"Learn" Your Way Around the Kitchen
Windows
The windows in the Carney Farmhouse represent a mix of original glass from the late 19th century, period reproduction "wavy glass and modern commerical glass. Why? The farmhouse was occupied for a period of approximately 80 years (1893-1974) and over that time various of the original glass panes were replaced by the occupants.
A Short History of Window Glass (Panes)
Archaeological evidence has shown that, as early as the first century, the Romans made window glass using “flat glass” panes. The panes were small, not transparent, and have since been discovered at sites in Rome, Britain, and Pompeii.
In the early 17th century, the first window glass was manufactured in Britain. It was broadsheet glass, a lengthy balloon of glass that was blown, and then both ends of the glass were removed, leaving a cylinder to be split and flattened.
It also was in the early 17th century that English settlers brought glass-making to America, where the first glass factory was opened in Jamestown, Virginia. The manufacturing process consisted of a bubble of glass that was flattened and reheated before being cut into shapes—a cheap and efficient way to make window glass.
Next came the crown glass process, in which a sphere of molten glass was blown, opened at the end of the blowpipe, then spun into a circular sheet. Despite imperfections that included ripples and circles, crown glass was still better than the broadsheet. In 1834, the Germans introduced a cylinder method of manufacturing in which technological advances produced even larger sheets of quality glass.(1)
The early manufacturing methods for glass caused subtle waves to appear. Glass produced between the 1800s and early 1900s have a unique “wavy glass” appearance. The distortion and imperfections appear when looking at the glass from angles or looking straight through it. The earlier the glass was produced, the more likely it will have small seeds or pits and heavy cords (reams) throughout. You can see examples of period and period reproduction “wavy glass” in a number of the buildings in the Museum’s 1890s Village. (2)
(1) The History of Window Glass - Renewal by Andersen of Sacramento (rbasacramento.com)
(2) What is Wavy Glass? - Old Window Glass - Architectural Glass
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