the bottle required. The neck is formed while the glass is in this first mold. Then the blank mold opens and the glass is shown as a white-hot cylinder supported by the neck; the finishing mold rises and closes over it and the shape is finished by the application of compressed air. After making a complete turn the machine drops out the fin- ished bottle, which is put into the tempering ovens and travels slowly towards the cool end, where it is ready to be packed and shipped. The regularity of the mechanical process and the SO GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT even pressure of the air produce bottles of a uniform strength and quality. Manufacture of Crown and Window Glass Crown glass was used at one time for windows and optical glass, but it is used now only for microscope and cover glasses or for decorative purposes. The material is blown and whirled until it takes the form of a hollow sphere or bubble, which is then punctured. The glass flattens out on a circular disc which is kept whirling as the metal hardens. Sheet glass, which is used for windows, is blown and whirled until it is in the shape of a long cylinder. The ends are then cut off and the cylinder slit length- wise and allowed to harden flat under pressure. This is also called cylinder or broad glass. Plate glass is formed by pouring molten glass on a cast iron slab or table and passing a heavy roller over it before it hardens. The sheet is then ground and polished. Plate glass is used for the better grades of mirrors and window panes. Painted or stained glass used for architectural and decorative purposes may be of two kinds : Enameled glass, which is made of white glass painted with colored enamels and fired. Mosaic glass, which is made by combining small pieces of colored glass in designs. The stained SPECIAL FORMS OF GLASS 51 glass windows of Europe are made in this way. Special Forms of Glass A recent development in the art is the commercial production of what is called " heat-resisting " glass, which contains only a small amount of soda alkali, or none at all, the substitute therefor being boric acid. The resultant glass requires great heat to melt and has the property of expanding and contracting only slightly when heated and cooled. It is, therefore, almost un- breakable and is adapted for many uses to which ordi- nary glass cannot be put. It is now being extensively used for various cooking utensils. It is an ideal sub- stance for electrical insulation, especially for high ten- sion current, or where heat conditions, as in gas engine spark plugs, make good insulation hard to attain ; but the high temperature required, and the great difficulty in manipulating the material will doubtless prevent its ever coming into use as an improved substitute for the familiar glass. Spun glass is composed of exceedingly fine threads of molten glass drawn out and wound into a reel like a silk thread. These threads are flexible and strong enough to weave into cloth. A Frenchman invented a process of weaving glass with a warp of silk into a beautiful material. Glass beads are made from tubing cut into small sec- 52 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT tions. Some Venetian factories are entirely occupied with making beads. (For information upon beads see manual for the " Art Goods Department.") Imitation stones are made from glass having an ex- cess of lead. The lead gives brilliancy but renders the glass soft, so that these " stones " may be detected by scratching the surface. (For further information see manual for "Jewelry Department.") Uses of Colored Glass Colored glass is used for many purposes, both useful and decorative. Among the former is the use of ruby, green, and purple glass for signaling purposes in rail- ways, motor cars, and lighthouses. Photography also makes extensive use of colored light for various pur- poses, and medical science and beauty doctors require colored light. Part II— Cut Glass and Tableware Chapter VI CUT GLASS Characteristics There are three grades of glass which are known as cut glass. The best grade is cut entirely by hand ; the second grade is first pressed and then finished by hand; the third is merely pressed in patterns which imitate cut glass. Genuine cut glass has four characteristics known to the expert. These are : i. Its color — a clear, brilliant white tinged with steely blue 2. Its bell-like resonance when struck 3. Its weight 4. Its fine finish These characteristics depend upon the materials of which it is made and also upon the process of manu- facture. A well-known manufacturer recently gave the following definition : " Cut glass is and always S3 54 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT has been a piece of crystal cut on wheels. The design is cut in, not pressed in, nor blown in ; and it is polished by hand. Genuine cut glass is not then partly re- touched, pressed lime glass." An authority on testing cut glass says : " First note that the article is really cut. This can be detected by the sharp edges of the design as well as by the delicacy and intricacy of the design itself. Second, tap with a pencil. If the glass contains lead, a necessary ingre- dient of all good cut glass, it will resound like the ring of a deep-toned, silvery bell." Materials The materials from which genuine cut glass or cut crystal is made are : Silica or pure sand Oxide of lead Potash About 60 pounds of lead are used for each 100 pounds of silica ; the lead gives weight, resonance, and brilliancy and also keeps the glass soft for cutting. The potash is used to clarify the glass and to add to the scintillating effect. All the materials must be pure. Process The earlier stages of the process are the same as for CUT GLASS 55 blown glass, that is, making the blank, the rough shape resembling the general outlines of the piece to be copied, includes : Gathering the material Blowing into shape Annealing There are certain differences. The roughly shaped " blank " is heated three times and worked over by three different workmen. In the annealing oven the glass is brought to a particularly high temperature and is cooled very gradually. The blanks for cut glass are blown much thicker than for articles which are not to be cut, particularly if the piece is large and the incision must be deep. Some pieces lose over one-third of their original weight during the cutting process. Designing and Cutting The second part of the process is quite different. It includes : Tracing the outline of the design Roughing Smoothing Cutting fine lines Polishing The shaped blanks are stored on the shelves of the 56 GLASSWARE ' DEPARTMENT factory in which the cutting is to be done. Each large glass-cutting establishment employs its own artists, who design both the shapes and the decorations of its pieces. The designs must be mathematically accurate and suited to the spaces they are to occupy. Tracing the Design First the design is outlined with a brush in red lead and turpentine, or transferred from a stencil or a cop- perplate pattern. Cutting Wheels Glass is cut on wheels made both of steel and of stone. These wheels may vary in diameter from i% inches to 3 feet, and in thickness from % of an inch to 1 inch. They are driven by steam, gas, or. electrical power. The larger wheels are used for cutting straight lines and the smaller ones for curved lines. The sharper the curve, the smaller must be the wheel. The face of the wheel may be round, square, or pointed. As many as fifteen or twenty different kinds of wheels of different degrees of hardness are used in the cutting process. Figure 6 shows the cutting room in a glass factory. An expensive and novel form of cut glass is made by stone engraving, a form of cutting done entirely by hand with stone wheels and copper tools. The de- ■s CUT GLASS '57 signs are chiefly vines and flowers and are not cut deep. This is sometimes mistaken for pressed glass. Expert Knowledge Required Glass cutters must be expert workmen, as their material is heavy and yet easily broken and mistakes can seldom be corrected. The operator holds the blank against the wheel with just the right amount of pres- sure for the speed of the wheel; the vibration of the glass will cause it to crack, unless skilfully handled. The operator judges the proper pressure by feeling as much as by sight. Elaborate pieces require several weeks for cutting and polishing and the labor cost is very heavy. Roughing The " roughers " are workmen who make a rough outline of the design, following the larger lines and cutting the deep incisions. This is done on steel wheels about 2% feet in diameter. A steel wheel is also used to make the bottom of the piece level. In some cases a wheel of carboniferous sandstone is used instead of steel. As the wheel cuts into the glass, a stream of water and sand made from garnet and hornblende trickles over it from a can suspended above. This stream of water and sand assists the cutting and makes it almost 58 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT noiseless. When the process is finished, the glass has a frosted or milky appearance. Smoothing When the deep lines have been cut, the design is re- fined and smoothed upon a wheel of black cragleith stone without the use of sand or emery. Cragleith is a famous stone from Edinburgh which contains no sand. The stone wheel, which resembles the steel one in size and shape, smooths the deep incisions and gives the glass a gray, satiny finish which enables it to take a high polish. Another stone which is used in the process is called alundum, an artificial composition of a special kind of clay called bauxite. The clay has been subjected to an electrical current, reduced to crystals, crushed to powder, and then mixed with sand, salt, and sawdust, and burned in a kiln. The piece now goes back to the stencil operators, usually girls, who put in the design for the finer cut- ting — the stars, checkerwork, light criss-cross lines, etc. This cutting is done on a stone wheel and re- quires great skill and accuracy. Polishing After the complete design has been cut, the piece is taken to the polisher, who manipulates a wooden wheel CUT GLASS 59 charged with emery or rouge, a polishing material. This process removes all roughness and polishes both the cut and the uncut surface. Sometimes a hard fiber brush is used or a cork wheel and powdered pumice- stone. To give a high gloss the buffing wheel is used — a sort of pad made of pressed wool. It is covered first with pumice-stone and water and then with putty powder, both of which give a brilliant polish. Figured Blank Glass The next grade of " cut " glass is far less expensive. It is known as the " figured " blank glass, because while it is made of the same materials as the genuine crystal, the process is simpler. The molten glass is blown into a mold, which not only gives it the desired shape but leaves the design upon it. The design is then sharpened and finished upon a wheel and the glass is polished with acid. The best lime blanks are treated in the same way. Lime is much cheaper than lead. It makes a harder glass and one that is lighter in weight, but without the crystal white color, brilliancy, or clear metallic ring of the lead-potash glass. The lime blanks, moreover, are usually only partly cut; the heavier parts of the design having been pressed in and the piece merely finished off by hand. Lime-crystal blanks, however, when made of fine materials and carefully finished, produce a glass 60 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT of fine quality at about half the cost of lead glass. Trade names, such as " semicut," or " floral-cut," are given to lime blanks, which may be partly cut or only pressed. The inferior imitation is of ordinary bottle glass made of inferior and impure materials, and merely pressed into designs which resemble cut glass. Both kinds of imitation cut glass are polished with acid rather than by hand. Acid Polishing The glass is carefully washed in soap and water, dried, and brushed on the inside with melted paraffin. It is then dipped three times into a vessel filled with hydrofluoric acid, which eats away the sharp edges and gives it brilliancy. After the wax has been removed, the piece is again washed with a pure soap, wiped with a linen towel, and wrapped in silver tissue paper ready for shipping. Genuine cut glass with careful handling retains both its brilliancy and color, but glass made with lime and soda is not only less brilliant than lead-potash glass when it is first made, but if the materials are impure it darkens with age. The acid polish is quick and clean, but it produces a wavy appearance and a peculiar hard sheen instead of the smooth, deep brilliance produced by friction' on CUT GLASS 61 wooden, felt, and cork wheels. Glass finished by acid polish is also more quickly clouded by moisture in the air and must be cleaned more often. Glass-Cutting Machines Glass-cutting machines have recently been invented which will make still another distinction, in addition to the hand-cut, partly cut, and pressed ware. These machines have not been used long enough, however, to judge of their effect on the market. How to Judge Values In judging of the value of any hand-made product as compared with one made by machine, there are always two things to be considered : 1. The real beauty, individuality, finish, and du- rability of the hand-made article. 2. A " collector's value," due to the fact that hand- made articles are more costly to make and therefore can be in the possession of only a few fortunate persons. Both of these considerations are important in the case of cut glass. The luster, finish, and durability of hand-cut lead blanks are all greater than in any of the imitations. This beauty is partly dependent on the designs, which differ widely in their effectiveness. 62 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT Differences Between English and American Glass Nearly all the English patterns are what are called straight or miter cuts, that is, the lines are straight rather than curved. They consist of : Splits Olives Prisms Hobnail, or blunt-cornered diamonds Flutes Fringes Strawberry diamonds Stars Figure 8 in Chapter X shows several examples of miter cuttings. The best English glass is called rock crystal, because of its resemblance to the clear sparkling stone of that name. American cut glass is considered by some judges the best in the world and has been exported to Europe for a good many years ; though for a long time merchants in this country were afraid to acknowledge that it was of domestic manufacture and therefore called it im- ported. Fan scallops, rosettes, curved and floral patterns have been developed recently as the result of American ingenuity. Courtesy of C. Dorflinger & Sons Figure ;. Cut Glass Goblet in Poppy Design CUT GLASS 63 Popular floral patterns are the : Scotch thistle Rambler rose Daisy Poppy Lily Lotus Grape A combination of miter and floral patterns is often seen, in which the sides of a piece are miter-cut and the bottom decorated with a floral pattern. The miter patterns may be pressed and the flowers cut with a " mat " or frosted finish which gives the piece individ- uality. Floral cutting is much more delicate and graceful than the stiff miter cutting, though the latter is very effective in large, heavy pieces. The deeper cuts are brilliant, but the lighter ones are easier to keep clean. Figure 7 illustrates a beautiful example of floral cutting — a goblet cut in poppy design. Cut Rock Crystal Cut rock crystal is a very beautiful form of cut glass which has the shimmering luster and wavelike appearance of moving water instead of the brilliancy of more familiar types. It is an excellent copy of the 64 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT genuine rock crystal which is so rare that it is seldom found except in the cabinets of collectors. The cutting is in fine, delicate, floral patterns which resemble the tracing of engraving. Genuine Rock Crystal A brief description has already been given of rock crystal. It is a colorless, transparent form of quartz or crystallized silica. It looks like a brilliant and beauti- ful form of glass, but differs from it in being crystal- lized. It was first found in Europe in the highest peaks of the Alps Mountains, and for many centuries was supposed to be ice frozen so hard that it could not be thawed. Works of Art Carved from Rock Crystal The Romans carved cups and vases of rock crystal, some of them of remarkable size, but it was used more generally in the middle ages. Altar crosses and other church ornaments were made from it, and it adorned the palaces of kings. In 135 1 the throne and the foot- stool of a French king were made of the clear, spark- ling crystal, and Catherine de Medici had a collection of magnificent vases of the same material. Some of these treasures are set with precious stones and in- crusted with gold and silver. Rock crystal is very durable and much less easily CUT GLASS 65 scratched than glass. It has sometimes been sold as a diamond when cut like a gem. While it is still used in rings and pendants in some countries of the far east, it is usually found in larger pieces and ornamented with beautiful carving. The merchants of Venice probably introduced it to western Europe. It was found later in the Italian and the French Alps, and also in Hungary, Iceland, and Madagascar. The United States is now the principal source of supply. Crystal carving is closely allied to the work of the goldsmith, and has been associated with the cutting of cameos and semiprecious stones. Though it often appears in large vessels, most of these pieces are composed of several smaller fragments joined together by gold or silver. Some magnificent specimens, how- ever, are carved out of a single piece with no orna- ment except the exquisite handiwork. There are very fine collections of rock crystal in Paris, Dresden, Vienna, Berlin, London, and Madrid. The J. P. Morgan collection, formerly at the Metro- politan Museum in New York City, and the Altman collection have been considered the finest in this country. Chapter VII ENGRAVED, ETCHED, AND CARVED GLASS Methods of Decoration The surface of glass may also be decorated by means of friction by cutting instruments. These forms of decoration are known as : Engraving Etching Frosting Carving or Embossing Trailing Engraving Engraving is hand-work ; the design is either cut out by a copper disc operated by foot-power or machinery or else by rapidly revolving spindles. The glass is held against the disc or the spindle by the operator's hands. Engraving is usually a line design, but elab- orate scenes can be sketched by means of the spindles, as in the case of Bohemian glass. The depth and 66 ENGRAVED, ETCHED, CARVED GLASS 67 width of the lines can be varied by changing the disc or the spindle. Etching Etching is done by means of hydrofluoric acid, the only acid which will attack glass. The piece of glass to be etched is covered with some substance called the "resist," on which the acid has no effect. The sub- stances commonly used for the purpose are beeswax, paraffin, tallow, resin, rubber compounds, and metallic lead. Beeswax is quite expensive but very satisfac- tory because it melts easily and may be applied with a brush, and because it is also easily removed. The two processes employed are : Needle-Etching Plate-Etching Needle-Etching For needle- or machine-etching small needles are ar- ranged in moving arms, which pierce through the resist and outline the pattern on the glass. The machines are operated by electricity or by compressed air. The article is then immersed in hydrofluoric acid, which instantly attacks the uncovered glass. Needle-etched designs are always symmetrical — a series of straight or zigzag lines, circles, curves, etc. 68 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT Plate-Etching This method allows much greater freedom of design, but it also requires skilled labor and is therefore more expensive. The design is first cut in a metal plate and then a print is taken from the plate on tissue paper. From the tissue paper print it is transferred to the glass, which is then coated with the resist around all of the design. After the acid has eaten out the pattern, the wax is removed by placing the article in boiling water and steam. Ten distinct processes are required for plate- etching, but beautiful results may be obtained. Sand-Blast Etching In this species of etching the design is cut by means of streams of sand, which are blown against the glass by compressed air or steam. The process was invented in 1876 by a Philadelphian, who conceived the idea from the dulling of lighthouse glass by the sand blown against it in times of storm. The glass is prepared as for acid-etching, the sur- face being covered with a resist such as rubber, resin, tallow, or even tinfoil or paper out of which the design is cut. The stream of sand is then applied and grad- ually cuts away the glass, leaving a dull or frosted sur- face. The effect is varied by using wet instead of dry sand, and by varying the degrees of fineness. The ENGRAVED, ETCHED, CARVED GLASS 69 finer the sand and the less the pressure of the blast, the more delicate the design. Sharp sand gives the best result. Seashore sand is ineffective, as its cutting edges have been worn away by the constant action of the water. Frosting Frosting is now done either by acid or the sand-blast^ but was originally produced by rolling the piece in finely powdered glass while it was still soft enough to receive a thin coating of the glistening particles. Frosted glass was first produced in Bohemia, where it was designed to imitate the coating made on glass by frost in winter. The designs were therefore more like a delicate lace-work than a definite pattern. The Ve- netians made frosted glass in beautiful colors, but they were never so appropriate as the white frost-work. Carving The design is roughly outlined on the glass with acid and then cut away with small steel gravers. It is very delicate work, requiring a rather soft glass and most careful manipulation of the tools, which are either operated entirely by hand or struck lightly with wooden mallets. Embossing This process is the reverse of etching in that the 70 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT designs are raised on the glass. The resist is made to cover the design. When the background, left exposed, has been eaten away by acid, the design is left standing out in relief. The designs are usually large, simple, and conventional. Trailing Designs may be applied to the glass when it is in the viscous state by fusing fresh pieces on it instead of cutting into the surface. This is called " trailing," as the design is usually worked out in trails of vines or similar figures. It is one of the ways of applying color and is much used in Venetian glass. Chapter VIII TABLEWARE The largest division of table glass is stemware which includes sherbet and grapefruit glasses, com- potes, all forms of drinking glasses except tumblers, and many larger pieces for holding fruits or desserts. Stemware Stemware comprises those articles which consist of a bowl, stem, and foot or base. The relative size of the bowl and foot is determined by certain rules of proportion; for instance, the foot must be neither too small nor too large to look well and give the glass a proper balance. The stem may be so short that it is scarcely more than a curve between the two larger por- tions, or it may hold the bowl high in the air. The finer grades of stemware are of blown glass, and these are again divided into those in which the stem is " drawn " out from the piece composing the bowl, and those which are made from three separate gather- ings of glass. 71 72 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT Shaping Stemware For the drawn stems, the glassblower gives the bowl its general shape by blowing and rolling, or shap- ing with the hand tools; he then pulls or draws out a portion of the soft glass until it forms a slender stem. The upper picture in the frontispiece shows the stem being formed. On the end of the stem another bit of glass is then dropped, flattened out, and worked. If the glass is made of three gatherings the bowl is blown into a mold ; then another workman drops a bit of glass on the bowl and shapes a third piece for a foot, which is then flattened and shaped as in the drawn bowl. In all blown glass the bubble is closed over the top and must be cut away with shears or on a wheel. The glass is then reheated and the edges rounded off. The lower picture in the frontispiece shows the finished piece of stemware being carried to the lehrs. After shaping the foot the soft glass is attached to a glass knob or pontil called a " punty," while the " boss," that is, the shaped or rounded top of the bowl, is being removed. Variety of Shapes The shapes of the bowls vary widely. The principal ones are: TABLEWARE 73 i. Drawn, usually rather pointed. 2. Straight-sided, either low and broad, or high and narrow. 3. Ovoid, or rounded like an egg. 4. Bell-shaped, with sides curving in and wide mouth. These are only the general types, of which there are many variations. The bowls of wine-glasses are usually plain. Gob- lets, compotes, and other stemware may be engraved, etched, or gilded. Stem Variations Stems may be : 1. Plain (straight or curved) 2. Twisted 3. Cut or " bossed " Plain stems are the most common. Twisted stems are made by impressing straight grooves in a rod of viscous glass and then catching the two ends and twisting them to give a spiral effect; or by fusing glass rods or canes together and twisting them. Color is sometimes added in the form of a twist " trailed " around the stem on the outside. Cut stems may be cut in rings, in straight, vertical lines, in spirals, or in fine patterns. 74 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT The foot of a piece of stemware is not perfectly flat, but hollowed up somewhat in the middle. It may have a decoration on either the upper or the under side. Tumblers Thin tumblers are blown into a mold and the top is cut off in the same manner as the tops of stemware. Heavier tumblers are usually made of pressed glass, though the finest cut tumblers are of blown lead glass cut on wheels. For pressed tumblers the glass is poured into the mold and pressed by the metal plunger. They are revolved in the mold while cooling in order that they may not show mold marks. The molds for this purpose are lined with charcoal or a similar prepa- ration. Pressed tumblers may be decorated in any of the usual ways. If the mold has a pattern stamped in it to imitate cut glass, this revolving process is not possible. In this case, except for the cheapest grades, the mold marks are polished off. For semicut or floral-cut glass the patterns are sharpened and finished on the cutting wheels. Sets for Many Purposes Many articles of table glass are sold in sets. A water set consists of a carafe, bottle, or pitcher and six or twelve glasses of medium size. TABLEWARE 75 Iced tea or grape-juice sets consist of a pitcher and six tall glasses. They may also include an ice tub. Wine, cordial, or liqueur sets consist of a decanter and six glasses. Cordial or liqueur glasses are very small, holding from % to i% ozs. Wine glasses hold from 2% to 3 ozs. Cocktail and champagne glasses have a high stem and a shallow, wide bowl. Decanters are bottles with a low, broad bowl and a slender neck. Decanters for liqueurs are small and shaped like cruets for vinegar or oil. Water bottles or carafes are stouter than decanters, and are usually of heavier glass. Sherbet sets may consist of six or twelve glasses. The stems are more slender than those of wine glasses and the bowls shallower. Grapefruit sets consist of six or twelve large long- stemmed glasses, which may hold either the half-fruit surrounded with cracked ice, or a smaller glass which contains the fruit juice and is set in the ice. A punch or lemonade set consists of a large bowl, a ladle, and twelve glasses, often set on a plateau or a glass tray. Finger-bowls come in sets of six with or without saucers. Berry sets consist of a medium-sized bowl and six berry dishes. Coasters for use on a polished table are small, flat 76 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT glass discs with rims for holding tumblers. They come in sets of four or six. A mayonnaise or a whipped cream set consists of a bowl, spoon, and saucer. An almond or a relish set consists of a small fancy dish and six very small side-dishes. Sugar and cream sets consist of a small pitcher and a bowl. A flower set consists of a large vase and four smaller vases. Bedroom and toilet sets, also called guest or boudoir sets, consist of a water bottle covered with a small tumbler fitting closely down on it. Toilet bottles for medicines are of two standard sizes, 4 and 6 ozs., and with narrow or wide mouths, according to the material which they are intended to contain. The plain ones are of clear glass, usually square, with the name of the material they contain marked on them in black on a gold background. The more elaborate ones are decorated in enamels. Such bottles are often sold in sets of six or more, and may be fitted in a rack ready to be hung in the bathroom. Single Articles Many single articles are also sold in the Glassware Department. TABLEWARE 77 Pitchers come in a great many styles, sizes, and de- signs. Tankards and jugs are both a form of pitcher, the first usually high and slender in shape and the latter low and broad. Tankards are of more varied and original designs than pitchers and jugs and are used for more special purposes. Cruets and bottles for holding dressing, vinegar, catsup, etc., differ in shape and size according to their use. All of them have stoppers; cruets have handles also. Jars are wide mouthed and may be low or high. Sometimes they are squat, small, and square, though usually they are round. Sometimes they are fitted with a glass spoon and usually with stoppers or tops. Candy jars are tall, with curving sides and tops fin- ished with elaborate handles or knobs. Glass bozvls and dishes are of infinite variety in pressed, molded, or cut glass and with every type of. decoration. Salad bowls are low and broad while fruit bowls are high. Rose bowls are round with a small opening at the top. Ice and butter tubs are tub-shaped glass dishes with saucers. Compotes or sweetmeat dishes are stemware with flat bowls and high stems. 78 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT Other bonbon dishes are set flat on the table, and may be round, oval, or of any fancy shape. Casseroles, cake, pie, and bread pans, bean pots, ramekins, and other kind of baking dishes, are made of glass ovenware, which will stand a high temperature without cracking. ( See manual for " Housef urnish- ings Department.") These, when fitted into any standard mounting, such as sterling or German silver, make attractive dishes from which to serve. Some of the higher-priced pieces are decorated with light-cut floral designs and sold for the same purpose as cut glass serving dishes. Glass trays have wooden or metal rims and may be transparent or backed with silk, cretonne, inlaid wood, etc. Chapter IX PLATEAUX OR TABLE REFLECTORS Used for Decorative Purposes Plateaux are plate glass mirrors which are used as bases for centerpieces, punch-bowls, or other table fur- nishings for decorative effect. They add greatly to the brilliancy of cut glass by increasing the reflection of light from its many facets. Plateaux are either round or oval and range from 8 to 20 inches in diameter; the larger ones are used for punch sets or similar purposes. Some reflectors rest directly upon the table; others are raised on orna- mental feet made of the same material as the rim. The outer edge of the glass is bevelled, the ridge being usually one- fourth or one-third of an inch wide; but in expensive pieces it may be an inch or more; sometimes the edge is cut, engraved, or etched. Serv- ing plateaux have a rim of metal raised above the edge of the mirror in order to prevent glasses or cups from slipping off. Mirrors Mirrors were originally made of highly polished 79 80 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT metals such as silver, steel, brass, or copper. These are still preferred wherever glass mirrors are likely to be broken or affected by extremes of temperature, but silvered glass is the perfect reflector of light. Glass mirrors were made and exported by the Venetians as early as the fourteenth century. The glass was coated, in those days, with an amalgam of mercury and silver, but later an amalgam of tin and mercury was used, and at present the coating is of nitrate of silver. Manufacturing Mirrors The piece to be silvered is placed on a wooden table which is kept at a uniform temperature between 70 ° and 8o° F. by hot water pipes placed beneath. Around the table is a gutter for carrying off the water and ex- cess silver. Everything used in the process must be kept immaculately clean ; the water is distilled and kept in earthenware jars so that it will have no trace of iron or other metal. The surface of the glass to be silvered must be the second side polished, as that has had no chance to become roughened by contact with the plas- ter bed. Sometimes a polishing machine is used to rub rouge over the glass and thus remove any possible scratches. The glass is then thoroughly cleansed with whiting and ammonia and rubbed over with a solution of TABLE REFLECTORS 8 1 chlorid of tin. When the glass is chemically clean, a solution of nitrate of silver and Rochelle salt is care- fully and quickly poured over it. Depositing is usually complete in an hour ; the silver remains in a thin sheet while the other material is washed away with distilled water, and the plate is then dried and polished with chamois. The silver is first covered with a coat of shellac and then painted over with red lead or other " backing." The rims of these table reflectors are made of ster- ling silver or white metal silver-plated. The under side of the reflectors is covered with thick paper, felt, or leather. An inner lining of thick cardboard serves to pad the glass and protect it. Chapter X DESIGN IN GLASSWARE Fundamentals of Design In designing glassware two elements must be consid- ered : shape and decoration. Importance of Shape On the flat surfaces of textile materials design can be expressed only in pattern, but each article made of glass has an individual shape which is the most im- portant element in its design. Many people who make and handle glass do not seem to appreciate this fact. They do not pay any attention to form, but proceed to heap decoration upon ugly and awkward pieces in order to make them beau- tiful. No amount of decoration, however, can do this. It often only emphasizes the ugliness it seeks to conceal. The beautiful and tractable material which we call glass deserves artistic treatment and amply repays the artist who gives it his most careful workmanship. 82 DESIGN IN GLASSWARE 83 But the fact that it is so essentially beautiful has made stupid and vulgar designs marketable, whereas if they had been made of less shining material no one would have looked at them. Like all other materials, glass is most beautiful when treated according to its own nature and not made to imitate something else. Glass made by the Phoeni- cians and the Romans was molded on a core of sand and the shapes of these old vessels are not unlike those made of pottery. They are often graceful but lack the delicacy which we associate with glass. The dis- covery and perfection of the art of glass-blowing made possible a new and distinctive form of art. Shapes of Cut Glass and Blown Glass Articles Modern glassware may be divided into two general groups : heavy and substantial pieces whose decoration is cut deeply into the metal, and " blown glass " which is shaped by the expansion of air and finished by gentle manipulation while in the plastic state. While of course the best cut glass is made from blanks which are blown into a mold, when we speak of blown glass we mean the thin and apparently fragile types which show that they have had delicate handling. The difference in process determines not only the shape but the type of decoration suitable to it. Heavy cut glass is made in simple, well-proportioned 84 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT shapes, and depends for its beauty upon the jeweled effect and the refraction of light produced by the deep cutting. The shapes of blown glass pieces may be simple also, differing but little from the lighter kinds of cut glass, but on the other hand they may be elaborate, and so delicately fashioned that stems or handles may be easily snapped with the fingers. Their decoration should be correspondingly dainty and fine. Purpose for which Article Is to be Used The shape of any article should be adapted to the purpose for which it is to be used. When glass is in- tended for practical purposes as well as for ornament, those purposes should be given careful consideration. Pitchers are made to hold liquids. They should therefore be well balanced so that they cannot be easily overturned. The handle should be so constructed that the pitcher will tip at a convenient angle and the spout or lip so shaped that the contents of the pitcher will pour through it and not over its edges. Stemware for drinking glasses should have stems which may be comfortably and securely handled. The ridges on heavy glasses are partly for this purpose, but light wine glasses do not need such aids. The bowls of drinking glasses are also shaped according to their use. DESIGN IN GLASSWARE 85 The shapes of large bowls and flat dishes should be determined in part by the kind of food or drink which they are to contain. Vases are of many shapes because flowers require different settings. Roses and violets, lilies and carna- tions cannot be properly arranged in vases of the same shape. Traditional shapes for glassware are usually good, but they may easily be vulgarized by the change of a curve, the shortening of a stem, or the addition of some meaningless detail. Only the practice of study- ing pieces which are known to be beautiful will train the eye so that it will know beautiful lines and forms. (The chapter on " Design and Form "^in the manual for the " Lamps and Bric-a-Brac Department " will treat this subject more fully.) Designs for Cut Glass As the blanks for cut glass must be thick enough to stand the pressure and the grinding of the wheels, they naturally have a somewhat massive appearance. Old English cutters increased this massive effect by the simple shapes of their glassware and the straight lines of the miter or hobnail patterns. The pieces in Figure 8 are fine representatives of this type of cutting. Notice the curving lines sweeping upward over the shoulder of the vase and the dignity in all the shapes. 86 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT The miter cuttings are either faceted like jewels or molded in simple blunt designs. The American floral cuttings are of several kinds. Some of them are as deep as miter cuttings and require a heavy blank, while others are shallow enough to re- semble etching or engraving. The deep floral cuts are also combined with miter cuts or with light frosted floral designs. In order to conform to the general laws of design, great care must be taken to adapt the cutting to the shape and purpose of the piece of glass to be decorated. For example, the cutting on the lip of a jug or pitcher should be in lines radiating from its base to the edge. They should never cut across it. This applies also to cutting in the handle which should either be spiral (suggesting a continuous line) or follow the curve of the handle even more closely. Sprays of flowers or leafage springing from the straight line at the base of a bowl or pitcher are abrupt and awkward, while an upright conventional pattern is satisfying. A branching spray may be graceful when it appears to start from the stem of a goblet, especially if it fol- lows the general line of the glass. In some designs the cuttings are so deep as to break completely the outline of the piece and make it appear ready to fall apart. Courtesy of A. Giedelue Figure 8. Patterns in Miter Cutting DESIGN IN GLASSWARE 87 Another defect is found in the use of patterns in straight bands which cross the article at any angle and even stop abruptly in the middle of a side. Straight lines are needed to steady a pattern, while curved lines give it grace and lightness. Such bands of ornament, however, are always noticeable and because they are stiff and aggressive they should follow the outline of the piece like a border. When they run all over the side they look like bands of embroidery trimming out of place. Individual cuttings should be proportioned to the size of the article. A single flower should not cover the whole side of a pitcher or vase and a star should not look like a rising sun. Small patterns usually give a more artistic effect, but they should not be so cut up with crossing lines as to look confused. Standard Cut Glass Patterns Among many admirable patterns in cut glass are: Colonial designs with simple geometrical divisions following the outline of the article. Small separate designs repeated on a plain or " mat " background. Light floral cuttings usually much conventional- ized and sometimes frosted. Old English miter and hobnail patterns. 88 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT Some combinations of miter and floral patterns are effective but they must be treated with care. They are successful only if the flowers are so conventional as to become a part of the miter pattern, or if the miter pat- tern is so unobtrusive as to form a background or frame for the flowers. If the stiff lines of miter cut- ting are alternated with sprays of flowers so that each form of cutting is thrown into relief, all unity of de- sign is lost. Engraved Glass Patterns While deep cutting gives glass the brilliancy of jewels, the designs are restricted to formal and con- ventional patterns. Light floral cutting is a freer form, and engraving or etching may be given infinite variety because it is essentially a surface decoration. In criticizing the patterns in engraved glass we need not consider the hard material or the difficulties of workmanship ; we ask only for graceful outlines, clear- ness, unity, and suitability. The greater freedom which is given to a designer of engraved glass does not, however, release him from the laws which govern all design or pattern-making. Laws of Design Some of these laws may be stated simply. First the elements of a pattern, that is, the figures, are either : DESIGN IN GLASSWARE 89 Natural — imitating nature as much as the mate- rial will permit. Conventional — suggesting nature but simplified and adapted to the purpose of the decoration or the pattern. Abstract — made up of repeated lines and pat- terns which have no intentional resemblance to natural forms. (Sometimes it is hard to draw a clear line between very much conventionalized nature and abstract patterns.) Elements of Design Pattern designs are made up of lines, forms, and spaces. 1. There must be a center of interest. In a stand- ing piece of glassware this should usually be at a point a little above the middle of the article. In a bowl or flat piece it is either in the middle or at the handle end. The pattern may radiate from this point or it may only be given a little more emphasis there. In the case of simple borders or of repeated all-over patterns the shape of the article is made the center of interest to which the pattern calls attention. If the pattern starts from the base as in many gob- lets, pitchers, and vases, the plain upper part is still a part of the design and is thrown out in relief like 90 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT the broad petals of flowers springing out of the more complicated cup or calyx. 2. The pattern should be well distributed and have a proper balance. This is especially important if the pattern is repeated a number of times, as a balance good enough for a single composition may not be good enough for repetition. 3. The parts of a design must harmonize and be well bound together. The crossing of a design from one part of a piece having several sections to another is always effective. For example, the extension of the pattern from the stem to the bowl of stemware or from the handle to the body of a jug or pitcher gives a sense of unity and pleasure. Certain other principles of design contribute to the beauty of a pattern. Some of these are: Gradation, by which repeated forms vary in size. Symmetry and contrast, by which the design is given unity and variety. Radiation, which gives the eye a sense of com- pleteness. In nature flowers, wings, and shells all have these beautiful radiating lines. Composition of line, which is the term given to the arrangement of lines so that they flow into one another; and even when the ends of the lines do not connect, the eye is guided by their general direction to the points of interest. DESIGN IN GLASSWARE 9 1 Good Design In judging the different types of decoration, certain guiding principles should be recognized. The decoration should be suitable to the material and to the manner in which it is worked. Decoration should add interest to the article deco- rated. It should be appropriate to the purpose of the article. The artist should always strike a balance between use and beauty. Very elaborate decoration is better suited to articles that are intended only for ornament than to those which are to be given hard daily use. Decoration should always bear a direct relation to the structural lines, that is, to the shape of the article. The pattern should either follow those lines or bring out their beauty by contrast. The Use of Color in Design The principles of design which apply to cut and engraved glass are no less important when the decora- tion is in gold, silver, or colored enamel. Patterns which are given emphasis by any of these means should be even more carefully designed than those which are less noticeable. Nothing is in poorer taste than a cheap and tawdry design worked out in heavy gold or colored figures. Old Venetian glass is the best example of elaborate 92 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT designs produced by the use of color. Its stripes and figure patterns, festoons, and lace-work show the mar- velous possibilities of the plastic material. Some of these elaborate designs, however, are not beautiful but merely curious. Modern Venetian glass has fewer varieties and American copies of this glass are still simpler, having much less grace and delicacy of out- line. This is due in part to the greater hardness of the metal of American glass and in part to the greater haste in production which leaves the workman no time for individual treatment of his material. When colored glass is transparent or translucent it has a unique beauty which requires the most sympa- thetic treatment. Part III— Decorative Glass Chapter XI METHODS OF DECORATION Possibilities of Class Glass is a material with almost unlimited possibili- ties for the making of beautiful things. As we have seen, it may be blown, cut, or molded into the most exquisitely graceful shapes, while its transparency, crystal clearness, and bright surface make it second only to the diamond in its reflection of light and the prismatic colors which it scatters. In nearly all its forms glass is more or less orna- mental, and attempts are usually made to give even the commonest articles, such as bottles, glass mugs, or pitchers, a graceful shape and some kind of decora- tion. Most exquisite effects are produced with glass, moreover, in the hands of the true artist. Among the priceless treasures of ancient and modern times may be found many specimens of beautiful glass. 93 94 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT Colored Decoration of Glass Surfaces The various methods of decorating the surface of glass are : Gilding Painting and enameling Lacquering Gilding Gilding is an old form of glass decoration. It is done by the application of gold-leaf, liquid gold, or bronze powder. There are three methods of gilding: Gold resist Gold banding Application of gold-leaf Gold Resist The gold resist method is a combination of etching and gilding, as the design is first eaten out by the acid and then filled with gold. The piece is fired to unite the gold with the glass, and the design is burnished with a hard, smooth stone for a bright finish, or with spun glass or fine sand for a dull finish. The gold may be what is called " liquid bright " gold, which is gold bullion melted down in an acid so that it may be applied with a brush. METHODS OF DECORATION 95 Gold Banding Gold banding is more simple than the gold resist method. It may be done with the same gold solutions, or a cheaper bronze powder may be used. The arti- cle to be banded is placed on a revolving disc, and the workman applies the solution with a brush as it turns before him. Banding may also be done by machine. The gold is burnt in and burnished as with the resist method. Gold-leaf Gold-leaf is gold beaten out extremely thin. It may be reduced to Hscooo of an inch in thickness. It was formerly used for gilding but is now replaced by the two other methods. The gold leaf was attached to the glass by means of thin wax or glue and fired until it became fused upon the glass. Painting and Enameling Enameling is decorating glass with color by means of designs painted by hand in opaque glazes or enamels which unite with the glass when fired. The name is also given to a method of transferring printed patterns made of these materials to the glass by pasting them on and then firing the piece. 96 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT Lacquering or Japanning This is done in the same way with cheaper materials mixed with shellac or varnish and baked on the sur- face. It is an inexpensive and showy form of glass decorating. Silver Deposit Glass A very pleasing division of the Glassware Depart- ment is the silver deposit glass, which is found in vases, water sets, wine sets, and other articles. The chief decoration is silver, which is overlaid upon it in graceful patterns. The foundation is of plain glass and sometimes has fine stone cutting covering the space which is not silvered. Process of Manufacture of Silver Deposit Ware The blanks for the silver deposit ware are designed to fit the decoration which is to be applied and are made to order in large quantities for the cut glass factories. The process of manufacture from these blanks con- sists of: Sketching the pattern Firing the design, to form the base for the silver Electroplating Polishing Engraving METHODS OF DECORATION 97 Sketching the Pattern The designer outlines the decoration on the blank with either a brush or a stencil pattern. The material used for making the design is a metallic silver solution composed of silver 99.9 per cent pure, nitric acid, and other chemicals. It is a dark gray substance of the consistency of thick paint. The coating is allowed to dry before the next or firing process. Firing The pieces are arranged on shelves in the kiln and the fire, usually of gas, is lighted. The temperature is gradully raised to 1200 C, a cherry red or white heat. This takes two hours or more; the whole process of raising and lowering the temperature re- quires about four hours. During the process of firing the metal of the design melts and unites with the glass, which has also been softened by the heat. The design is white when it comes out of the furnace and is the surface for electroplating. Electroplating After the pieces have cooled to a normal tem- perature they are suspended on copper or brass rods in a tank filled with a solution of nitrate of silver. The rods are connected with the negative pole of a mag- 98 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT neto-electric machine. On rods in the center of the tank are suspended bars of silver 99.9 per cent pure, connected with the positive pole of the machine. A current of electricity passed through the solution causes the tiny particles of silver in solution to arrange themselves on the metallic surface of the design. The rest of the glass is unaffected by the process as the silver will attach itself only to the metallic surface. The pieces are left in the solution from 1% to 24 hours, according to the desired thickness of the de- posit. Sometimes a thin band is deposited and some- times a heavy coat suitable for engraving or cutting. For ware of the best quality the silver deposited by the electroplating process is also 99.9 per cent pure. The design is still white when it is removed from the tank and remains so until it is polished. Sometimes a colored background is produced by covering the inside of the article with a colored enamel and firing the piece again. A backing of gold may be applied, which makes the design silver on one side and gold on the other. Polishing The polishing process is in two parts. First the workman holds the piece against a rapidly revolving, coarse, buffing wheel made of canton flannel softened by grease. This cuts down and smoothes the METHODS OF DECORATION 99 surface of the silver. The tiny particles which are rubbed off by the wheel are collected by suction and purified for later use. This process is called surface buffing. The second buffing is given with a softer buffing wheel covered with rouge. This gives the silver a high luster. Engraving the Silver Deposit There are two methods of brightening the design or adding to the delicacy of its detail. True engraving is done in the same way as other engraving on silver or gold, with delicate tools and most careful workman- ship. The deposit must be reasonably thick and not too hard for the purpose. Engraving on silver de- posit requires great care because of the brittle glass background. The other process is known as imitation engraving. In this the workman scratches away the metallic silver of the sketched design with needles of varying degrees of fineness. When the piece is electroplated the silver is not deposited along the lines thus scratched. The true engraving is distinguished from the imitation by the delicacy and accuracy of line. Original Process This artistic and popular form of decorated glass IOO GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT originated in France where the process was at first very elaborate and costly. The piece of glass was first coated with a suitable chemical to make the metal ad- here to the glass and then electroplated with silver all over. The silver was then cut away from the design with hand tools. This early method, with some im- provements, was followed until the present one was invented. Meaning of the Term " Art Glass " All glass which has been given graceful form and artistic decoration might be included under the title " art glass," but that which is cut, engraved, or orna- mented with gold or silver is usually classed under those heads. The name art glass is generally applied to glass which is artistic not only in shape and design but is remarkable also for its beautiful color or mixture of colors. Sometimes the color is fused on the outside after the piece is formed; but in the most characteris- tic forms — the Venetian, Bohemian, and Tiffany glass — the color is introduced into the molten glass. Expert chemists are constantly at work discovering new combinations and methods of treatment which will produce new color effects. If two coloring oxides are used together, their union produces a new color which may not resemble either; by the multitude of METHODS OF DECORATION IOI these combinations the color scale of glass is rendered almost endless. Colored Glass Some of the popular forms of art glass are known under names denoting their color or their distinguish- ing quality, as : Amber Mahogany- Wisteria Black Mulberry Dark blue Green Rose Opaline or opal Cream-colored Moonlight iridescent White Verre de soie Metallic luster Pearl luster Gemmed or sealed Calcite Stained glass Amber glass is a clear brownish-yellow. It is found in tableware such as sherbet cups, thin wine glasses, and ornamental pieces, and also in vases of various shapes. Wisteria or mulberry glass is a rich but somber pur- ple which has become popular recently. It is used almost entirely for decorative glass. Green glass is attractive even in an inexpensive quality and is much used for vases and fern dishes. Opaline or opal glass has a shimmering changeable 102 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT effect, caused by the application of metallic oxides to the surface of the glass. It is known as moonlight iridescent, verre de soie, pearl luster, and calcite. Moonlight iridescent is a transparent, faintly opaline glass resembling the old Bohemian in its play of color. Verre de soie is a French glass almost transparent but slightly milky with a delicate pearly luster sug- gestive of silk. It is called plain when of a pure white satiny finish or when only faintly opalescent. The colors are soft, pale lavender, green, and blue. It is often engraved with a light cutting. Pearl luster is similar to Verre de soie, but is heavier and of less delicate colors. It is also more opaque. The pieces are often decorated with gold banding or designs etched in gold. Calcite is a brilliantly opalescent, opaque glass sug- gesting the more gorgeously colored Tiffany glass. The outside is creamy white and the inside has a beau- tiful play of warm yellow, orange, green, and purple. Mahogany glass is one of the most recent popular forms of colored glass. It is made in flower bowls, fern dishes, vases, candlesticks, and other articles of decorative ware, either plain or ornamented with gold and silver. The glass is a deep brown or mahogany color with wavy lines to imitate wood graining. Black glass has had a vogue which is hard to under- stand, as it is inappropriate for table decoration and is METHODS OF DECORATION 103 at all times a somber background or setting for flowers. The funereal effect is somewhat lightened by deco- rations of bright colored flowers, but its popularity will not last after the novelty has worn off because it has few of the characteristics which give glass its beauty and charm. Dark blue, rose, and deep cream-colored glass may be seen in a large number of decorative pieces, some of which are very dainty and soft in tone. White glass is often ornamented with lines or bands of color and color is put on in the trailed decorations, handles, and finishing touches. In these cases the added colored glass is previously prepared in the form of short rods, which are reheated and applied as the design requires. Metallic lusters may be produced by placing par- ticles of metal on the glass and fusing them into it. The fumes of stannous oxide will give glass an arti- ficial iridescence by coating it with a thin layer of metallic tin. Gems or seals are made by dropping molten glass on the vessel while it is still soft and pressing it with metal seals. Stained glass is made by adding the stains or trans- parent colors to the formed glass which is then fired to combine, melt, and fix them. The added colors must be very fusible, as the finished glass will not stand a 104 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT high temperature and their permanency is limited as compared with the internally colored glass, but the beautiful stained windows of the Middle Ages prove how durable this method of coloring may be. Flashed Glass Flashed glass is made by placing a very thin layer of deep ruby-colored glass upon the surface of a sheet of colorless glass of ordinary thickness. This is done by mixing the two kinds of glass in one gather- ing which, when blown, produces this effect. Other colors are also used for the flashed glass process, though ruby red is the most common. Flashed glass may always be detected by looking closely at the edge of the sheet, when the thin layer of color is plainly evident. It is in reality a veneer of color laid upon one side of a sheet of glass and may be removed in many cases by an acid or an abrasion. Flashed glass with several layers of different colors opens up a won- derful field to the decorator and the cutter. Chapter XII VENETIAN AND BOHEMIAN GLASS Beauty of Design and Coloring in Venetian Glass In the section of the department devoted to art glass, pieces of Venetian glass immediately attract attention because of their daintiness, faint, delicate coloring, and artistic designs. Some seem to be scarcely more than thin brilliant bubbles of glass; others are more solid but with strange lines, twists, and flutings of color which have been introduced ap- parently by magic. For the table there are decanters, glasses, cups, plates, finger-bowls, and many varieties of compotiers, bonbonnieres, and baskets for holding fruit or flowers. For the toilet table are scent bottles, powder boxes, and other dainty accessories; while urns, candlesticks, and innumerable vases seem designed for beauty alone rather than for any sort of use. Among other fanci- ful decorations may usually be found reproductions of natural-colored fruit in thin, transparent glass. Venetian glass has been celebrated for more than ios 106 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT a thousand years for its graceful and delicate shapes and beautiful coloring. Though the industry has died down several times, it has been revived again and again. It flourishes today on the Island of Murano, from whence importations have been regularly ob- tained by merchants who carry fine lines of glassware. Composition Venetian glass is composed of: Silica Soda Lime Potash It lacks the brilliancy of lead glass, but its colors are exceedingly soft and beautiful and its luster is very deep and permanent. This luster is the result of many reheatings, some pieces being put into the fur- nace as many as fifty times. It is highly fusible and therefore may be blown very thin and is readily molded into artistic shapes. It is also very light and fragile, though if reheated many times it becomes tougher than it appears to be. Curious Shapes The old Venetian workmen made many fantastic shapes, such as drinking glasses which resembled ships, VENETIAN AND BOHEMIAN GLASS 107 whales, lions, or birds. Modern manufacture is less grotesque, but birds and fruits are common forms of decoration. The dragon is a favorite figure always, showing perhaps a strong Oriental influence. The materials in Venetian glass are seldom pure, and it is therefore apt to have a faint. tinge of yellow; or if manganese has been added to neutralize the iron, it has a faint purplish hue. The Venetian glassmaker is an artist as well as a skilled artisan. As he stands before the working hole of his furnace, blowing his airy bubbles, tossing them up and down, and twisting and fashioning the delicate stems and handles, he gives each piece an individuality and charm which can be achieved only as the result of affectionate care and pleasure in his work. Process of Formation In making a vase, the body is first blown and then the piece is shaped to form the foot. It is reheated and the neck widened and shaped; the tube for the handle is formed and fastened to the body; and it is again heated and given its final form. It may have a coil of glass around it from which the head of a dragon is deftly molded; or fruits and flowers of colored glass may be fused on, as the handle and foot have been. io8 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT An interesting feature of Venetian glass is the in- troduction of color in fine lines or spirals which seem to be embedded in some miraculous way in the material. The process is complicated, but not hard to understand. Rods or " canes " of glass are made first by dipping the blowpipe into colored glass, drawing it out, mar- vering it into a cylinder 2 or 3 inches in length, and then dipping this glass cylinder into clear glass, which forms a coating all over it. This cane is 2 or 3 inches in diameter, and as broad as it is long, when the process of drawing is begun. One workman holds the end of the cane on his blow- pipe, while another grasps the other end and walks slowly away, drawing it out until it is 420 yards in length and Y25 inch in diameter, with a thin thread of color in the middle. In some cases the colored thread is wound around a rod to make a spiral before it is dipped in the clear glass, but the drawing out is the same. These canes are cut with shears in desired lengths and may be used in various ways. For a vase the canes may be placed side by side to line a mold, and a thin glass coating blown in the center to unite them. The piece is then reheated in the fur- nace and worked, and finally is cut off with pincers which press the canes together at that point. VENETIAN AND BOHEMIAN GLASS 109 Filigree Glass A filigree glass called reticelli is made by placing side by side a series of transparent rods or canes, each containing a twisted thread of colored or milk-white glass. The rods are then heated until they are fused into a single sheet of glass with a ribbed surface. Two sheets made in this way are laid across each other, slanting so that a small air space is left between the rounding edges of the rods at each intersection. The sheets are then grasped with iron pincers and held in the furnace while they are twisted arid formed into a vase. The effect of the bubbles of air inside the mass of glass, increasing and decreasing in size according to the shape of the piece, makes the manufacture seem almost incomprehensible. Cameo Glass Cameo glass is made by fusing a sheet of colored glass upon one of a different color, so that they can be cut in cameo effects. Mosaic Glass Mosaic glass is made of white threads on a blue ground, laid in mosaic patterns. Frosted Glass Frosted glass is made by rolling the soft piece in either white or colored powdered glass. HO GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT Gold is sprinkled over the surface by a similar process. Laticella Glass Laticella glass is decorated with open network de- signs. These designs are cut out of metal or paper and placed on the glass; they are held in place by essence of turpentine. A light powder is first sifted over the pattern and then it is removed. When the glass is heated the powder is melted and acts as a resist to the acid, into which the piece of glass is then dipped. The acid eats away the uncovered part of the glass, leaving a delicate lacelike pattern where the powder has been. Millefiori Glass Millefiori glass has small bunches or baskets of flowers in natural colors, portraits, or fanciful objects enclosed in cubes, domes, or balls of glass. This type of glass is used in paper weights or other small articles. Coloring of Venetian Glass This exquisite glassware has an almost unlimited range of colors, and these are equally beautiful, whether transparent or opaque. The best models are probably those that are made solely for ornament rather than as parts of table service. The lovely color- A — Tazza B — Small Covered Vase C — Biberon Figure 9. Example? of Venetian Glassware VENETIAN AND BOHEMIAN GLASS III ing and original shapes look best when given a setting of their own and when they are not mingled with in- congruous pieces of other types. American manufacturers, after many years of ex- periment, have learned to make glassware which has most if not all of the characteristics of Venetian glass. One such manufacturer reproduces old patterns, even including the bubbles which are found in many old pieces. The old colorings such as turquoise, royal blue, and amethyst, are also found in these beautiful reproductions. Figure 9 gives three examples of beautiful Venetian glass. Figure A shows a flat ornamental shallow cup known as a tazza. The shallow bowl is embossed to form a series of wavelets with angular points round the margin. The supporting stem is gracefully drawn with a conical foot formed of lace glass. Figure B shows a small covered vase beautifully decorated with fine white lace-work. The wings or handles have been given the form of conventionalized dragons. Figure C is an example of a biberon or pitcher. It is distinguished by a scalloped mouth and the medal- lions surmounting the handle and at the base of the spout. These medallions are ornamented by gilt satyr heads and are characteristic of the Venetian style. 112 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT Bohemian Glass Modern Bohemian glass, which is made in Bohemia, Saxony, Bavaria, and Silesia, is usually colored or has color associated with it. It is generally heavier than Venetian glass, and in many cases the color is " flashed " or put on in thin layers, which are partly cut away, showing the clear crystal beneath. Bohemian glass is found in table glass, such as stemware, bottles, decanters, pitchers, flat dishes, and many forms of ornamental glass. The sand and potash from which Bohemian glass is made are very fine and pure and give it great bril- liancy and lightness; because of the greater purity of its materials it is clearer than Venetian glass. The shapes of Bohemian glass vessels are less original, but often more serviceable, than the Murano pieces which they originally imitated. Methods of Ornamentation The best developed form of decoration is engraving, which is done on the white crystal or on flashed glass with equal effectiveness. A Bohemian named Casper Lehmann invented the method of engraving by holding the piece of glass against the points of whirling spindles. Designs are also etched with fluoric acid; but the etched glass, while cheaper, is not so satisfactory, be- Figure 10. Example of Bohemian Engraved Glass VENETIAN AND BOHEMIAN GLASS 113 cause the designs cannot stand out so clearly and sharply. Besides the usual floral and geometrical, designs, Bohemian glass is sometimes decorated with elaborate pictures, such as hunting scenes in medallions sur- rounded by scrollwork. Cutting is done in conventional patterns, especially with flashed glass, which gives a very striking effect; cameo incrustation and enamel painting are also used. The usual colors of Bohemian glass are deep red, blue, green, and amber. Besides the " pot metal " colors which are mixed with the molten glass and the flashed colors put on as a casing, color is applied with a brush and fixed by firing the piece as with china. History of Bohemian Glass During the eighteenth century Bohemian glass be- came more popular than the Venetian product and was exported to England, America, the East, and even to Italy. Some famous pieces are now to be found in museums and private collections. It was highly prized by the early Americans, and after a period in which it went out of fashion, it has again become popular be- cause of its genuine merits, particularly its deep rich color, its original and finely executed designs, and its serviceable styles. Figure 10 shows a rare specimen of Bohemian en- H4 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT graved glass of medieval workmanship. It is a shell- shaped cup with deep cuttings which form a series of bold, projecting compartments. The curved surfaces of these are beautifully engraved with figures, scrolls, and other ornaments. Chapter XIII TIFFANY FAVRILE GLASS Old Industry Revived In Tiffany favrile glass we have a modern produc- tion which combines the beautiful rich colors in old cathedral windows with the surface iridescence of the ancient Egyptian and the Roman glass that has been buried in the earth for so many centuries. Window Glass After a number of years of experiment during which Mr. Tiffany had the glass made for him, he estab- lished his own factory in 1892 at Corona, Long Island. Large panes of flat glass, some of them with delicate opaline colors and many different kinds of texture and degrees of density are produced. Some glass is clear, some crinkled or veiled, some clouded or speckled. The varieties of color combinations and textures are too numerous to mention. The colors for this rolled glass are all put into the batch while in its raw state. In other words, it is not stained on the surface. The color is an integral part of the mass itself. "5 Il6 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT There is other glass, however, which is still more beautiful and varied. The hot glass from different pots is thrown out on the table with a ladle; as many as seven different colors may be thrown together. The famous drapery effects are made by taking ad- vantage of natural conditions while rolling and catch- ing the ends of the hot sheet with iron hooks and crink- ling it together. The color formulas are secret, but they are composed of different metallic oxides combined to form different tints and hues. Gold, copper, iron, and other metals are used lavishly, and the layers of glass are sometimes so heavily charged with these oxides that they are more like metal than glass. Peacock Glass Early in the production of favrile glass the wonder- ful iridescence of the peacock feather inspired Mr. Tiffany with a desire to reproduce it in glass. Many attempts were made before success was achieved. The remarkable color variations were produced in each case by the application of different colored glasses, hav- ing different chemical constituents in order that they might produce not only the diversified iridescence, but have also the characteristic body colors. All the colors of peacock glass are applied during the process of manufacture while the glasses are in a plas- TIFFANY FAVRILE GLASS 1 17 tic or viscous condition, and the object is finished be- fore it is placed in the annealing oven. Particular attention is drawn to this fact, for the reason that all imitations of Tiffany peacock vases have been made by the application of enamel colors after the piece is com- pleted. Shapes The blown glass for table use and decorative glass is fashioned in graceful shapes which are less fanciful and odd than Venetian or Bohemian productions. They look more like Greek or Japanese designs. Flower motifs are used for smaller pieces with the fine veins and threads of color pulled and twisted by hooks during the forming process. The iridescence of antique glass is due to decom- position of the surface brought about by chemical action during the long period of exposure to the air. The iridescence is not permanent and may be rubbed off. In favrile glass this iridescence is reproduced in the texture of the glass by a secret process and is per- manent. Characteristic Colors of Tiffany Favrile Glass Some of the characteristic and unusual color effects in Tiffany favrile glass are : Gold Lustre, an iridescent old-gold coloring. u8 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT " Samian Red," the red of a lobster's claw. " Mazarin Blue," a deep, rich blue with a purple shade. " Tel-al-amana " or Turquoise Blue, shading from turquoise to peacock green. " Aqua Marine," the color of deep water with bronze lights in it, or pale green with objects apparently floating in water. In spite of its apparent delicacy, the glass is tough and durable. " Favrile " is a coined word derived from " fabric," or " fabrile," and means " made by hand." Chapter XIV VASES AND CANDLESTICKS Varieties There are two kinds of vases, those which are in- tended to hold flowers and those which are solely for ornament. The flower holders are usually made of glass and are shaped according to the kind and num- ber of flowers to be contained. The low shapes are : Low round bowls, sometimes very shallow. Round bowls with an irregular edge. Bowls with a flaring, ruffled edge. Bowls with a collar or ruffle turned over. Rose bowls. The medium height shapes are: Straight-sided. Flaring slightly. Flaring widely. Funnel-shaped, with a stem supported by a standard. Baskets. 119 120 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT Curved gracefully in about one-third of the dis- tance from the top and then out again in a flowing curve. Very slender, for single flowers. The tall shapes are : Straight-sided column. Flaring from a point near the base. Flaring at the top only. Very slender, for single long-stemmed flowers. Same as in those of medium height. Table Vases Sets of vases may consist of four, five, or six vases of similar shape for table decoration. The vase in- tended for the center is of a larger size than the others. They are often connected by a glass chain. A table decoration which is a revival of an old French pattern consists of a silver or gilt standard holding vases shaped like horns of plenty and connected by ornamental festoons of the metal. A very graceful table vase consists of a low, broad bowl with a flower-like vase springing from the center. These flower holders may be found in cut, pressed, and art glass and in a number of colors — white, green, amber, mulberry, blue, black, and opalescent. The clear, delicately tinted or white glass is in better VASES AND CANDLESTICKS 12 1 taste than highly ornamented glass for this purpose, as the vase should be only a setting for the flowers and should not call attention to itself. Ornamental Vases Ornamental vases are of many graceful shapes, but are often quite unsuited for holding flowers. They may be elaborately decorated with gold and color, and are sometimes made of several different kinds of glass. Tiffany glass is often found in forms resembling flowers, either colored to make the resemblance more complete or covered with delicate tracery. Glass Candlesticks Candlesticks of glass are usually of simple forms. They are : Four-sided Straight Smaller at the top Curved out in the middle With the corners cut off Faceted Rounded Six-sided, usually straight Cylindrical Twisted 122 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT The bases usually follow the lines of the stems, and are four- or six-sided, cut off at the corners, or round ; but sometimes they are simple in order to balance an elaborate stem, or ornamented to set off a plain stem. Bases of candlesticks should be large enough to sup- port the stick and the candle above it. They are therefore rather broad and heavy. While candlesticks are sometimes found in colors, they are nearly always of white clear glass with plain or light frosted cutting. The bases are frequently cut underneath. The straight-sided Colonial candlestick has no ornamental cutting. Shapes which are less se- vere may have floral or star designs, but they are sim- ple in style. The patterns are often acid-engraved or etched. Candelabra of glass are hung with pendants of prisms ending in diamond points, which catch the light and increase their brilliancy by reflection. Candlesticks for the dining table are usually of glass or silver as they then correspond with the table fur- nishings. Miniature candlesticks are used for the dressing table and for children's dressers as well as for chil- dren's parties. For a further description of vases and candlesticks see manual for " Lamp and Bric-a-Brac Department." Part IV-The Glass Industry Chapter XV HISTORY OF GLASS-MAKING Wonders of Glass-Making " Among the discoveries due to chance and perfected by man's intellect, the invention of glass is certainly one of the most important. Two examples taken from two extremes of creation, the infinitely great and the imperceptibly small, will sufficiently prove this — the telescope, which brings the heavenly bodies within the range of the astronomer's study, and the microscope, which may be said to be still more useful." x Glassmakers of Egypt The ancient Egyptians were workers in glass as they were in pottery and many other arts. The first evidence of the domestic use of glass is found in the frescoes of Thebes, and on some of the earliest tombs glassblowers are represented. Many remnants of Egyptian glass, all beautifully iridescent with earth-made colors, have been found also in ruins 1 Wonders of Glass-making. Sauzay. 123 124 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT of buried palaces which have been excavated. The Egyptians made many articles of a deep, trans- parent blue glass, using it for small vases, mosaics, beads, imitation stones, scarabs, bracelets, scent bottles, and charms. Less often they colored their ornaments with pale buff, deep green, and in rare cases with red. Sometimes the piece was decorated with bands of white, yellow, or turquoise blue, and in some instances the whole surface was colored. Birds in mosaics are said to have been represented with such accuracy and delicacy of detail that each separate feather of wing and tail could be easily distinguished. In the British Museum is a human-headed hawk not exceeding three- fourths of an inch in its greatest dimension. Other examples characteristic of Egyptian skill in the art of glass-making are specimens of beautiful glass jewelry found in Memphis and now at the Salle Historique at the Louvre, and a yellow glass scent bottle with the name in blue glass. In the British Museum is an ex- quisite little blue and orange glass bottle bearing the name of Thothmes II (eighteenth dynasty, about 1590 B. c. ) ; and in the Bulak Museum is an elaborate bracelet found in the tomb of the mother of one of the kings of the eighteenth dynasty. It is formed of microscopic gold, red, and blue glass beads, strung on fine gold wire in a symmetrical design of triangles. HISTORY OF GLASS-MAKING 125 Theban Works of Art Some of the cups of varied colors found in Thebes 1 show great skill in what may be called glass-porcelain, i usually in blue or green. Both the molding and the cutting of glass were also practiced there, as shown in figures and ornaments cast in a mold, and in vases and beads engraved in various designs. Glass of Other Oriental Countries Glass was also made in India and in China, but the Indian glass was very defective and Indian methods were primitive. The Chinese probably copied the methods of the Phoenicians, but most of their glass was in imitation of precious stones. Assyrian Workmanship Quantities of small glass articles, such as amulets, were early exported from Egypt to Assyria. The As- syrians understood the glazing of pottery and did much of it, as we learn from their ornaments and their glazed architectural bricks. The first specimen of their glass was a vase found in Nineveh, inscribed with the name of an early king ; while a greenish glass bowl found in 1852 bears the name of Sargon (722 b.c.) — that is, in the eighth century b.c. This vase is now in the British Museum. It is supposed to be the oldest 126 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT specimen of transparent glass yet discovered ; as those from Egypt appear to belong to a period earlier than the sixth or seventh century b. c. The Sargon vase was blown in one solid piece and then hollowed out and shaped by a turning machine. Two larger vessels of alabaster were found with it and all were probably used for holding ointment or perfume. A rock crystal lens was also found, supposed to have been ground on a lapidary's wheel and to have been used as a mag- nifying glass. Blue glazed pottery, glass bottles, and other vases of elegant shape, some of them decorated in gilt, were unearthed at the same time. Persian Glassware Persia also produced some beautiful glass, specimens of which may be found in the British Museum and other collections; but Tyre and Sidon were the cities most celebrated for glass-making. According to an old legend, sailors from a Tyrian ship carrying a cargo of niter, went on shore to eat. Finding no stones upon which to place their pot, they set it upon blocks of niter, and used seaweed for fuel. When the fire died down they discovered that the niter had melted and, fusing with the sand and the ashes of the seaweed, had made glass. Whether this story is fact or fable, it is certain that the glass fac- HISTORY OF GLASS-MAKING 127 tories of this enterprising group of merchants were noted up to and during Roman times. Sidon is said to have invented glass mirrors and to have known the value of manganese in making glass clear. We know that Phoenician citizens used the blowpipe and the graver. Characteristics of Grecian Glass Greece, which excelled in pottery, paid little atten- tion to glass-making. The Greeks in Rhodes produced glass vessels, such as small bowls of clear crystal and harmonious colors. Bottles of opaque blue or green decorated with gold have been found in Grecian tombs. As a rule the Greeks preferred the blue or crystal glass. Grecian articles of glass must, however, have been largely imported, since there is no trace of the manu- facture of glass on Greek soil. Roman Glass The Romans used glass extensively for domestic and architectural purposes and also for personal adorn- ment. Factories were established as early as the first century a.d. The emperor Nero was a great lover of glass and an enthusiastic collector, and by his ex- ample stimulated the rich Romans to pay extrava- 128 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT gant prices for glass, crystal, and murrine (a costly ma- terial not definitely known) vases to use on the table at their banquets. Through the encouragement of the royal families there was also much luxurious ex- travagance in toilet and perfume bottles; the Roman ladies and their slaves carried their own toilet ap- paratus to the baths. Mourners gathered their tears in tear-bottles hardly one-half inch in height, and placed them beside the ashes of their friends ; and also poured wine and milk from fancy bottles on the funeral pyres. Some of these funeral and tear-bottles may be found in the Louvre. Other bottles supposed to have been intended for presents are engraved with the pic- ture of a heart and the word " Amor." Beautiful color effects were obtained from the use of green, blue, purple, amethyst, amber, brown, and rose, in both opaque and transparent glass ; some eight or ten shades of blue varying from lapis to turquoise were known. Varieties of Glassware There were also many styles of design for the glass- ware, including perfume, cosmetic, and funeral bot- tles, drinking cups, flasks, bowls and other vessels, dice, mosaics, small ornaments, and especially imitation stones; the latter were often carved as intaglios and cameos, or set in beautiful filigree work. Cinerary A — Amphora B ami C — -Ampullas D — Vase Figure u. Examples of Roman Molded Glass HISTORY OF GLASS-MAKING 129 urns were used. Roman ladies carried glass balls to cool and whiten their hands, changing the ball as the glass heated. At banquets slaves poured wine and water from large carafes or decanters into the drink- ing cups of the guests. Glass was blown, molded, pressed, and cut. The crystal glass made by the Romans was clearer and stronger than that of the Egyptians, and so like the real or rock crystal as almost to defy detection. In Figure 11, A shows a violet-colored Roman am- phora — a tall two-handled jar — which was used to hold wine or oil. The surface has decayed and has the iridescence found in most ancient glass. It is encircled with a series of horizontal alternate narrow flutings and ribbons. Figure B portrays an ampulla, a vase used to hold perfumes and oil. It is made of opaque light blue glass much decayed, molded in relief, and ornamented with an amphora, a diota (two-handled cup) and other vases placed between six columns supporting pointed arches. Near the base are bunches of grapes and fes- toons. Figure C gives an illustration of another ampulla. It is of light green glass with the surface divided by projecting lines into 6 compartments containing in re- lief an amphora, a syrinx (Pan's pipes),- a patera (a 130 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT shallow bowl or cup used for pouring libations), and crossed scepters; above these compartments, the ves- sel is fluted. . Figure D represents a vase of dark glass much de- cayed, upon which a human face is molded in relief. Glass of Pompeii and Herculaneum Both these cities have yielded varied and splendid examples of Roman glass now stored in the Bourbon Museum of Naples and elsewhere. More than four thousand such articles have been collected, among them the Naples and Portland vases discovered in a tomb in 1644 an d placed in the British Museum. The Portland vase is always referred to as the most beau- tiful known specimen of the glass engraver's skill. It was at first supposed to be carved from a precious stone, but on closer inspection it was found to be made of a dark blue glass with exquisite cameo-like figures which are carved out of a superimposed layer of opaque white. Varieties of Bottles Among the Pompeiian relics are numbers of square glass bottles in which housekeepers kept their wine, oil, vinegar, honey, etc. ; some of these bottles are a foot and a half high, while there are hundreds of smaller bottles of other types. There are glass plates HISTORY OF GLASS-MAKING 131 fourteen inches across. A fragment of one patera made of a blue glass that is as splendid as a sapphire, with milk-white cameos on it, representing a twig of ivy leaves enclosing the head of a ram, suggests Pliny's words, " They sculptured glass more delicately than silver." Other Glassware Glass cups, called Christian glass, in colored designs, are also found among the relics of the catacombs of Rome. The subjects pictured are religious, such as the Nativity and the raising of Lazarus. Some of the cups have purple in the draperies, green in the sea waves, and pink in the faces, while the more ornate specimens are decorated with silver, gold-leaf, and powdered gold. Little crystal glass fish are also found, together with vases supposed to have held sacred oils. Venetian Glass Very little is known of glass manufacture in Italy immediately after the fall of the Roman Empire, as the industry almost died out with the removal of the government from Rome to Constantinople. Some Italian refugees, during the invasion of the terrible Huns under their leader Attila, fled to Venice, where the industry was kept alive. Among these refugees were glassmakers, who about the fifth century started 132 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT the industry, which was soon to become one of the most extensive and world renowned in the history of glass-making. The marine alkali-yielding plants and the abundance of sand about Venice had, no doubt, much to do with the rapid development and the beau- tiful products of the Venetian glassmakers. But the Venetians also utilized foreign commodities. Boats were sent to Syria to collect the white sand for which their glassware was celebrated, and special woods were brought from great distances. The Emperor Constantine had taken expert glass- makers to Constantinople, but the fall of that city in 1204 drove many Greek workmen back to Venice with their new recipes to enrich the industry. The Vene- tians guarded their secrets with the greatest care. If any workman carried his skill to another city he was ordered back and his relatives were imprisoned until he came. Glassmakers were highly honored and many of them were given the rank of nobles. Figure 12 shows an ancient Venetian glass furnace with the glassblowers at work, and Figure 13 shows the tools used. Murano a Famous Glass Center In 1 29 1 fear of fire drove the council to pass laws abolishing glass furnaces within the city, and the glass- makers were driven to the lagoon island of Murano, a „, ■ . p r.lasq Pots C — Working Holts A — Blowpipes l-> — ''lass i ois Figure 12. Ancient Venetian Glass Furnace HISTORY OF GLASS-MAKING 133 134 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT suburb of Venice, which has been a famous glass center ever since. In the early part of the seventeenth cen- tury there were three hundred glass manufactories in Murano, and nowhere in the world could their beau- tiful products be matched. The vases, cups, bottles-, and decanters of delicate crystal were prized by kings and often were more costly than if they had been made of gold. In 1300, Murano artists began to coat plates of glass with an amalgam of tin and mercury, and their mir- rors became the standard throughout Europe. In 1436 they began to use color in glass ; the earlier products were clear crystal with a greenish or violet tinge. Murano made the most beautiful beads, tableware, bric-a-brac, and the beautiful brown glass flecked with brass filings known as aventurin. Their glass was soft so that it could be spun, woven, or fashioned into the daintiest designs, and they also understood that the reheating of glass added brilliancy ; a single piece, it is said, was heated as many as fifty times. To the Murano artists, with their extreme delicacy of taste and touch inherited from their ancestors, coupled with endless study of their art, may be ascribed a fame which eclipsed that of any other glass-making center in Italy, so that for a long time Venetian glass enjoyed a monopoly. In recent years there has been a revival of the skill of the Venetian craftsmen. HISTORY OF GLASS-MAKING 135 Development of Art in Other Countries The development of glass-making in France, Ger- many, and England in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries had an injurious effect on the industry in Murano. The invention of flint glass was a serious blow to the industry, as flint glass is soft and heavy and suitable for cutting, while the light, thin Venetian ware cannot be cut. Glassmaking in Murano declined dur- ing the eighteenth century to such an extent that of 300 factories only one remained in the early part of the nineteenth century. The modern renaissance of Venetian glass is due to the efforts of C. Pietro Biguglia (1845) and later of Salviati, who revived the old processes and invented others, and practiced them with freedom and fine ar- tistic instinct. Backed by English capitalists, Biguglia reproduced old forms of Venetian glass and exhibited it at industrial expositions with conspicuous success. Spanish Glass Numerous traces of early glass furnaces are found in Spain, a result no doubt of the spread of the in- dustry from Rome throughout her provinces. Small jars, cups, phials, thickly molded saltcellars, tear-bot- tles, and bracelets found in tombs suggest home manu- facture of them in the valleys of the Pyrenees. Much of the glass of Barcelona (1324) bears a resemblance 136 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT to the old Venetian glass and seems to have been made both for home and export use. Many beautiful ex- amples of Spanish glass are found in the South Ken- sington Museum. Bohemian Glass During the sixteenth century glass-making in Bo- hemia became a recognized industry, when goblets and tankards of white glass with colored coats of arms, millefiori (see Chapter XII), and other decorated glass were made in its factories. In 1609 Casper Lehmann invented engraving on glass and the ancient art of cutting was revived. In 1679 ruby glass was intro- duced, and the action of hydrofluoric acid on glass, which made etching possible, was also discovered or applied in 1670. The industry developed rapidly during the seven- teenth and eighteenth centuries. Bohemian glass was not so delicately fashioned as the Venetian, but it was of purer materials and therefore clearer ; the engraved glass of Bohemia was very beautiful. Flashed glass (see Chapter XI) was much used, and was most effec- tive when engraved or cut to bring out the contrast of color between the rich ruby or violet and the crystal beneath. Other Varieties A potash-lime glass was made by the Germans in HISTORY OF GLASS-MAKING 137 imitation of the Venetian, but the colorless variety has always been known as Bohemian glass. Toward the end of the sixteenth century skilled rock crystal cutters from Milan advanced the art rapidly in the crystal and glass cutting factories at Prague, Bohemia. Early Art in France France had some glass factories as early as the second century; the imperial factory at Frontencennes was supposedly the cradle of all later factories in Nor- mandy. The glass was of low quality and of a greenish tinge. During the Roman occupation the native industry died out and Roman glass was used instead. The characteristic Roman articles — vases, wine bottles, dishes, etc. — are found, some of them bearing such Latin inscriptions as " Vale " and " Salve." French museums abound in specimens of this Roman glass which has been unearthed in their districts. By 667 A. d., foreign workmen, particularly Greeks and Romans, began to revive the industry. The city of Poitiers abounded in wood and other materials, and ruins of ovens and melting pots mark sites in its districts where glass was made. Normandy was the first province to grant privileges to glass workers. In the tenth and eleventh centuries 138 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT noble families followed the art, and " gentlemen " from Normandy went to establish factories in other cities. In the time of St. Louis it was fashionable to use glass on the table. While the Eastern countries excelled in mosaics, to the French belongs the distinction of superior work in glass painting and stained windows. Painted glass windows are said to have originated in the School of Limoges about 800 a. d., at which time a Venetian colony was established there. The casting of plate glass was discovered about 1693; blowing was em- ployed up to this time, The town of Baccarat in France has since 1765 been the center of plate glass and crystal factories which are world renowned. It is one of the three oldest glass centers in western Europe. The people of the district all work in the factories as their ancestors have done for generations, and produce a glass of great beauty and delicacy. In 1823 D'Artiques established in this town the world renowned " Crystalleries de Baccarat." Many European palaces and public buildings are decorated with panel or plate mirrors, crystal glass cases, lamps, and vases of Baccarat glass. The fac- tories excel in cut and engraved pieces, light and deep rock crystal, and glass with rich ornamentation in gold. One odd and interesting feature is the glass which is HISTORY OF GLASS-MAKING 139 decorated with paintings on opaque foundations to re- semble porcelain. English Glass The records of ancient glass-making in England are meager. The Druids had rudely shaped colored beads which they used as charms and which they probably obtained in trading with the Phoenicians, who went to Britain for tin. Most of the glass found in tombs and recovered cities is Roman, however, as it resembles that of Rome, France, and middle Europe. Among such relics are beads, vases, and balls of crystal glass, tear-vases and bottles six or eight inches square. Glass must have been plentiful even in Saxon times, judging from the quantity found. The oldest painted windows in England are those of Canterbury (1174), which date from the Norman period. Glass tumblers and ale and beer glasses were in use on the tables "at banquets. In a drawing on an Anglo- Saxon calendar in the British Museum, seated figures are shown drinking from glass cups or elongated tum- blers of hornlike shape and blown very thin. Importation rather than home manufacture seems to have been encouraged. Growth of the Glass Industry in England In 1677 the Duke of Buckingham brought glass- HO GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT makers from Murano to Lambeth, England, to make crystal vases, looking-glasses, and other articles. In 1685 political disturbances sent French glassmakers to England, so that in 1696 there were 88 glass factories making chiefly bottles, mirrors, and ordinary flint glass tableware. The distinction of perfecting lead or flint glass be- longs to England, as does also the development of the art of glass cutting. Lead glass was much softer and more sparkling than the lime crystal used by the Ger- mans and the Bohemians, and the English cut glass soon surpassed any that was made on the continent. London, Bristol, Birmingham, Belfast, Dublin, and Glasgow became important glass-cutting centers. The finest specimens of English glassware belong to the period between 1780 and 1810. Nearly all of it was tableware. Stemware of all kinds, tumblers, de- canters, saltcellars, pitchers, and mugs in almost end- less variety are now gathered by the collectors of this fine type of glassware. Some glasses were thin and delicate, while others were heavy enough to pound the table without injury when this was the custom. Characteristics of English Glass English glass shows marked individuality. Bristol glass is especially prized ; but all of it is interesting and most of it is beautiful. From the many " baluster " HISTORY OF GLASS-MAKING 141 stems and plain bowls of the earlier types, to the fine cutting, engraving, and trailed decoration of later manufacture, one may trace a clear line of develop- ment. Certain peculiarities, such as " tears " or bub- bles of air which are found in earlier stems, are devel- oped by a process of drawing out and twisting into the mysterious air twists of later specimens. This old glass has the clear ring of the lead crystal and much of it is beautifully colored. Greens, from a clear apple-green to the deep color of the emerald, deep sapphire blue, amethyst, and old rose may be found among these old glasses. Political history is also writ- ten in the Jacobite pictures and symbols with which some of them are engraved. English tableware lacks the delicacy of the Vene- tian and the fanciful decoration of the Bohemian glass, but it is wonderfully satisfactory for its purpose. Chapter XVI THE GLASS INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES Early Experiments The American colonists made a number of attempts to produce glass, but for various reasons they were un- successful. A few English glassmakers came to Jamestown in 1608 and tried to start a factory, and early records mention some Italian bead-makers. Wheeling had several small glass houses in its early history, and Pennsylvania launched several enterprises but all were shortlived. There was a lack of skilled workmen and the sand used was of inferior quality. There was no general development of the industry until about the middle of the nineteenth century. The glass that was produced before that time was poor in quality and crude in style. The better grades were im- ported from England, and only such articles as com- mon bottles and heavy table glass were of American manufacture. About 1840 attempts were made to produce some 142 UNITED STATES GLASS INDUSTRY 143 decorative ware. Bottles were made in sapphire blue, emerald green, claret, and other brilliant colors ; some were shaped like log cabins or cider barrels, and the American eagle or the stars and stripes were used as patriotic decorations for tableware. Opal glass was fashionable for candlesticks, drawer handles, and simi- lar articles. Pioneer Glass-Making Concerns The foundation of the glass industry was laid near Boston when the New England Glass Works was es- tablished, and for many years Boston led in the manu- facture of flint and colored glass of all kinds. The first furnace had six pots and forty workmen, but in 1865 five furnaces, of ten pots each, were operated, five hundred workmen were employed, and glass valued at $500,000 was produced annually. Through the enterprise and liberal policy of this company, factories for making glass were also estab- lished in other parts of the country. Workmen were brought from abroad, and capital was freely expended to make the industry permanent. In 1855 William L. Libby, who was then a confi- dential clerk of one of the large glass importers located in Boston, bought the glass factory of his employers and for twenty years enjoyed an enviable reputation in the Massachusetts industry. Realizing the necessity of 144 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT cheap fuel, however, he moved to Toledo, where first natural gas and later petroleum were available. The Libby Glass Company of Toledo, one of the largest of the United States glass manufacturing concerns, is the result. Another notably successful plant was started in 1852 by Christopher Dorflinger of Brooklyn, with a capital of $1,000, for making glass for lamps and chimneys. The discovery of petroleum at that time had created a great demand for lamps, and his furnaces increased from one with five small pots to four in 1861 and fif- teen in 1865. During that year he moved his fac- tories to White Mills, Pennsylvania, where he now operates one of the largest manufactories of cut glass. Growth of the Industry The growth of the glass industry in the United States has been due to : The development of pressed glass. The invention of the automatic bottle machine. The improvements in furnaces. The use of oil and gas for fuel. Pressed Glassware The manufacture of glass by means of metal molds was practiced to some extent in England and America as early as 1834. The idea of pressing the molten UNITED STATES GLASS INDUSTRY 143 glass into the required shape by means of a metal core or plunger was suggested by a carpenter in Sandwich, Massachusetts, and taken up by the New England Glass Company with successful results. The perfection of this type of glassware was achieved by a Pittsburgh company which took the first prize for fine pressed glass at the Paris Exposition in 1867. The goblets and wine glasses produced by this company could hardly be distinguished from those made by blowing and cutting. Pressed Lime Glass Until 1864 pressed glass was always made of flint or lead, with potash and saltpeter, which made it nearly as expensive as cut glass. In that year a Wheeling glass company experimented with bicarbonate of soda and lime, and succeeded in making a clear, brilliant glass at about one-third the cost of the lead glass. The use of this lime glass caused a rapid growth in the pressed glass industry in the West, and a corre- sponding loss to the flint glass manufacturers of the East, who could not compete with the western product on account of its lower cost of production. This re- sulted in the disappearance of many eastern glass- works. Invasion of Foreign Markets The purity of color and the excellent design of 146 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT American pressed glass, together with its comparative cheapness, has made a market for it not only at home but also in foreign countries, both in Europe and South America. The Owens Bottle Machine Another discovery which revolutionized the bottle- making industry was the invention and perfection of the Owens automatic bottle machine. No hand opera- tions are necessary except the oiling and care of the machine. It makes bottles of all sizes and shapes, and the saving of labor is enormous. In 1914 between sixty and seventy of these machines were in use. Improvements in Furnaces There were no important changes made in the types of glass furnaces used until 1870, when increased competition led to improvements by which less fuel was made to produce more heat. Larger furnaces were built, many of them holding from thirteen to fif- teen pots, which sometimes contained two tons of glass each. The use of natural gas for fuel gave the Middle West its greatest advantages over other sections of the country ; and it is there that the glass industry now has its center. There are, however, several important manufacturing centers in the East, among them Mill- UNITED STATES GLASS INDUSTRY 147 ville and Glassboro, New Jersey ; and Bridgeton, White Mills, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the Middle West In western Pennsylvania, Carbondale is a center, West Virginia and Ohio have many plants, and Toledo, Ohio, makes large quantities of pressed glass as well as superior blanks for eastern cut glass factories. Muncie and Gas City, Indiana, are important cen-. ters. Alton, Illinois, has the largest flint bottle manufac- tories in the world, 4,500 workmen being employed. Chicago and some small towns in the neighborhood have numerous plants for manufacturing and cutting. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the greatest glass manufacturing center in the country. It produces al- most every type of glass. In 1 887 the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company began the creation of what is now the greatest plate glass works in the world. Pennsylvania leads as the glass-producing state, with West Virginia second. The large deposits of white siliceous sand in the latter state, as well as the abundant supply of coal and natural gas, have caused the rapid growth of the industry. Today the United States leads the world in the manufacture of glass and glassware. It imports some European art glass and glass for lenses, but exports 148 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT greater quantities of machine-made glassware and a large amount of cut glass. As a result of war conditions, the trade in glass be- tween this country and South America has been greatly increased, as well as the orders from European markets. American machinery has been installed in many foreign glass manufacturing plants. America imports glass from Austria Hungary, Ger- many, France, England, Belgium, Italy, The Nether- lands, Sweden, and Japan. In Belgium glass-making was considered the national industry before the war. Chapter XVII SUGGESTIONS TO SALESPEOPLE Qualifications for Selling Glass The selling of glassware requires taste, intelligence, and imagination on the part of the salesperson. While its beauty always attracts shoppers, the great variety of styles and designs is confusing. Also most people fail to appreciate the quality and suitability of glass- ware with the same discrimination which they show in choosing clothing and other practical articles. A knowledge of the composition of glass, of the dif- ference between lead glass and lime glass, and of the reasons for the greater cost of lead crystal, will often sell the more expensive article. A few remarks re- garding the manner in which metallic oxides produce color by fusing or firing make an interesting point; and even the " ringing " of a crystal goblet with its sil- very tone adds to the value and attraction of the article. Manufacture The process of melting, fusing, and forming glass is like a fairy story to those who have not heard it. 149 ISO GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT Blown glass, for instance, has a new interest for cus- tomers when they learn how it is made. Thus a knowledge of the various processes of manufacturing the different kinds of ware is an essential part of the commercial information of the salesperson. The salesman should understand the difference be- tween cut, semicut, and pressed ware; acid polish, fire polish, and polishing on wheels. Etching, engrav- ing, and carving should also be clearly understood, as well as the difference between needle-etching and plate- etching. Then the various methods of applying color and gilding are not only interesting but important, be- cause of the greater durability of certain forms of decoration. Articles for mere ornament need not be so durable as those which are to be in constant use. It is therefore less unfortunate to have a vase with a dec- oration which will soon wear off than it is to have water glasses with the same defect. Other Points of Importance to Customers An acquaintance with modern trade centers, both foreign and American, will give interest and authority to a salesperson's statements. Thus the distinct char- acteristics of Venetian, Bohemian, Baccarat, and Bris- tol glass have greater meaning when arguments can be based on definite information. Design is of special importance in glassware, and a SUGGESTIONS TO SALESPEOPLE 151 cultivated taste is first of all necessary that one may be really helpful to the customer. Then, a knowledge of the particular designs belonging to any one period, such as the Colonial or the Jacobite, will be serviceable in aiding her to make a suitable choice. The names of the designs, especially in cut glass, should be learned and properly applied as they always attract attention and interest. The exclusiveness of a design gives it an added value to many customers, while standard pat- terns of recognized merit will appeal to the more con- servative. Suitability It is estimated that two-thirds of the cut glass sold is intended for gifts. Thus the salesperson may often make a return or an exchange unnecessary by learning something of the purpose for which the article is in- tended and the possible tastes of the person to whom it is to be given. These must often be mere guesses, but any clue may save some blunders. Thus, when a gift is to be made to one who " has everything," some- thing of an exclusive design is more likely to please than a commonplace article which is likely to be a du- plicate. Then, too, if tactful suggestions are made, gift buyers may select more expensive presents and be bet- ter satisfied, because they feel that they have the right 152 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT thing; while on the other hand some who have spent less than they had anticipated are thereby made per- manent customers. Arrangement Glass is usually arranged in as effective a manner as possible, so that its decorative value may be thoroughly appreciated. Single pieces as well as sets may, how- ever, suffer from their surroundings and not be seen to the best advantage. It is often wise to place them in a corner where they have no more brilliant neigh- bors to dull their beauty; or perhaps there may be pieces which will actually help to set them off. The value of proper surroundings is nowhere more evident than in a Glass Department. Care The glass on sale in a department should always be spotless and shining. The salesperson may give help- ful information to customers as to the care of their purchases. Cleaning The washing of glassware has much to do with its beauty. Glass is slightly acted upon by alkalies; therefore strongly alkaline soaps or washing powders SUGGESTIONS TO SALESPEOPLE 153 will dull or scratch the surface. Water at the boiling point will also affect the polish. Glasses or pitchers which have contained cream or milk should be rinsed with lukewarm water softened with a little soda before being washed with the other pieces, as otherwise all the glass will have a clouded appearance. Water bottles or pitchers which have a deposit of lime on the inside may be cleansed by put- ting in tea leaves, covering them with vinegar, and shaking the bottles. A teaspoonful of hydrochloric acid in a little water will also remove this deposit. The bottle should be rinsed immediately. Carbonate of ammonia causes flint glass to become brittle so that it will easily break and pieces will fall off. Glass should be washed in clean, warm (not hot) water, with a little white soap. Some housekeepers believe that it is cleaner when rinsed in water which contains no soap; others rinse in slightly soapy water and dry and polish on hot towels. Glass is often broken by pressure from the dish cloth or dish mop when washing the inside. The fol- lowing suggestion is a good method for delicate cups or glasses : " Have enough water in the dishpan so that when the glass or cup is turned upside down it will be en- 154 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT tirely full of water; now lift the glass quickly, still keeping it upside down and being careful not to tip it. It will remain full of water until it reaches the surface, when the rushing in of air will force the water out so suddenly that it will carry all food particles with it. This is an excellent method for washing sherbet and lemonade glasses." * A writer in " Crockery and Glass " gives the follow- ing suggestions for cleaning cut glass : " First make a warm soap-suds and wash the pieces with an old tooth-brush which will fit into the curved shapes and cut figures. Rinse in clear, warm water and wipe with a linen towel. After this polish with a warm towel and set in a box of sawdust for a few hours. The sawdust absorbs the moisture in the in- cisions not reached by the towel, and also heightens the polish. When taken from the sawdust rub with a piece of tissue paper and the glass will sparkle like crystal." Things to be Avoided Glassware should not be arranged in piles as it is heavy and brittle. Pieces are apt to be chipped off, and sometimes the lower pieces in the pile are cracked by the mere weight of those above. Such arrange- ment is particularly unsuitable for cut glass. l From Choice and Care of Utensils, by Ida S, Harrington, Farm House Series No. 5, Cornell Reading Courses. SUGGESTIONS TO SALESPEOPLE 1 55 Glass should be protected against extremes of tem- perature, such as cold storerooms or overheated chests. Very hot or very cold water, chilled or hot food, may cause it to crack. It should be tempered or warmed before putting in hot liquids, or cooled before filling with ice-cream. When boiling water or boiling syrups are to be poured into glass, the danger of breakage is lessened by putting in a silver spoon. Glass is very little affected by moisture, air, or light. Even after being buried in the earth for many years the only deterioration is an oxidation of the surface which shows in iridescent colors as in antique glass- ware. Therefore with proper care and handling glass may be considered almost indestructible. Chapter XVIII CLASSIFICATION OF STOCK OF A TYPICAL GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT Divisions A. Tableware i. Cut Glass 2. Pressed Glass B. Toilet Sets C. Decorative or Art Glass A — Tableware i. Articles in Sets Water Grape Juice or Iced Tea Wine, Cordial, Liqueur, Cocktail Sherbet Grapefruit Punch or Lemonade Finger-bowls Berry Coasters Mayonnaise or Whipped Cream Almond or Relish Sugar and Cream Flower 156 CLASSIFICATION OF STOCK 157 2. Single Articles Pitchers Jugs Tankards Decanters Carafes Water Bottles Cruets for Oil, Vinegar, Catsup Bowls Fruit Punch Salad Berries ' Whipped Cream Rose Crackers Compotes or Compotiers Nappies Bonbon Dishes Plates Plateaux Trays Ice-cream Platters Sandwich Plates Celery Trays Jam and Marmalade Jars Sugar Bowls Sugar Sifters Sugar Trays Salt and Pepper Shakers Saltcellars Spoon Holders Dinner Bells Toothpick Holders 158 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT Knife Rests Syrup Jugs Fern Dishes Punch Ladles Salad Forks and Spoons Iced Tea Spoons Baking Dishes Ramekins Cake, Pie, and Bread Pans Casseroles 3. Materials Sand Lead Lime Potash Soda Metallic Oxides Gold Silver Enamel Rock Crystal 4. Manufacture Cut Carved Blown Pressed Molded Rolled 5. Decoration Etching Gilding Enameling Engraving CLASSIFICATION OF STOCK 159 Frosting Painting Silver Deposit . Body Color Single Color Iridescent Colors Fire Colors 6. Kinds American English French Swedish Bohemian B — Toilet Sets 1. Articles Night Sets Guest Sets Toilet Bottles Toilet Sets Puff Boxes Pin Trays Comb and Brush Trays Jewel Boxes 2. Materials, Manufacture, Decoration, Kinds See 3, 4, 5, 6, under A C — Decorative or Art Glass 1. Articles Vases Candlesticks Candelabra 160 GLASSWARE DEPARTMENT Flower Bowls Flower Baskets Card Holders Clocks Pin Trays Comb and Brush Trays Jewel Boxes 2. Materials, Manufacture, Decoration See 3, 4, 5, under A 3. Kinds Same as A-6 Venetian Bohemian Tiffany Appendix Books for Reference Glass Manufacture, Walter Rosenhain. Van Nostrand, $2 Principles of Glassmaking, Powell. Geo. Bell & Sons (Lon- don) Glass in the Old World, Wallace Dunlop. Field & Tuer (London) Wonders of Glassmaking, Alexandre Sauzay. Scribner, $i Laboratory Guide of Industrial Chemistry, Rogers. Van Nostrand, $1.50 The Glaziers Book, E. L. Raes. Maclaren & Sons (London) English Table Glass, Percy Bate, B. T. Batsford. Scribner, $2.50 Decorative Glass Processes, Arthur Duthie. Van Nostrand, $2 The Lure of the Antique, W. A. Dyer. Century, $2.40 Marietta, Marion Crawford. Macmillan, $1.50 Crockery and Glass Journal, Trade Journal International Studio, Special articles J. P. Morgan collection Development of Cut Glass Industry in the U. S., W. F. Dorflinger American Glassware, Old and New, E. A. Barber. Keramic Studio Pub. Co., $1 Art of Glass, Neri Notes on the History of Glassmaking, Alexander Nesbit, Catalogue of Slade Collection of Glass, Felix Reminiscences of Glassmaking, Deming James (only print) Principles of Glassmaking, Powell, Chance, Harris. Geo. Bell & Sons (London) 161