Improvements in the Manufacture of Stained Glass Panels for Windows and other Transparencies and Mural Decoration
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Dec., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 8th Aug., 1892-Accepted, 17th Sept., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Stained Glass Panels for
Windows and other Transparencies and Mural Decoration.
We, ARTHUR ROGER CARTER of 4, Arthur Street, New Oxford Street, W.
Tobacco Manufacturer, and HENRY CLIFFORD HUGHES of 15, Marlborough
Road, St. John's Wood, N.W. Stained Glass Manufacturer, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our improvements in the manufacture of stained glass for windows and other
transparencies and for mural decoration have for their object to dispense with the
usual leading to protect the details shading and other artistic work usually done in
enamel color on the surface of the stained glass from atmospheric effects, to cheapen
the manufacture and to enable smaller pieces of stained glass to be used so as to
permit of works of art being produced to a smaller scale or in greater detail with
less artistic work than is possible when leads are employed.
In carrying the invention into effect the different colors and shades of stained
glass are cut out to correspond to the cut line cartoon in the usual way except that
they are made to fit together as accurately as possible without clearance as when
lead frames are used. The pieces having been fitted together in the manner of a
mosaic are then united by welding the abutting edges together by heat with or
without the intervention of a transparent vitreous flux, the whole being for this
purpose laid upon a sheet of platinum supported on an iron or fireclay slab, the
glass mosaic being surrounded by a frame of fireclay or other material having a
lesser co-efficient of expansion than glass so as to ensure the abutting edges of the
pieces of glass being brought into intimate welding contact by the expansion of the
glass with heat, packing pieces of iron or other metal having a higher co-efficient of
expansion than the frame being inserted between it and the glass so as to assist in
compressing the latter together. Parting strips of mica or platinum would be
inserted between the frame and the outer edges of the glass panel to prevent the
adhesion of the glass to the frame. Another sheet of platinum is superimposed on
the glass and sufficient pressure applied to prevent the glass bulging upwards. The
stained glass having been allowed to cool is then capable of being removed as a
single sheet which may be drawn upon and shaded by the artist with vitreous enamel
color and afterwards fired in the usual way so that instead of the artist working
upon isolated pieces separately as usual the whole colored sheet receives its artistic
treatment at once whereby much greater freedom for artistic effects and greater
accuracy of detail are ensured with less mechanical labor. The metal platinum is
selected as a temporary support for the glass by reason of its inoxidisability and the
ease with which it may when in the form of a thin sheet be peeled off the welded
glass sheet without injury to itself or to the surface of the glass.
To protect the enamel color the stained glass sheet is then united by welding to
a sheet of plain white glass covering the whole of the artistically-treated surface of
the stained glass, the operation of welding together the two superimposed sheets
being performed in an analogous way to that above described. Or the artistic
treatment in vitreous enamel may be applied to the sheet of white glass instead of
to the stained glass the latter being then superposed upon the former and united
thereto by welding as before.

page_text: . For mural decoration the process would be the same except that the stained glass
would be of deeper or less transparent color than for windows.
Dated this 9th day of December 1891.
H. C. HUGHES,
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.
1.
H. C. HUGHES,
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53 Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Stained Glass Panels for
Windows and other Transparencies and Mural Decoration.
We, ARTHUR ROGER CARTER, of 4, Arthur Street, New Oxford Street,
London, W. England, Tobacco Manufacturer, and HENRY CLIFFORD HUGHES,
of 15, Marlborough Road, St. John's Wood, London, N.W. England, Stained
Glass Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
66
"
Our improvements in the manufacture of multicolored stained glass panels,
according to any given design, for windows and other transparencies and for mural
decoration, have for their object to dispense with the usual leaden frames called
cames in which the pieces of glass have heretofore been fixed, to protect from
atmospheric effects the artistic work usually applied in enamel color on the surface
of the stained glass to cheapen the manufacture, and to enable smaller pieces of
stained glass to be used so as to permit of works of art being produced to a smaller
scale or in greater artistic detail but with less labor than is possible when leaden
are employed for fixing the glass.
" cames
22
"
In carrying the invention into effect the pieces of stained glass of different colors
and shades are cut out of the proper size and shape to correspond to what is
technically known as the "cut-line" cartoon in the usual way, except that they are
made to fit together as accurately as possible without clearance as when lead frames
or "cames are used. The pieces having been fitted together in the manner of a
mosaic are then united by welding together the abutting edges of the various pieces
of glass by heat with or without the intervention of a transparent vitreous flux,
after which the glass mosaic is united by welding to a covering sheet of white glass
to which or to the surface of the glass mosaic itself, the artistic details shading and
other work in vitreous enamel has first been applied so that such artistic work will
be imprisoned between the glass mosaic and the covering sheet and so will be
effectually protected from atmospheric effects.
The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings,
which illustrate in Figures 1, 2, and 3, perspective and cross-sectional views of the
means employed in carrying the process into practice.
The pieces of glass composing the mosaic A are laid upon a sheet of platinum B
supported on an iron or fireclay slab C, the glass mosaic being surrounded by a
frame D of fireclay or other material having a lesser co-efficient of expansion than
glass so as to ensure the abutting edges of the pieces of glass being brought into
intimate welding contact by the expansion of the glass with heat. Packing pieces
of iron or other metal having a higher co-efficient of expansion than the frame may
if necessary be inserted between the frame and the glass so as to assist in com-
pressing the pieces of glass together. Parting strips E of mica or platinum are
inserted between the outer edges of the glass mosaic A and the surrounding frame
to prevent the adhesion of the glass to the frame. A transparent vitreous flux is
then painted or run into the joints between the various pieces composing the mosaic,
its object being not to act as a cement to unite the edges, but to assist to soften the
glass, so as to bring the edges to be united to the requisite degree of softness to
permit of their becoming, so to speak, welded together by the heat. Upon the

page_text: glass mosaic A another sheet of platinum F (shewn partly raised in Figure 1) may
be superimposed and sufficient pressure applied by a fire-clay or iron slab G to
prevent the glass bulging upwards but this is not absolutely necessary, except in
isolated cases.
The stained glass mosaic having been allowed to cool is then capable
of being removed as a single sheet which may be drawn upon and shaded by the
artist with vitrifiable enamel color and afterwards fired in the usual way so that
instead of the artist working upon isolated pieces separately as usual the whole
colored sheet receives its artistic treatment at once whereby much greater freedom
for artistic effects and consequently greater breadth of treatment combined with
greater accuracy of detail are obtained with less labor.
To protect the enamel color the stained glass sheet is then united by welding to
a sheet of plain white glass H covering the whole of the artistically-treated surface
of the stained glass, the operation of welding together the two superimposed sheets
being performed with the aid of a vitreous flux and in an analogous way to that
above described for welding together the pieces of the mosaic. This the second
stage of the operation is represented in Figure 3. Or the artistic treatment in
vitreous enamel may be applied to the sheet of white glass instead of to the stained
glass mosaic and after being fired the two may be superposed the one upon the
other and united by welding as before described.
For mural decoration the process would be the same except that the stained glass
would be of deeper or less transparent color than for windows.
The vitreous Hux used in the operation of welding as above described, is of an
ordinary kind being composed of litharge or red lead and silica in the proportions
of two of the former to one of the latter, but other fluxes may be used.
The metal platinum is selected for contact with the glass by reason of its inoxi-
dizability and, in order to enable it when in the form of a thin sheet to be more
easily peeled off the welded glass sheet without injury to itself or to the surface of
the glass, the platinum sheet (previous to placing the glass mosaic thereon) may be
first coated with whitening or powdered mica applied in the form of a thin paste
either to the platinum sheet or to paper applied to the platinum so that the
latter does not come into absolute contact with the glass. Any particles of this
parting layer of whitening or mica which may adhere to the glass after firing may
be removed by washing with water or with hydrofluoric, hydrochloric, or sulphuric
acid separately, mixed, or diluted with water.
The welding together of the component parts of the mosaic and of the mosaic to
the covering sheet of glass is performed in an ordinary muffle heated to the
temperature necessary for the purpose.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is-
1. In the manufacture of stained glass panels, the herein described step which
consists in juxtaposing and welding together by heat the contiguous edges of
variously-colored pieces of glass, substantially in the manner specified.
2. The herein described process of making stained glass panels, which consists in
juxtaposing and uniting by welding together by heat the contiguous edges of the
elements of a stained glass mosaic in the manner described and then welding to the
said mosaic a covering sheet of white glass, as described.
3. The herein described process of making stained glass panels, which consists in
juxtaposing and uniting by welding together by heat the contiguous edges of the
elements of a stained glass mosaic in the manner described, then painting on the
mosaic with vitrifiable enamel colors to give the artistic details of treatment and
again firing to fix the colors, and then applying upon and welding by heat to the
artistically treated surface of the mosaic a covering sheet of white glass, substantially
as specified.
4. The herein described process of making stained glass panels, which consists in
juxtaposing and uniting by welding together by heat, the contiguous edges of the

page_text: elements of a stained glass mosaic in the manner described, and then welding to the
said mosaic a covering sheet of white glass (upon which the artistic details of
treatment have been applied with enamel colors and fixed by firing) so that the
artistically-treated surface shall be imprisoned between the glass mosaic and the
covering sheet of glass, substantially as described.
5. A stained glass panel. formed by the combination, with a mosaic composed of
pieces of stained glass welded together by their abutting edges, of a single sheet of
glass which covers and is welded to the surface of the mosaic, and of intermediate
vitrifiable enamel color applied (according to the design to be executed) either upon
the mosaic or the covering sheet, fixed thereon by heat, and imprisoned between
the glass mosaic and the covering sheet of glass, substantially as specified.
Dated this 8th dox of August 1892
A. R. CARTER,
H. C. HUGHES,
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.