IMPROVEMENTS IN ORNAMENTING GLASS
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Will James, of Camden Town, in the County of Middlesex,
Manufacturer of Ornamental Glass, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ORNAMENTING GLASS."
Sealed the 14th May 1878, and dated the 26th February 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Will James at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 26th February 1878.
WILL JAMES, of Camden Town, in the County of Middlesex, Manufacturer of
Ornamental Glass. " IMPROVEMENTS IN ORNAMENTING GLASS."
The object of this Invention is to ornament glass which is used for the panels of
doors or for windows by tinting it in various colours, according to any desired
pattern, in a more economical manner than heretofore.
The usual plan hitherto has been to enamel or "flash" the whole of the surface of
the glass with color, and then fire it, after which the pattern is cut out with a wheel,
or eaten out by fluoric acid, but in this case a ground color only has been produced,
and the pattern or design was uncolored.
In carrying out my Invention I take a sheet of plate or crown glass and cover it
with wax or other suitable "resist," and form the rim in the usual way; the pattern
which it is desired to reproduce in colors on the glass, I then pour upon the
surface fluoric acid; which will eat away the surface of the glass where exposed to
any desired depth. When this is effected I remove the wax or other resist, and
wash away
all traces of the acid. I then coat the ornamental parts with various
colours according to the pattern desired, and place the glass so prepared in the kiln,
that the colours may be burnt into the glass. When this is effected the surface of
the glass is subjected to the ordinary grinding process by which the superfluous

page_text: color is removed and the clear glass is ground, but the pattern being in intaglio is
not touched or injured by the grinding.
Where the pattern admits of it, it may be shaded by hand with a darker color, or
lights may be formed therein by removing portions of the color before firing.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Will James in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th August
1878.
WILL JAMES, of Camden Town, in the County of Middlesex, Manufacturer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ORNAMENTING GLASS."
The object of this Invention is to ornament glass which is used for the panels of
doors or for windows or for other purposes by tinting it in various colours, according
to any desired pattern, in a more economical manner than heretofore.
The usual plan hitherto has been either to enamel or flash the whole of the surface of
the glass with colour, and then fire it, after which the pattern is cut out with a wheel
or eaten out by fluoric acid, but in this case a ground colour only has been produced,
and the pattern or design was uncoloured, or to paint the enamel on to the surface
of the glass by hand, according to the desired pattern, previous to firing, which is a
tedious and expensive process, and cannot be satisfactorily carried out on plate or
thick glass as the tinting must be done on one side of the glass, and any shading
that may be required on the other, so that when seen at an angle the effect is not
satisfactory.
In carrying out my Invention I take a sheet of plate, crown, or sheet glass, and
coat it with wax or other suitable "resist." I then remove a portion of the wax
and expose so much of the glass as is intended to receive the pattern in color, and
the exposed surface of the glass I submit to the action of fluoric acid, which will
eat into the glass to any required depth. When this is effected I remove the resist
from the plate and wash away all traces of the acid. I then overlay the orna-
mental parts with various vitreous colours, according to the pattern desired, with a
brush or other convenient instrument without troubling to follow the lines of the
pattern, but being careful that the various portions of the pattern shall be well
covered with their appropriate color. The glass so prepared I place in the kiln to
fuse the colors and burn them well in. When this is effected the glass will exhibit
undefined dabs of color more or less approximating to the colored design intended
to be reproduced and to bring them to their proper form, the plate is subjected to
the operation of grinding. This process will remove the superfluous color, and
grind the clear glass, but the pattern being in intaglio is not touched or injured by
the grinding.
Where the pattern admits of it, it may be shaded by hand with a darker color, or
lights may be formed thereon by removing portions of the color before firing.
By this means it will be understood that I am enabled to ornament ground or

page_text: obscure glass with colored designs in a more economic manner than heretofore, and
with far better results.
In some cases the grinding process may be dispensed with, and the colored
pattern produced on clear glass.
The color is applied to the glass in exactly the same way as when the surface is
to be ground, and the superfluous color may be removed or scraped off from the
surface by means of a straight edge, leaving the pattern colored as in the former
instance. The glass may then be fired, and by this means various effects on clear
glass may be obtained.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in Orna-
menting Glass," and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish
it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim the
production of colored ornamentation upon glass in the manner above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Will James, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
WILL TAMES Gal