The Brookhaven leader., 1885-04-09
ARTISTIC STAINED GLASS.
Once q Lost Art What the Mlcroscops
Hevealed-COlors Used-F1ashing.
TNaw Work Mail and Evnressl

New York Mail and ExpreSsl
In America the earliest attempts az
common glass making were made at
jamestown, Va, in li48; after that at
various places, and finally at Boston in
1909. The revival of the window art.
both in Europe and America, was very
slow, partially on account of the preva-
lent idea that the art of producing tho
glorious color seen in the ancient win
dows was lost. Finally these persever-
| ing souls who were in love with their
work called in the aid of chemistry, and
gradually the errors of modern works
were corrected and the true constitu-
ents of ancient glass determined. Not
withstanding the use of the same mate
rals, modern glass still lacked in rich
ness and beauty, and was unsatisfac-
tory to the initiated.
The microscope now revealed the fact
that the brilliancy OF ancient glass Is
due to tiny pores, seemingly produced
by the action of rain in washing out
minute particles of alkaline substance
in other words, the breaking up OF the
fiat surface allowed more light to enter
and be refralted. Various methods
were tried TO produce this effect. First,
! the surface of the sheet was stippfed
with darker Opaque colnr, but now
better method is employ, d--namely,
by sprinkling the surface of the first
gathering of colorless glass thickly with
sand and then when flashed with color
the minute grains are seen scattered
thinly through the substance. These
are refractive and the old richness OF
color is produced.
Colored glass is made by the pro
cesses used in making white glass, oc-
casionally the color beng melted with
the glass; but as this produces TOO deep
| a shade for ordinary purposes, pro-
cess called flashing is generally substi-
tuted. In preparing tho flashing glass
the operator has two pots, one of color
less liquid, and one in which color has
been melted. He uses first the trans
parent white fluid and then coats from
the color pot; in consequence, when
finished, although it is almost imper-
ceptible, there is only thin coating on
one side, and the depth of color is thus
reduced. There are many advantages
in this method, as the glass thus pre-
pared admits of the cutting OF beautiful
transparent patterns upon the colored
ground, as well as of delicate shading,
the latter sometimes produced by iiuorit
acid.
The materials used to give the mos1
satisfactory cOloring are metallic oxides,
such as gold, which in various form;
yields ruby, crimson, rose, and purple
silver, in combination with alumina, 9
beautiful yellow; copper, ruby red anc
emerald green; cobalt, the rich blue
iron, dull green, and combined with
alumina a flesh color, and with silver an
orange yellow; uranium yields green
like the chrysOprase and canary yel-
low, with an opalesceut tinge; arsenic,
an opaque white, and manganese an
amethyStine color, and with cobalt q
fine garnet red. There are many other
materials and combinations which il
the hands of skilled operator produce
an infinite variety Of colors. These
same colors, with but few exceptions,
were known and used in the manufact-
ure OF glass hundreds of years before
Christ.
In place of flashing, the process oi
staining is used very extensively, as 1t
saves mu h Ia'or, enabling the artist tc
complete an entire picture at once. The
staining is produced by mixing finely.
powdered metallic oxides with some vol
atile medium, such as oil, and laying
them ON in patterns. The sheets art
then heated red hot in a furnace and
deep stain of the color is left upon the
glass. Formerly pictorial effects were
gained by setting numbers of tiny pieces
together in delicate lead framing
Usually both methods are employed il
pictorial windows, as the staining allows
artists to produce features more per
fectly