|
PATTERNED |
||
|
For many people, the most familiar use of decorative glass in architecture is the etched windows which are such a pleasant feature
of much late Victorian building. True acid etched glass was used extensively for the windows and partitions of pubs, where breweries spared no expense in the creation of sumptuous interiors full of the sparkle of reflected light. The glass makers used repeated coatings in different strengths of acid to achieve complex effects. Three or four shades would be used to outline and embellish the slogans on the windows of the saloon bar. It looked, and was, very costly. For the rapidly growing housing market, it was necessary to find an alternative that was cheaper and faster to produce. A method of etching glass by sandblasting was patented in 1870. This was the technique used to manufacture patterned panes in their millions, for use in lavatories, sculleries and porches, and in institutions like schools, hospitals and government offices - anywhere, in fact, where privacy without loss of light was required. Typically, this glass is etched with a repeated chequer or diaper pattern, sometimes involving small stylised flowers, often bordered with a small frieze pattern. After the First World War, textured glass, produced ready-moulded in a variety of patterns, began to dominate the market. The more delicate etched glass fell into disfavour, and began to disappear. It's decline was hastened by a high rate of breakage; |
|
much of it was only 2 mm. thick, and cracked easily. Patch repairs, where one pane of a window would be replaced with a mismatched piece
of frosted glass, were commonplace in 'backstairs areas', while cracked glass in more visible locations would be replaced wholesale with crude, robust modern alternatives. Nowadays it is becoming easier to find replacement glass for lost or damaged Victorian originals. Philip Bradbury of the London company Philip Bradbury Glass, who set up as a supplier of stained glass 12 years ago, reports that in the last three years he has been concentrating on etched glass, partly in response to increased demand and partly because of the exciting technical challenges it presents to the glass maker. Using both the conventional siIkscreen method and his own patent process, Philip Bradbury produces exact copies of original patterned glass." I hate the word 'reproduction'," he says, "but that's exactly what it is -- re-production of the real thing. You can put a new pane in next to an original and not be able to tell the difference." He is building up a library of glass samples and is continually surprised at the variety he finds. The cost of replacing etched glass is not prohibitive, at around £10 per square foot (stained glass, in comparison, costs from around £40 per square foot). The panels illustrated here, for example, cost less than £100. |
| Replacement panels - exact copies of the originals -complete the restoration of the front door of a Victorian house. Photo Philip Bradbury | ||
