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Pioneer Glass offers shower enclosures, window glass replacement, mirrors and more in Worcester, Middlesex, Norfolk , & Suffolk County MA

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Old Wavy Glass Window Panes in America

Early manufacture of glass involved single sheets of glass manufactured by a craftsman by blowing through a tube. Generally the further back in history you go, the wavier the glass is.

Wavy Glass Service

Looking to get an overview of our wavy glass offerings instead of a history?

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A History of Wavy Glass Types

Wavy glass is the "cool-looking" glass commonly found in older window panes, doors, and furniture built prior to the early 1900s.

Generally, the further back in history you go, the wavier the glass is. As craftsmen improved their methods over time, the wave and distortion became less apparent.

Early manufacture of glass involved single sheets of glass manufactured by a craftsman by blowing through a tube, resulting in tiny bubbles called seeds.

As a result, glass produced in the 1700s tends to have more distortion than glass produced in the 1800s. In the early 1900s, increasing industrial advances led to machine-produced glass. This glass, while less wavy, still had imperfections and was widely used in the United States cities in the early 1900s.

Crown Glass

Because the glass was spun in a circular motion, the "waves" were more rounded. The center piece had an end-knob imperfection (commonly called a crown or bullion) which was sold as part of the window or more frequently as a small piece of decorative glass over or alongside windows and doors.Today this is referred to as a bulls-eye.

In the mid-1600s cylinder glass started to gain market share from crown glass. Many people viewed crown glass as a superior product to cylinder glass due to its brilliance. Despite the higher cost, crown glass continued to be manufactured into the 1800s.

Cylinder Glass

Due to the swinging of the glass during manufacture, the waves in cylinder-blown glass were less curved and more parallel. The advantages of cylinder blown glass were price, uniformity of thickness, larger sheets, and less manufacturing waste.

Cylinder glass became the standard window glass panes in the 1800s. The glass still had many waves and bubble pockets. An early version of cylinder blown glass called broad sheet was generally not used for window glass.

Machined Cylinder and Drawn Glass

This type of glass is still very widespread today in American cities. It is very similar to cylinder-blown glass with a somewhat less distortion and is known for its vertical lines.

The Fourcault process and Colburn processes for making vertical drawn glass in the second decade of the 1900s further mechanized glassmaking. This glass could be produced in wider sheets at cheaper costs. These advances led to even less distortion but by no means perfect glass.

For great information on restoring windows and other historic restoration skills, check out Scott Sidler’s The Craftmans Blog.

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Category iconRestoration Glass

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Curt Beck says

    June 1, 2017 at 7:40 pm

    Do you sell age appropriate window panes for a New England house circa 1800? I just need a few panes.

    • Dave Brunell says

      June 2, 2017 at 7:07 am

      We have three different types of mouthblown glass. All three were in use during the 1800s. Most likley your glass would resemble P1 or P2.
      Thanks for the inquiry.

Trackbacks

  1. What is Restoration Glass? | Pioneer Glass says:
    February 2, 2016 at 5:00 pm

    […] LEARN MOREBaffled as to the different types of wavy glass window panes? Crown, cylinder, machined… we help explain the differences here. […]

  2. Frequently Asked Questions About Antique Wavy Glass and Today’s Restoration Glass | Pioneer Glass says:
    April 15, 2016 at 2:06 pm

    […] examples of wavy restoration glass. Come visit us to see it in person! If you're interested in the differences between wavy glass panes, we've got you covered […]

  3. A Guide to Purchasing Wavy Restoration Glass | Pioneer Glass says:
    July 23, 2016 at 8:11 am

    […] Here's our service page on restoration glass.Wavy, Restoration, Antique, Window Glass Can you still buy wavy glass like I see in homes from the 1800s?FAQ About Antique Wavy Glass and Today’s Restoration Glass Early manufacture of glass involved single sheets of glass manufactured by a craftsman by blowing through a tube. Generally the further back in history you go, the wavier the glass is.A Breakdown of Old Wavy Glass Window Panes […]

Visit Pioneer Window Fashions–our sister business located in the same building, for all things window treatments!

Visit Pioneer Window Fashions

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240 Church St. #1
Whitinsville, MA 01588

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