The sun., 1901-10-09
IMPROVING ON QUAINT ART.
from Earliest Times. Greatly Adj
vnnced by Modern Discoveries.

ynnced by Modern discoveries.
e. l.. Elliott, of the Holophone Glass
Co., i'm an interesting and historically
correct article of literary value on the
subject of the progress made in the manu-
facture Of glass, says:
1.-THE history of this particular case
has been the history which has so often
repeated itself in our industrial progress:
First an idea conceived and theoretically
elaborated abroad; then put into execu-
tion with more or less success by foreign
workmen; and, lastly, the idea taken up
by the mechanical and practical mind of
the Yankee, the manufacturing process
simplified, cheapened and perfected, and
superior article sent back to the land
of its origin, to compete successfully for
the markets of its own inventors.
"Glass-making ranks among the oldest
of the chemical arts. being antedated
probably only by the reduction Of copper
from its ores. While tradition has as
cribed the discovery of glass to the Phoe-
necians, it is far more likely to have been
first made by the Egyptians, and very
probably suggested to them by observa-
ton of the Stag produced from copper
smelling. From Egypt the knowledge
spread to the other contemporary civilized
nations, and was brought to consider
able degree of perfection by the Romans.
I'm some respects the methods of max
ing and working glass have not essen
TALLY changed since the times of ancient
Egypt; and it is freely admitted among
the most intelligent glass workers that
ie 9TH hrnl, ,,f In.
dustry, involving so large an amount of
capital and labor. in which Semitic
methods have so little part. The glass
manufacturer of to-day is working in
about the same manner that prevailed
in the iron industry fifty years ago.
ut will thus be seen that glass-work
ing was highly developed art before
America was even known to Eastern
civilization, and every branch of the in
dustry was practiced in Europe before
the time of our independence. With
Europe possessing this advantage of cent
uries of priority in the knowledge and
practice of the art, it will be interesting
to see what America has added to this
knowledge and in what respects if any,
we have outstripped our competitors,
whose predecessors in the craft extend
back to dim antiquity.
"Glass working may be divided into
three distinct branches: blowing, rolling
and pressing. The first is the most an
cient process, although rolling was prac-
ticed by the workers of antiquity. Press
ing is a mechanical process, and is com
paratiyely very recent. Bottles, lamp
chimneys and window glass are the most
important branches of glass blowing.
Plate glass and the heavy sheet glass
known as cathedral or 'obscured' glass
are products of the rolling process, while
common table ware is the most important
representative of pressed glass. With
the Yankee genius for machinery, we
find that the American manufactures ex-
eel in all cases in which machinery can
be utilized. As the pressing process is
essentially mechanical one, we will find
ourselves correct in surmising that in this
particular branch America is far in the
lead Indeed, so far are we in the lead,
that glass pressing may almost be con-
sidered an exclusively American art.
Pressed glass is only occasionally found
in Europe, and that of very inferior quail
ity.
Some eight or ten years ago young
was impressed with the enormous waste
of light, and its equivalent in electrical
energy, resulting from the use of opa-
line and ground glass globes on the street
lamps. 1t is a well-known fact that
such globes absorb and waste from 90
to rs per cent. of the light produced
within them; and in Europe all strong
lights are practically never used without
some kind of diffusing globe. The dis
tressing confusion of binding glare and
wavering shadow produced by bare
electric arc lamp, which the American
is content to call illumination has never
been countenanced by the Europeans.
In consequence of the opaline diffusing
globes, which are commonly used on
arc lamps, about half of the electrical
energy is wasted after being converted
into light, and the cost of the illumina-
tion, therefore, doubled, matter of very
serious Importance. The next thought
of this clever engineer was to produce
this diffusion by the scientific applica-
tion of the optical properties Of clear
glass, in some such manner as is fol