The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1897-04-24
NO CUT GLASS LIKE OURS
From New York Sun.

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costlier grades of cut glass scarcely any is
imported Europe does not produce any
thing that competes with the brilliant and
beautiful wares turned out at the leading
glass cutting establishments of the United
| States Glass cut in Bohemia is still i'm
ported to some extent, but it is of the
cheaper kind and is bought because of its
cheapness and for that reason only. The
fact is that Bohemia has lost its prestige
in glass cutting, and the palm Of superiority
is borne by America as against all compe-
titors American cut glass is, in the
broadest sense, distinctively American. In
designing and cutting it Is the work of
American artists and artisans 0riginali-
ty and taste, progress and skill are the
elements that characterize Yankee supre-
macy in this as in many other lines of ma
tive manufacture.
''For several years past, said an i'm
porter, Europe has stood still while
America was rapidly advancing in glass
cutting. In the old country they are
fogyish and conventional in their IDEAS and
cling to old styles and designs. Here, on
the contrary, the styles are new, progress
sive and attractive Nowadays America
originates all the novelties in glassware, and
has done more than all the rest of the world
combined in broadening the scope of the art
and in popularizing its products. To a
large extent cut glass has displaced decor
ated pottery in the setting of handsome
table Outside of the pieces which neces-
sarily belong to a full china dinner set the
fashion now is for as much cut glass as
possible. Punch bowls, salad bowls, berry
dishes, ice cream sets, vases, lamps, can
deabra, &C., are now done in cut glass,
where formerly ceramic ware was used.
Possibly you are not aware OF the wide
range and variety of articles that are now
included in complete outfit Of cut glass.
In addition to those just mentioned, there
are oyster bowls, orange and nut bowls,
epergnes, champagne, claret, wine, whis
key, and brandy jugs, decanters, cigar
jars, tobacco jars, pitchers, tankards, oil
bottles, mustards, syrup jugs, sugar sift-
ers, carafes, small cheese and butter dishes,
cheese covers and plates, pickle and bis
cult jars, ice bowls, tubs and strainers,
celery vases, butter tubs, spoon holders,
celery dishes and trays, cake plates, bon
bonnieres, olive dishes, candlesticks, sugar
bowls, cream jugs, tumblers and goblets,
while cut glass handles embellish ladies Of
solid silver, ice cream knives, and salad
forks and spoons.
For vessels that are to be decorated by
cutting, engraving, or etching flint glass
is used. The manufacture of flint glass
for cutting is old in America As far back
as 1912 the Crown Glass Company was
producing flint glass in Boston, and in
1918 the New England Glass Company,
also of Boston, had in operation two flint
glass furnaces and twenty-four cutting
wheels. Some of the cut glass articles
produced at these pioneer establishments
are still in existence. In simplicity and
crudity of design and execution they con-
tract oddly with the superb work Of the
present day. The pots used for melting
the ingredients that make up flint glass
are three feet high and four or five feet in
diameter, and will hold about l, 500 pounds
of melted glass Until within few years
most of the clay used in making these pots
came from England and Germany, but
excellent clay for this purpose is now found
in the United States, and is coming more
and more into use The clay must be al
most wholly free from lime and iron, and
in its treatment the utmost care IS neces-
sary. as the slightest flaw would endanger
the valuable contents of melting pot and
result in serious loss Several Of these
pots are placed on a platform OF stone or
fire brick inside the furnace, each pot op
posite small opening through which it
can be filed with ''frit, )" the technical
name given to the mixture of sand and
oxides of lead and potash from which flint
glass is made.
When vitrifed to color as white as the
flame by which it is surrounded the melted
mass, now called metal, is ready to be
worked up. Its color and lustre are i'm
parted by the lead used Formerly the
output of the melting pot was matter of
uncertainty, especially when the glass
makers were not thoroughly expert at their
trade, and for this reason American flint
glass had not so high standing as the
English article; but with added knowledge
and experience the process have been so
perfected that the flint glass now made in
America is not excelled anywhere. Glass
for cheap tableware is made much better
in the United States than abroad. 1t was
Yankee ingenuity that substituted lime for
lead in this grade of glass. Lime gives
lustre very near to that derived from lead,
and is much cheaper.
The flint glass to be decorated is formed
either by blowing or moulding. Round
vessels. such as goblets, tumblers, &c, are
blown, while square vessels are moulded.
1t is better for the lustre of the glass to
have it blown, for by manipulation in the
air it acquires certain polish of which
the mould deprives it. Odd-shaped yes
sells. such as are used for berries and
flowers, are made by manipulating the
soft glass with irons The formed
vessel that has been made ready for cut
ting is called blank. 1t is first marked
in red with the general lines Of the pat
tern, and is then cut and polished. The
cheaper grades of ornamental glassware
are pressed glass. Recently developed
processes have given this glass silvery
sheen very like that of genuine flint glass,
but it is said that this lustrous effect is
not enduring.
Glass is also engraved and etched. The
engraved glass is ornamented with the aid
of sharp metal tools and diamond dust,
and the design is made by grinding. Fitch
ing is done by the action of hydrohuorie
acid upon thin coating of wax, on which
the design is traced. The demand for
engraved and etched glass has, however,
largely disappeared. End of the century
taste calls for deep cut glass almost exclu-
sively.
In deep cutting the first workman who
handles the blank form after the pattern
has been traced upon the surface is the
rougher, who works with a steel wheel
which has sharp mitred edge, and cuts
the deep general lines of the pattern
Above the wheel of every cutter is fun
mel from which wet sand drips constantly