Stained glass was available on a very limited basis in America during the first quarter of the 19th century, but American stained glass did not really emerge in its own right until the 1840s. Every effort should be made to document and preserve it.ĭespite many failed starts, the War of 1812, and British competition, American glass production increased steadily throughout the 19th century. Considering the enormous loss of 17th-, 18th-, and early 19th-century buildings, any window glass surviving from these periods is very significant (Figure 3). Less than 1% of the Nation’s stained and leaded glass predates 1700. The Puritans, who settled New England, rejected the religious imagery of the Church of England, and built simple, unadorned churches with clear glass windows. This was particularly true with regard to churches. Social values as well as high costs also restricted the use of stained and other ornamental glass. It features a fanlight and sidelights of large clear roundels and small bulls-eyes of red and orange glass tinted with silver stains from ca. The entrance to the Morris-Jumel Mansion, New York City, is one of the earliest surviving installations of stained glass in the country. As a result, colonists imported most of their glass from England throughout the 17th and 18th centuries.įigure 3. Despite the availability of good natural ingredients, each of these early American glassmakers eventually failed due to production and managerial difficulties.
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German colonists in the mid-Atlantic region also began early glass ventures. Dutch colonists in the New Netherlands enjoyed painted oval or circular medallions that bore the family’s coat of arms or illustrated Dutch proverbs. Glassblowers were among the founders of Jamestown in 1607, and early glass manufacturing was also attempted in 17th-century Boston and Philadelphia. Consultants should be employed on major projects.
#STAINED GLASS DESIGN SQUARES FULL#
Before undertaking any repair work, building owners or project managers should screen studios carefully, check references, inspect other projects, and require duplicate documentation of any work so that full records can be maintained. For this reason, virtually all repair or restoration work undertaken on stained and leaded glass must be done by professionals, whether the feature is a magnificent stained glass window or a clear, leaded glass storefront transom. Extreme care must therefore be exercised, even in the most minor work.
![stained glass design squares stained glass design squares](https://p0.pikist.com/photos/475/416/stained-glass-squares-green-translucent-tiffany-glass-brown-square-texture-lines.jpg)
#STAINED GLASS DESIGN SQUARES WINDOWS#
While stained glass windows can last for centuries, as the great cathedrals of Europe attest, they can be instantly destroyed by vandals or by careless workmen.
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Glass is one of the most durable, yet fragile building materials. It does not offer detailed advice on specific work treatments. It addresses common causes of deterioration and presents repair, restoration, and protection options. It also surveys basic preservation and documentation issues facing owners of buildings with leaded glass. This Brief gives a short history of stained and leaded glass in America. A number of notable churches, large mansions, civic buildings, and other prominent buildings boast windows or ceilings by LaFarge, Tiffany, Connick, or one of many other, lesser-known, American masters, but stained or leaded glass also appears as a prominent feature in great numbers of modest houses built between the Civil War and the Great Depression.įigure 2. It appears in all building types and architectural styles-embellishing the light in a great cathedral, or adding a touch of decoration to the smallest rowhouse or bungalow. It appears in windows, doors, ceilings, fanlights, sidelights, light fixtures, and other glazed features found in historic buildings (Figure 2). Stained and leaded glass can be found throughout America in a dazzling variety of colors, patterns, and textures (Figure 1). Of all the decorative effects possible with glass, however, none is more impressive than “stained glass.” Since the days of ancient Rome, stained glass in windows and other building elements has shaped and colored light in infinite ways. Once cooled, it can be polished, beveled, chipped, etched, engraved, or painted. In its molten state, it can be spun, blown, rolled, cast in any shape, and given any color.
![stained glass design squares stained glass design squares](https://i.imgur.com/MzTsD9r.png)
Because the construction, protection, and repair techniques of leaded glass units are similar, whether the glass itself is colored or clear, “stained glass” and “leaded glass” are used interchangeably throughout the text. “Leaded glass” refers generically to all glass assemblies held in place by lead, copper, or zinc cames. “Stained glass” can mean colored, painted or enameled glass, or glass tinted with true glass “stains.” In this Brief the term refers to both colored and painted glass. This door and transom suggest the richness of 19th century leaded glass.