Huntsville gazette., 1882-10-28
Stained Glass.

modern faShlOn has decided that light
transmitted through color is pleasanter
and more artistic than the full glare of
the "white light of day." and SO it
comes to pass that handsome houses to-
day are all more or less decorated with
it. Great interest attaches to the
modern methods of painting glass, as
the process is enormously called, for,
as matter of fact, very little painting
enters into the preparation of colored
glass windows, and in the highest
| achievements of skilled artists none al
all. They depend entirely for effect up
on combinations of the natural colors OF
the manufactured glass, and, difficult as
it is to realize this, the most beautiful
results are somewhat independent of
brush. Thirty years ago it was gener-
ally supposed an impossibility for
modern skill to produce anything in the
least degree equal to the marvels
achieved by early artists, and ancient
glass painting was almost looked upon
as one of the lost arts; but now the
highest authorities are of opinion that
painted glass can be manufactured SUI
perior to the best specimens of the Mid
die Ages. Indeed, since 1850 the
processes by which such splendid re-
suits were attained have been brought
to light by modern research. A series of
chemical analyses was instituted by an
Englishman, who during his life devoted
special study to antiquarian glass, and
the result of his investigations made it
an easy matter to reproduce both quail
ty and color of ancient glass. From that
time to this improvements have been
constantly made, until the modern
house CLEANS with tints and tones of
beauty, and colored glass plays a most
prominent part in home decoration.
We talk of ''stained" glass almost as
incorrectly as Of "painted" glass, for in
reality every color communicated to
this material, with one exception, is the
result of manufacture, and is fused into
the glass while in process of making.
These colors are wholly mineral, and in
the process Of fusing they undergo
chemical changes which develop their
brilliancy and transparency. None of
the clear bright colors are perceived
until the work is completed, and the ar
tist has to contend with the immense
difficulty of seeing the effect of what he
is doing only when completion allows
the light to shine through. There is but
one color, as we have said, which is
really ssstained" in, and that is yellow,
in all its tones, from the lightest shade
of lemon to the deepest orange, which, s
obtained by the use of oxide or chloride
Of silver, which, being applied to color
less glass is subjected to great heat,
when it penetrates the material and
gives it its tint. The depth of color de-
pends upon the amount of silver and the
degree of heat to which it is subjected.
The process of producing colored
glass window is interesting, even in its
simplest phase, while, when really
artistic results are striven for, it becomes
work of intense expectation and de-
light. The ordinary windows, such, for
example, as we find in halls and stair
ways in inexpensive houses, in stores,
ETC., are made of cheap "rOlled cathe-
dral'' glass, much of which is imported
from England, and is often manufac-
tured in very bright colors. A design
is first made by an artist, which is called
ga CARTOON" and upon which he marks
in numbers the colors he desires to have
used. From this cartoon another de-
sign, known as "cutting pattern" is
made, which merely gives the outlines
for the various pieces of colored glass to
be cut and placed in position upon it.
Once in position, they are pinned Sc
curely in place, and then the leading,
which is already prepared and grooved
to fit into each piece, is laid round them,
and, being flexible, it is easily adjusted,
to be soldered later on. In this simple
way the plain, ordinary window grows
beneath the workman's hands, to be
changed in appearance afterward, as
the artist may determine. In the old
fashioned way shading was put in by
enamel, and in the ordinary methods
to-day, as practiced in England, the
same process is resorted to. But it is
not in such application that the beauty
of the modern colored window consists.
The artist to-day sets before himself the
difficult task of reproducing nature as
she is in colored glass without the use of
enamel, paint or pigment, that is to say,
merely by combinations of the colors
produced in the manufactured glass. To
do this, to give the exact shade desired,
one color is laid upon another, some
times two or even three tints being
necessary, and as the light passes
through them the desired result is at
length attained.
Various kinds of glass are used in the
making of these beautiful windows,
rolled or cathedral glass, antique and
opalescent glass, and what are known
as sjewels" and "crystals," which are
laid in position and give it a studded
appearance. These "jewels" are
ground and thoroughly polished, while
the sscrystals" are simply hacked off
Jumps of colored glass, and Clipped in
to the required shape by the hammer.
In some of the handsomest residences,
we find not only stained glass windows,
transepts, and doors, but stained glass
ceilings, which are extremely beautiful,
and which are made by lining the glass
with back ground of gold or silver leaf
in such a way that refraction is OBJ
tanned. Skylights and domes of colored
glass are usual, and some Of those made
in New York and vicinity are remarka-
bly beautifully. Y. Times.
"A Durham COW belonging to gro
cer 0f Rinphamton ~ Y. climbed