How Was This Glasswork Done?

[Bobbie Rochow]

My 93 year old friend (whose father was a sign painter) gave me this drawer out of an antique thread cabinet to try to copy for the other drawers. this is the only drawer that had any glass in it, & he has about 5 others that he wants to put the glass into.

Up close, it appears the glass is painted transparent dark red, & those letters are blasted or engraved out of the red glass? You can feel the ridge with your fingers, that the frosted clear glass is a bit deeper. And also, it appears that there is some sort of silver leaf or something behind it all. You can see it crinkled & shiny behind the red, & also behind the frosted glass. The frosted glass is smooth to touch, not rough as in sandblasting, unless they used something extremely fine to do it with?

This is NOT for resale, it is only another project for he & I to share in. He has been building frames around my glasswork for me, & it keeps his mind sharp.

Anyway, have any of you seen this before? Is there a rather easy way I can try to copy this for him onto glass? He wanted to take out this old glass & I told him NO! It is the only original piece in it! Remember, this is not going to be resold as a valuable antique or anything, he actually told me he may give it to me when it is finished, to use for my small patterns. You can see the old green paint he is removing from around the window on it.



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[Mike Jackson]

Bobbie,
You are probably looking at "flash glass". Essentially, it is a clear piece of glass with a very thin layer of deep red fused into it. You sandblast through the red layer, exposing the clear frosted glass. In this case it sounds like they added some silver or aluminum behind all of it. You can buy flash glass at most stained glass suppliers, though it is pretty expensive.





Here are linked examples I found by doing a google search.

Mike Jackson

[Bobbie Rochow]

Wow, that looks like it, Mike! Thank you so much! I guess we will investigate the cost & see if we want to go that way. Thank you very much!

[Kent Smith]

Also...instead of silver or aluminum leaf, some pieces like this were backed with foil, aluminum or actual tin. Sometimes they intentionally wrinkled the foil to add facets for light reflectivity. The foil lasts better against wood drawers and helps to light up the color. I have restored some Coats and Clarke thread sales drawers which were much the same.

[DAVE SMITH]

Also with flashed glass it is possible to obtain different acid tones the same way you would acid an ordinary panel.The times between acid embossing can vary with 15 minute intervals to achieve the desired tone of colour. I was trying to find a post I made back along which showed some cutting into blue flashed glass, good luck with the job Bobbie.
Dave

[Bobbie Rochow]

Kent, how did you get the letters on the flash glass when you restored the thread drawers? Is it possible to kind of gently sandblast them out using a mask?

Oh my, I know nothing of acid embossing.

[Kent Smith]

The restoration only required some repair and 3 or 4 replacements as I remember. I used an intermediate vinyl for masking and 120 grit to lightly blast through the color. It really takes little to do, even 70 grit will work ok. If you decide to go ahead, buy some extra small pieces to try first. They usually have some small cut pieces suitable for testing.

[Bobbie Rochow]

Thank you very much Kent.

[Patrick Mackle]

I have done my fair share of these antique flashed glass signs for the fronts of thread cabinets, signs like "bobbins", "needles" and thread categories.
Back in those days it seems that manufactures went the extra distance to create a distinct look over settling for a simple decal.
I have a stock of larger sheets of older flashed glass for those drawers. Lately it can be hard to find and costs a fair deal more.
Most were simply sandblasted to remove the flashing, some were subjected to acid etching.
If you want to sub the job rather than source the glass you can contact me.
Pat

[Bobbie Rochow]

Thank you so much for the offer, Patrick. But this is not a job that is done for profit, it is for my friend who is 93 & has had this cabinet for a while. He is restoring it to the best of his abilities, & his eyesight is not what it used to be! He had no idea how to get the new glass in the drawers, seeing that a panel of wood was glued to the backside of the window, so he has actually routered out a slot behind the opening on top side, to slide a new piece into. Then he will stick another piece of wood over it to hide it.

It probably will not be worth enough to resell to anyone for the antique value, I don't know. I guess it is something that is keeping him feeling like he can still do things with his hands. He is a neat old fellow!

But he wnated to know how to reproduce the red glass, & I am going to check into the price of the glass & see what I can do about it.

Thank you very much for responding to the post. I wish I could see some of these cabinets that those of you have restored!

[Patrick Mackle]

Bobbie,
I have never met you, but now I understand what you are doing for this gentleman. I have enjoyed the opportunity of becoming close to special elder people like your friend. They are full of life's knowledge that only longevity can accumulate. They are often overlooked treasures in a world focused on celebrity ding-dongs.
I was very fortunate to have spent 15 years of my childhood living near an older German inventor. He owned over 100 patents. I spent many hours watching him work in his garage.
He was my inspiration that you can actually make anything you can envision. That spirit is with me still.
This project is very special to your friend. It would be very good for him to complete it. If I am lucky enough to reach his mark, I only pray that I have his drive to continue doing the things I love and be fortunate to have a friend like yourself that shares their interest and energy.
If I have a cut off that will match your panel. I would be inclined to donate it for his project. I can also do the etching.
Keep in mind that some flashed glass is machine made but most flashed glass is hand blown and therefore may not to as flat as window glass.
Pat

[Bobbie Rochow]

Thank you so much for the words you have spoken, Patrick. It was good to hear that. When I first met Frank, he told me he wasn't important to anyone anymore! he is so fascinating! He has framed my glass pieces in my shop with wormy chestnut! No, it is not perfect, he cannot see well, but it is beautiful!

I was even blessed enough to take him 1 hour south to pick up my 92 year old grandmother & we all went Big Band dancing! It was simply wonderful, & he & I got to dance together on the dance floor, & it was so neat( I am a girl Bobbie, not the boy "Bobby", incase you were wondering) ! It made our friendship even more special.

He does things the old fashioned way & even speaks in an old fashioned manner. I am blessed to know him & to be so close to him. He often runs to get supplies with me, & has been on a couple of truck lettering jobs with me too. You ought to see him, his face shines!

[Patrick Mackle]

Yup, he's a treasure! Makes you feel good doesn't It? I'm right on board. What's that glass size?
PS I'm taking lunch, back soon.
Pat

[Bobbie Rochow]

I am not sure Pat. Give me a day to ask him. He only lives about 1 mile away, but I have to leave right now to run to my supplier & tomorrow I will be 1 hour away visiting my grandmother in the hospital (gallstone), so I will actually be offline for a day or so, back on Wednesday ok? I will try to get the measurement from him before that, tho.