American cut glass, the most popular type of collectible glass, has a history as fascinating as its sparkle.
Cut glass generally refers to a glass piece that has been decorated entirely with cutting. Cut glass is decorated by hand by cutting away some of the glass with rotating wheels made of iron or stone. Glass must have at least 40% lead oxide in order to be cut by the rotating wheels without shattering. The higher the lead oxide content in the glass, the better the cutting results. This leaded glass is called crystal. All cut glass is crystal. However, all crystal is not cut glass because a lot of crystal is decorated in different ways such as etching or painting.
Cuts are made on a smooth surface of glass by craftsmen who know just how to hold and move the piece of glass against these rotating wheels to produce the desired pattern. The wheel cuts straight notches with sharp angles into the glass. The more light reflecting surfaces from straight angles, the greater the sparkle in the piece of crystal.
Cut glass, or cut leaded crystal, has three unique characteristics:
(1) When gently tapped with a finger, cut glass emits a bell-like tone.
(2) Cut glass is distinctly clearer and more brilliant than glass pieces made by any other method.
(3) Cut glass pieces weigh much more than pieces of the same size made of unleaded glass.
Archaelogists have evidence that as far back as the 6th century B.C. the Romans, Assyrians and Babylonians had craftsmen who could decorate glass by cutting. This difficult and time consuming skill did not advance rapidly through Europe and it is believed that England did not have glass cutters until the early 18th century.
Unlike other early crafts such as quilts or furniture that were made by one person, cut glass required several people working together. First, glass had to be made. Silica, a white or colorless compound found in sand, was melted with lead oxide and other ingredients until it was a red hot 2400 degrees Farenheit. One man, known as the gatherer, put a glob of hot glass on the end of a four foot long pipe. As he blew, the glass cooled a few hundred degrees. The gatherer rolled his work onto a metal slab. The next man, known as the gaffer, blew the hot glass into the shape of the desired item, such as a bowl or pitcher. The servitor helped the gaffer add feet and handles to each piece as needed. An apprentice, known as the carry in boy, took the finished item to a special oven where it gradually cooled to room temperature. This process usually took over a week. Once the desired shape was cooled, it could be cut by another group of craftsmen.
When the cooled glass piece was brought to the glass cutter, it was first marked by a designer with outlines of the desired pattern. Cutting was begun by a man known as the rougher. As he held the blank glass against the rapidly moving metal wheel, he made sure it was kept moist by a fine stream of wet sand drizzling from an overhead funnel. He made incisions by pushing the glass on the wheel according to the designer's marks. One cutter did all cutting on a single piece. Different sizes of wheels were used to make the many types of cuts in each design. Over half of the rougher's time was spent changing wheel sizes. The rougher learned to judge how deep his cut was by "listening" to the wheel. Then the smoother went back over all the rough cuts with stone wheels. The polisher finished the piece by rubbing each cut with wheels made from soft woods such as cherry and then using pumice on polishing wheels to add gleam.
The early period of American crystal began when German immigrant Henry William Stiegel founded the American Flint Glass Manufactory in Manheim, Pennsylvania in 1781. It is difficult to distinguish American cut glass made from 1781 until the 1830s with that made in England, Ireland, and other European nations during that same time. That's because most American craftsmen were immigrants who used techniques and patterns they had known in Europe.
American Victorian cut glass is divided into two distinct periods. The middle period lasted from about 1830 until about 1880. Middle period glass introduced fluted edges, engraved decorations and colored cut glass.
The "brilliant" or "rich" cut glass period, which lasted from about 1880 to1915, accounts for most of the American cut glass. During this time American cut glass craftsmen produced the most excellent pieces of cut glass art in the world. They were greatly helped when natural gas replaced coal-fired furnaces and electricity, instead of steam, could be used to generate cutting wheels.
Heavy and highly embellished cut glass became a symbol of American wealth. This overwhelming demand for cut glass spurred on many companies to create more spectacular patterns in more creative shapes. The 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia showcased elegant cut glass tableware, lamps, perfume bottles and other fine products. Exquisite new patterns developed and patented with exciting names such as "Naples" and "Prism". Leading companies such as Dorflinger, Bergen, Hawkes, Hoare, Jewel, Libbey, Meridien, Sinclaire, and Tuthill began advertising campaigns offering whole sets of goblets, tumblers, wine glasses and finger bowls in the new designs. The 1904-05 catalog from Bergen lists over 400 available patterns. Since hundreds of companies made thousands of patterns, it takes a lot of knowledge to accurately identify cut glass patterns from this era.
About 1897 some companies began making much less expensive molded glass. But the advent of World War I in 1914 is considered the end of the Brilliant era of American cut glass. Lead oxide, an essential ingredient in cut glass, was needed for war efforts. By the time the war ended in 1918 remaining American glass factories had been adapted to produce less expensive glass wares.
Because of the high labor costs, cut glass has always been a luxury item. Leaded glass is being cut today mostly in Ireland, France, Belgium, West Germany, eastern European countries, Korea, and Mexico. Most experts and collectors do not believe than even the finest modern cut glass equals the quality and beauty of pieces made during America's Brilliant era.
