AN IMPROVED METHOD OF IMITATING STAINED GLASS
Year: 1884

page_text: I ALBERTA MARY FRANCES CASPAR 200 Regent Street W in the County of
Middlesex, Artist, Spinster, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
AN IMPROVED METHOD OF IMITATING STAINED GLASS; to be as follows:-.
It is a great improvement on all existing systems of rapidly imitating real
Stained Glass Mosaics set in Lead work, and is applicable to all kinds and tints
of flat or Convex Glass for the decoration of Windows, Screens, Articles of
Furniture Skylights and any purpose for which such Glass can be used. By my..
system the Lead work usually employed to bind the variously tinted pieces of
Glass together, is replaced by strips of imitation Lead, made in Cardboard, and by,
Rings, Lozenges, Ovals, Hexagons Octagons and Squares of various sizes made of
the same material.. The Glass instead of being in numerous pieces, is all in one
piece, cut to the size of the casement or other article to be decorated, and, the.
imitation Leaden strips and other Figures having been applied to the front of the
Glass in any pattern at will of the worker, and attached with a strong adhesive,
the Colors are floated on at the back of the Glass, and follow the pattern in any
tint or form desired. Portions of the Glass may be roughened or rendered opaque,
and any idea followed at will of the worker. The colors are mixed with Copal
dissolved in Alcohol spirit. The real leaden hot solderings are exactly imitated by
a mixture of Copal dissolved in Alcohol and Lead Powder or Metallic Bronze, which
at once hardens into the most durable solidity when applied at the joins in the
imitation leaden figures.
I claim protection for this Invention and for all materials used in the Process,
(viz Imitation Lead Strips, Rings, and other Figures Colors, Varnishes, and
various implements,) on the ground that it quite supersedes all the present systems
of rapidly imitating Stained Glass, such systems having generally consisted in
simply sticking an adhesive and semi transparent Paper on damp Glass, from
which it very soon peels off.

page_text: ALBERTA MARY FRANCES CASPAR Spinster, 200 Regent Street London, W.
Artist, I do hereby declare the nature of my invention for AN IMPROVED METHOD
OF IMITATING STAINED GLASS and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:—
I can use for my process any kind of Glass manufactured in pieces, or sheets,
either plain white, or tinted clear Glass, or Ground, Cathedral, Roughened, Granu-
lated, Crystallized, Crackled, Figured or any species of fancy Glass, and by working
on one sheet of any size or shape I can give it the exact appearance of the ordinary
stained Glass, which is formed of Mosaics of different sizes and shapes in various
colored Glass, fastened together by the laborious application of Leaden bands, and
soldered at the joins. Brass and other bands of metal being sometimes used instead
of Lead. To carry out my process I proceed as follows:-
I first select a suitable design for the piece of Glass I intend to decorate, or else
draw a design on a sheet of paper, which I then place underneath the Glass, which
has been cut to the required size. I then copy, or follow the design on the paper
underneath the Glass, by attaching with a strong adhesive to the Glass itself,
variously shaped pieces of card, which, being covered' with a metallic paper or
coating, either to resemble Gold, Silver, Lead, Brass or Steel, and being slightly
convex in form, exactly iuitate the real Metal Bands and Curves and other shapes
used in real Stained Glass work. I use for this purpose all kinds of shapes and
figures cut or stamped from these substances, strips of various widths, circles, curves,
ovals, lozenges, diamonds, squares, hexagons, octagon's, zigzags, in fact any con-
figuration it is possible to make, and' by the combination of which, the most varied
and beautiful patterns can be made. Any strong and thick adhesive can be used
for attaching these designs to the Glass but I usually adopt thick White Lead,
colored as nearly as possible to match the hue of the metallic' papered card I'am
using at the time, the adhesive being applied on the back of the figures. "The
desired design being firmly attached to the Glass, I next proceed to cover the places
where there are joins in the imitation Metal work, by imitating the solderings used
in real Stained Glass work. To obtain this result, I mix some bronze metal
powder of a requisite color with spirit Varnish, (usually Copal dissolved in Alcohol
or other spirit, and when this is in a thick creamy state, I apply it to all the joins
in my design, usually dropping it on with a brush, and exactly filling up any
cracks or divisions which may have arisen through imperfect workmanship. This
application soon hardens, but whilst it is still half damp, I brush lightly over it'a
dry brush dipped in a bright bronze powder, to exactly match the color of the
metallic-simulating card design, either Gold, Silver, Brass, Lead Bronze or Steel in
Color, sufficient of this powder adhering to the damp substance to brighten, and
give it the appearance of real metal solderings, whilst any superfluity can easily
be removed when the design is dry.-When all this has been successfully accom-
plished, I leave the design for some hours to harden and dry, after which I proceed
to apply the coloring matter, which is affixed to the reverse side of the Glass to
that on which the design has been affixed.

page_text: The Liquid Colors I usually employ are those used for Lacquer-work on tin, the
same being perfectly transparent and being mixed with Alcohol, dry rapidly.
Any kind of transparent Varnish or Spirit colors would answer for the purpose.
To apply them, I either float, or paint them on the Glass according to taste,
following the design attached to the other side of the Glass, and filling in, or
leaving uncolored the various circles and other figures as required, the superfluous
color either being allowed to drain off the Glass from a corner, or else removed
with a rag, which may be dipped in Alcoholic spirit, which is the vehicle I use to
remove any color not required, or objectionable to the taste of the worker. By
Alcoholic Spirit, I mean Spirits of Wine, or Methylated Spirits, which are more
effectual and rapid than Turpentine When the Colors are all applied, and are dry,
a coat of Mastic Varnish (Turpentine dissolved,) will add to the solidity of the
work, and when this has dried over the Colors, the work may be finished by
applying imitation metallic designs over them exactly, counterpart to those on the
front of the Glass, and soldering at the joins, when an exact, solid and permanent
imitation of real Stained Glass will be produced.
To still farther vary my designs and simulate real Stained Glass, I can grind
some parts of the Glass to resemble frosted Glass, by using a depolisher or rough
muller of Glass, and coarse sand damped slightly, which when rubbed on its surface,
removes the polish and frosts the Glass.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. The invention of giving to one single sheet or piece of Glass of any shape, the
exact appearance of being laboriously formed or built up of various small pieces of
Glass joined together, substantially as herein described.
2. The invention of imitating metallic designs of every kind and shape, the
imitations being made of thin card or pasteboard and the surface imitating metal
of any description, and exactly simulating by their application to Glass, the real
metals used by Glass-workers to join the mosaics used in real Stained Glass.
3. The invention of exactly imitating real metallic Solderings as above described.
4. The application of Lacquer and other quickly drying and transparent Liquid
and other Colors to the ornamentation of Glass as described above.
5. The invention of grinding some parts of the Glass, so as to simulate the
introduction of pieces of ground or frosted Glass into the design, substantially as
hereinbefore described.
6. The whole of the above invention of an Improved Method of Imitating
Stained Glass, real stained Glass being the term herein used to designate the
species of Glass colored indelibly whilst under manufacture, and known as such,
whilst imitation stained Glass is the term used by me to designate my process,
which exactly simulates the former in appearance, and which I have hereby fully.
described.