The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-10-24
WINDOWS.
THEIR DEVELOPMENT FROM
THE EARLIEST PERIOD.
The Glazed Lattice was the Parent
Of the Modern Domestic Win
dow-Pane-Its Introduce
ton Into England.

Of the Modern Domestic Win
dow-Pane-Its Introduce
ton Into England.
What is window2 The answer de-
pends very much on the age of the world
to which the question is intended to ap-
ply. A window may be mere aperture
in wall, or, at best, an opening covered
with lattice. work-such as still exists in
Oriental countries. Five hundred years
before the building of Rome ''the mother
of Sisera looked out at window, and
cried through the lattice" Probably
portion of the lattice was made to open
by means of hinges or slide, so as to
afford an unrestricted view. The lattice
was the parent of the domestic window,
such as characterize; modern civilization,
while the slit in the wall seems to have
been the forerunner of the stately win
! dows which ultimately adorned the &C.
clesiastical edifices of the Christian era.
Some of the rustic windows at the pres.
ent day are very much like gla ed lat
tice. Small diamond panes are set in
lead, and the greater portion of the win
dow is fixed. while one part opens hori-
zontally on hinge. Sashes and sash
lines, with counter-weights, to allow of
an easy vertical motion, are re6nements
connected with more advanced stage.
In Gothic architecture the earliest
windows were extremely small,
terminating in a head of semicircu-
lar form. Usually there was
but single light, except in belfry tow
erj. With the introduction of the
pointed style in architecture, marked
change took place. The windows be-
came elongated to surprising extent,
surmounted by lancet head. The next
step was to perforate the space between
tie SUBMITS of two lancct-headed lights,
and the fundamental principle of the
ornamented window was obtained, The
effect on the interior of the churches and
other buildings is described as substitut-
ing "a blaze of light for masses of
gloom. The full. blown Gothic window,
with its many mullions and delicate
tracery, took the place of the contracted
apertures which formerly prevailed. I'm
provements in the manufacture of glass
facilitated the change, and the intro
duction of the glazed window has exer-
cised q marked influence on modern
architecture. 1t is singular that the
window, as We now know it, has fol.
lowed on so late period after the inven-
ton of glass. This vitreous compound
was little better than plaything for
ages. The ancient Egyptians could make
glass, but they never glazed 8 window.
They could make bottles and various
ornamental articles composed of colored
glass; they could even paint on glass,
yet they seem to have missed altogether
the idea of producing a clear, light
tranmitting sheet, such as would ex-
clude the weather aud the dust, and yet
admit the cheerful light of day.
An almost extravagant antiquity has
been ascribed to the practice of glass
making among the Egyptians. Doubt
less it was from the banks of the Nile
that this useful art ultimately extended
itself to other regions until at last the
centre of the industry became shifted
to Rome, where again it suffered de-
terioration under the pressure of German
and Huunsh barbarism. In the reign
of Nero the Eoman mansions possessed
windows which appear to have CORE
sponded very closely to those con-
structed in England in the seventeenth
century. But the window.glass of the
imperial city was far inferior in quality
to that which is now in common use. 1t
was uneven in surface, and full of
bubbles, so that objecrs seen through
it must have been considerab y distorted.
The same is to be said of the glass in the
windows of Pompeii. Pliny's villa had
gla ed windows, some of which reached
TO the floor; but these were possibly made
of tale, which could be obtained in
sheets as much as five feet in length.
Still, it is evident that real glass was
also in use for this purpose, and to this
extent window was produced within
the meaning of the term now employed.
1t is curious that England is mainly in
debted to an archbishop and an abbot
for the introduction of the glass window.
At the commencement of the seventh
century this country had no 'tglass
makers" At that period the windows
of private dwellings, as we'll as OF
churches, were filled with linen cloth,
or with wooden latUices. In the latter
part of the century, Wllfred,
when Archbishop of York, proceeded
to effect extensive repairs in the
Cathedral, at that time in rulnous
state, and he is described as having put
glass into the windows" provision
previously unknown. Possibly he de-
rived aid from his friend and contem.
po.ary Benedict Biscop, Abbot of Wear
mouth, who about the year 674 brought
glass manufacturers over from France to
Dlaze the windows of his monastery and
church. Fi,e hundred years after the
era of Biscop and Wilfred, windows OF
glass existed in English houses; but de-
spi,e all that had been done to natural
ize this industry, the glass was still i'm:
ported from the continent. Five hundred
wears vet later on, We hear of Venetian
artists at Lambeth, under the patronage
of yilliers, Duke of buckingham, en-
gagged in making "glass- plate" for coach
windows and mirrors. This brings us
down to 1878. A century more finds
the French making great progress in the
production of large plates, in which they
soon met with formidable rivals on this
side the Channel. The manufacture OF
glass of some kind Was fairly established
in England more than hundred years
before the Venetian artists produced
"olass. plate" at Lambeth, this early
manufacture being located at Clntched
Friars and the Savoy. But piate-g glass
was the great achievement so far as WIN
4 L. Il n,.fa tf