WINDOW GLASS.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18229, 13 November 1924, Page 8

WINDOW GLASS.

DOMESTIC AND COMMERCIAL

BUILDINGS.

It is by ncP means an uncommon experience to notice in residences of quite good class, or even in public buildings, casements and sashes filled with glass of a most inferior description, and to a practical person this is a matter of surprise having regard to the fact that for a comparatively small additional expenditure either polished plate might have been employed or at least a good brand of sheet glass of full weight and perfectly flat surface, which would have resulted in a true reflection and definition from within and without.

In connexion with modern shop fronts and fittings, on the other hand, the value of good glass is to-day fully appreciated by all concerned, and a very high standard of material and workmanship is demanded. The employment of stained glass and lead lights has for centuries been relied upon as a decorative feature not only in ecclesiastical and public buildings but also in varying lesser degrees in domestic buildings of all descriptions. Delightful effects can be gained with plain sheet glass of good quality by the use of leaded lights with wide cames designed in squares, quarries, or simple geometrical patterns, while the skilful blending of coloured glass combined with artistically designed lead lights adds considerably to the beauty of a building and provides a great opportunity for developing architectural character. In the modern method of manufacturing the best leaded lights, as adoptedoy leading British firms, a steel core is introduced into the lead cames which ensures perfect rigidity without the use of. saddle bars and tie Tods, which are always a rather unsightly necessity with the older method when ordinary lead cames are used.

Character in Design. Ia the design of stained glass windows of recent years marked improvement is to be noted in. the matters of light and shade, the expression of real live character, and in the representation of the human figure. Both in design and construction the stained glass wiijdow of to-day reaches a very high standard of artistic ability and manufacturing skill. Other descriptions of glass and glazing that occur so frequently in the construction and equipment of buildings include the various types of rolled and rough glass; cathedral, the figured, ornamental opaque, and embossed .glass so largely employed in connexion with commercial and business premises; the cast and rolled wired glazing now universally adopted for skylights; .prismatic glass for ]>avement lights; while in modern decorative work and fixtures for shops, restaurants, cafes, cinemas, and public halls.,. huge quantities of bevelled polished and silvered-plate-glasß are in demsmd.