The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1852-07-13
Glass Making.
(Preparcd for thu Herald.

Providence hes bestowed on man. Science and
genius here lay NO claim; and we are not Of the
school which would ascribe to chance tho merit of
An invention destined by the Almighty to be Of
such service to his creatures. It 10 now impossible
to sace 1t to its origin; 1t seems almost old s
tho keen and brilliant obsldian-that volcanic glass
which the fre-belching mountains have been form
ing since the world began. Egyptian hisroglyphics.
coeval, it is thought, with the descent of Jacobs
FANNY to the Nile, Represent the process Of glass
blowing. Heads have been found engraven with
the name of the monarch whom moderns make tho
Pharaoh of the Exc ]us, while those vast recepsa-
cles Of the dead which cover both Upper and Lower
Egypt, furnish from their mummy cases, vases,
wine bottles, drinking cups, and trinkets Of glass.
Coming, then, to the period Of books, the oldest
Of all-Job, written in the deserts Of Arabia-com-
pares it with gold; and Hebrew scholars find alla-
sions to glass vessels in the books Of Moses This
does not fix the period of its invention, but it
plodes the fable by which Pliny accounts for its
invention. GA merchant ship" says he, "laden
with nat,on, being driven upon the coast at Tho
mouth of the Belds, in temptuous weather. tho
crew were compelled to cook their victuas ashore;
and, having placed Jumps of natron on the sand, to
support their kettles found to thor surprise masses
Of transparent stone among the cnders The sand
Of this small stream Of Galilee, which runs from the
foot OF Mount Carmel, in consequence supposed
to possess peculiar virtue for making glass, and
continued for ages TO DO sought after and exported
to distant countries for this purpose" 1t is fact
that glass was at very early date known to the
Phonicians and for long time constituted an arti-
ole Of trade peculiar to that people, as the inredi.
ents-ntre, sand and lime-abound upon their coast.
Nafron, kind of soda, is obtained from the waters
of many lakes in that country, and takes its name
from the lake 50 NatrOn.o
According to Pliny and Strabo, the glass works
of Sidon and Alexandria were famous down to their
days, tor the beautiful articles which they produced,
cut engraved gilt and stained of the most brilliant
eoors so as TO rival precious stones. Other glass
factories were then in successful operation Gaul,
Italy and Spain and drinking cups of glass had OF
Rome entirely superseded those Of metal, as they
could be had at every price, ranging from cent TO
thousands Of dollars.
Numerous specimens of beautiful glass vessels
have reached US, principally the sp0ils of Hercua-
Noun and Poinpeii. Tue Museo B0rb0nico, at Ma
PIES alone contains 400 specimens. The most beau
titll of all are, however, the celebrated Portland
vase, now in the British museum, which, when dis
ooverered in tomb near Rome, was long con-
sidered by antiqunries to be real sardcnyx, and
cup in the possession Of the Trivulsi family. The
former is Of dark blue glass, with the delcate
lievos i'll white enamel; the latter is cup of all
the hues Of opal set in sort OF net work OF blue
glass, and con aecsed with 1T by stems OF glass,
while around the rim III relieve OF green glass, are
the WcrdS bepe, WAS muItOs uHuOS TOuf
marks on it, there can be no doubt but that the
whele was not cast, but eut out of solid mass.
Two cups apparently like this, were presented to the
Emperor Adrien by an Egyptian priest.
The uses to which glass moy beapPied are W.
rious, and require different modes OF propagation.
Tho CHIEF ere glass ware, window glass, looking
glasses, and VIC may add, building glass. VI the
use Of glass vessels, We have already spoken Win
do glass not unknown 70 tie Romans. In the
tepedalun of the public baths ut Pompeii, bronze
I.ffiae In LIGHT with of tina st I'll
inserted in the frame, and showing the manner III
which they we're secured The glass must have
beer blown by methods analogous to those now in
use. Glass windows must have been, however, vefy
rare, as pure transparent glass was extremely ex-
pen.ivc. Instead Of glass, windows Were generally
glazed with thin sheets of mica, or horn-glass
having come into general use only since the fifteenth
centrIy During the Crusades the Venetans studied
the process Ct glass working in the factories Of the
East, and introduced it into Europe. Nor is this
the only benefit derived from those much decried ex-
pedtiors. The culture of silk also passed over to
Venice, and thence to France during these cxpedi-
tons, to which we ore also indebted for the intro
duction of the sugar cane, several domestic animals
and many fruit trees and medicinal plants.
On their return from Asia, the Venetians founded
glass factory on the island of Murano, near Venice
and this establishment has continued its Ope-
raions to our days. 1t at this factory that the
art Of silvering was discovered, by which simple
amalgam of mercury aud TIN transforms the plate
Of glass uto j polished mirror, which no rust can
ulU4. inc JdclOIlen Oh 1iuou NdQ HeNtE
this--a thin plate Of nl,al covered with glass was
their nearest approach: but these were not esteemed
The mirrors of the ancien's were OF polished metal
brass, Steel silver, some composition found beter
suited to their purpose.
For four centuries, Venice enjoyed the monopoly
Of glass mirrors, and supplied all Europe; but in
1865, Colbert, the great Minister of Louis XIV,
determined to enrich France with this beau
titu art He attracted workmen from Venice
by the promise Of great privileges and founded the
ROY al min which SAL ;al
itself, and has since remained unriyalled. Thea,
however the glass for mirrors was blown, as bottles
are still, and the size vas consequently very much
limited. In 1853, abraham Thcsard invented the
method of casting plate glass in he same way that
iron il cast. This has been Of the greatest moment
in the manufacture Of mirrors, which soon began to
increase in SIZE SO that we now have looking glasses
fifteen feet high. For century. France supplied
Europe end America with looking glasses; but tue
Reign Of Terrier, and the of tho first
luton, having ruined the factories and annihilated
the commerce OF France, MANY workmen went ovor
10 Eng aod, where the 6rst British factory of look
ing glass plr ties was foundedin 1898 II is too
plan to agcribc the transmigration OF tho in
austIa branches of France to tho revocation Of the
Ediot Of NantZ, as the Key TO explain everything.
But mere eaaggcratcn has played its part-the MIL
lion Of exilos Tor conscience sake, whom Votafe
makes the burthen OF his charges, dwindle do ! n
under tie accurate statistical research Of the Duke
de Noailles, and other members OF The French
Academy, TO shout two hundred Thousand This is
Hn1OuDlSuiy idT VOC Dub Slp'uWeil, IN one
year, shipped a. least ouc-f fourth OF that number
from irclsnd; and thai unfortunate country loses
now, every year, by forced emigration, more than
the reign of Louis Alf. lost Tor France and the e-
fislution OF England in TIC one case, is far more
oppressive and iusdious than that Of Ffance ia the
other. Revolutions have ruined industry in France,
noIe than intolerance. We have seen tho result Of
chat OF 1919. That of 1896 decided many OF the
workers N glass to emigrate to Belgium, nlero
factory Of lol king glasses opened.
There are now SIX factorls in England one in
Belgium, AID number Of little ones in Germany
but French plato glass has noby sustained its old
renown, and like French silks ana French wines,
staids at the head Of the line For the last twenty
years, the Royal Factory Of St. Goblin, and tho
manufacture Of Grey, have oommon agency and
depot ~ New York and tnis este Enlistment supplies
the Union with looking glasses and plato glass.
The uso Of large mirrors has become much more
fashionable among U.S. lad, in fact toere Is finer
decor tioL for our saloons. The retail stores have
made Immense advance By the use OF plate glass,
and VIC need bat walk along Broadway. to SOS how