The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-06-17
STAINED GLASS WINDOWS.
Thousands of CoIored Bits Used in a
 Single Figure.

Down into the cellar of an old two- story brick building on Wyandotte street just south of Fifth, says the Kansas City Star, tons and tons of stained glass stand in racks placed so close together that there is hardly room for man to walk between them. Out of those racks comes the material from which many of the stained glass windows used in this section of the country are made. Between the glass as it stands in the rack and the fin- ished windows is an interesting pro cess. It is a work that requires not only high degree of skill but infn- ite care and fine eye for tints. Ma chinery plays only small part in the l fabrication of a stained glass window; it is the hand and the eye that do the work,
 Practically all of the glass used for stained windows is now made in Amer ] ica. Formerly 1t was all imported, but ] now only that style known to the trade as antique" comes from abroad The l glass In the common grades comes in huge streets. six and eight feet in length and from two to six feet wide. Besides the antique" and the plain plate glass there are four grades, 1 known as cathedral" "ondoyant," :" 'opalescent" and ''drapery." Each of these grades comes in all the shades of the rainbow The drapery glass Is flut- l ed and is used to represent clothing in l windows containing figures.
 In making a window the first thing [of course, is the design. This may be a stock drawing or special design to order. From this full size pattern is drawn. When this is complete Is goes to the cutter. who cuts out duplicates of each piece of the design for which a piece of glass is to be used The cutter uses shears, so made that in cutting the duplicates exactly enough space is left to allow for the lead which goes between each piece of glass to hold the window together. Some idea of the work involved is shown in window now being made for a private residence The window contains a peacock, and in the tail alone 75O pieces of glass are used. In the whole design are more than 1,S00 pieces of glass.
 From the cutter the duplicate design in pieces, goes to the glazier, who cuts out each separate piece of glass, Di1- nends are used exclusively in the cut. ting. Phe glazier must match the glas. for each piece. Often where just tht exact tint cannot be obtained in a sin. gle piece of glass two pieces are over laid to get the effect. He may have tC cut only one piece for each duplicate- for a special deslgn--or he may havt to cut dozen alike for an order fo, church windows After all the glass k cut the design is laid out on wide board and gees to tho workman, whc assemblies the window and binds 1t t3. gether. The, binding is done With what is known as cam lead, q fiat thread oi metal containing on each side a chan nel into which the edge of the glass fits The lead is cut into lengths to ii each particular piece of glass After the whole design is thus assembled eacf joint Is soldered together
 From the assembler the window | bound in an iron frame, goes to anoth- CT workman, who fills in between tht glass and the lead with a cement tha- makes the window air and water tight Then after 1t is framed in the sash il is cleaned off with pumice stone an6 is ready to be placed. In the ordlnary windows figures, such as that of the face and robe, are first painted or clear glass, which is then baked in q gas furnace. In the costlier windowf the estire figure is made of stained glass, a work that requires the most expert manipulation and high order of artistic ability It bevelled plate work the plate glass Is first cut to size and then bevelled and repolished Chanelled zinc strips are used to bind the pieces together. If copper is desir- ed the whole design, complete, is plac- ed in copper plating bath.
 There is a wide range of the cost oi stained or bevelled plate glass windows Some of the work may be had for a; little as dollar a square foot, ant from that price runs up to s10 or s1: square foot For mosaic figure work the price is higher yet. The cost of tht ordinary window depends upon either the number of pieces of glass in it oi the number of figures.