Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1896-05-08
MIR. GLASS; MoSAICS.
a Table That Was Made Of 90, $40
Separate Pieces of Wood.

for his daughter, Miss Rose Glass, of
Sheboygan, mosaic workstand,
says the Milwaukee Sentinel 1t is
made Of natural and colored woods
and consists of 5,102 pieces, SO ar
ranged as to form design of birds,
fruits, flowers and foliage, each
article represented being given in its
natural color. So exactly are the
parts joined that it seems almost i'm
possible that the top is not one piece
of wood with the design painted
upon it. Mr.. Glass, who has been at
work during the year upon three
similar tables, is now in bis I'D year
He has made some tables which have
been most favorably mentioned
wherever exhibited, and has received
three medals and a diploma.
Mr. Glass was born in Bavaria,
Germany, and learned the cabinet
makers trade before coming to
America. He settled in Leominster,
Worcester county, Mass, in 1874.
One day while in Boston he saw a
mosaic table made of few pieces Of
wood in their natural color. He
conceived the idea of making table
with much more elaborate design.
At the time he was employed during
the day in factory, so that he could
spend only his evenings and Sundays
at the work, but he became so inter.
ested that he often spent nearly the
entire night laboring at the table
He was not contented with using the
woods in their natural color but de
termined to see if he could not color
white wood so that it would be the
tints OF flowers and birds which he
wished to copy.
AS there were no dyes then made
for coloring wood, he invented some.
He drew his own designs for the
tables, and made his own patterns.
His first table was finished in 1850,
and it was sold to Isaac Davis, mayor
of Worcester, Mass, for $75. He
next made a center table containing
30, 900 pieces, which was bought by
Mr.. Giles, of Worcester, the price
being about 81, 400. Both of the
tables were on exhibition at Horti-
cultural hall, Worcester, when they
were sold in 1855, and at the time
much was said by the eastern papers
about them and the maker. In 1856
Mr.. Glass made table in the manu-.
facture of which he used 45, 900 pieces
of wood. This he brought with him
when he moved to Barton, this state.
In 1853 this was sold to Mr.. Fuller,
of Waukesha, for $3.50.
Mr.. Glass next made an eight-cor.
nered center table of 10000 pieces,
and a workstand of 1000 pieces.
These were exhibited in Milwaukee
and Chicago, and were spoken of by
one Of the Chicago papers as being
the most marvellous articles Of
handiwork ever exhibited in this or
any other country" 1t was the
makers intention to present the
tables to President and Mrs. Lin
coin, but at the time Of the assassi-
nation of the president they were
still on exhibition in Chicago. How
ever, a few months after Mr.. Glass
gave the tables to the Lincoln fam
lily, and received a letter of accept
ance and thanks from Robert 7. Lin
| coin. The tables are now with the
Lincoln relics at the National mu-
scum, Washington.
The next table made consisted of
sc, 800 pieces, and Mr.. Glass took it
to the Paris exposition in 1867 and
remained there with it for a year.
He hoped, while there, to sell it for a
good price, but not being offered
what he considered it worth, he
brought it back with him After he
returned he was not able to sell the
table, so in 1872 it was ratified off,
John O'Hearn, of this county, being
the winner. 1t was afterward sold
to Mr.. Hoffman, Of Sheboygan, who
sent it to Philadelphia to the cen
tennial, but in unloading the exhibit
at the grounds the top, in its box,
was supposed to be wheel, and was
taken to the machinery department,
where the mistake was not discov-
cred until nearly the close of the ex-
position. 1t is now believed to be in
some public museum in Philadelphia.
On the tables which Mr.. Glass ex-
hibited in the east he received a
silver medal and diploma from the
Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics
association in 1850, bronze medal
and diploma from the New York
American Institute in 1856, for the
table exhibited in Paris an honor
able diploma from the Paris expo
sition, and for the same table silver
medal from the Wisconsin Agricul-'
tural society in 1868.
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