Fifty years of glass making : 1869-1919

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This numbered copy 1280 of
FIFTY YEARS OF
GLASS MAKING

is presented to

M Professor C A Chant

with the compUments of

Macbeth-Evans Glass Company

Pittsburgh

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COPYRIGHT-1920

MACBETH-EVANS GLASS COMPANY

PITTSBURGH PA.

^cJi . X<..3<.^^"^

President 1899-1916

President

CKO. D MACBKTH
Secretary

HOWARD S. EVANS
Vice President

FIFTY YEARS OF

GLASS MAKING

1869-1919

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H I S T O R I #=^c=L

LASS has been traced by history and tradi-
tion to remote ages of the world. The time
and place of its discovery will probably be
never more than mere conjecture. Some
writers would have us believe that "Tubal
Cain," mentioned in Genesis 4:22 as "an instructor of
every' artificer in brass and iron," was the inventor.
Doubtless this opinion finds its chief basis in the theory
that glass, the offspring of fire, was discovered shortly
after its progenitor.

Pliny, the Roman historian (23 A. D.— 79 A. D.),
wrote a somewhat different version
of the discovery of glass. This
ancient writer, in his story, declares
that the discovery was accidental.
"It is said," wrote Pliny, "that
some Phoenician merchants, hav-
ing landed on the coast of Palestine,
near the mouth of the river Belus,
were preparing for their repast, and ,
not finding any stones on which to
place their pots, took some cakes of nitre (bicarbonate of
soda) from their cargo for that purpose. The nitre being
thus submitted to the action of fire with the sand on
the shore, they together produced transparent streams
of an unknown fluid, and such was the origin of glass."
There are many who have taken exception to Pliny's
account of the discovery of glass, declaring it impossible
to produce glass in the open air and under the conditions
described. However vague and indefinite the early
history of glass may be, it is undoubtedly true that its

KiRure 1

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Tweht

ancient discoverer, unknown and unheralded, gave the
world one of its most important inventions. Destroy all
glass, forget the methods of manufacture, and by that
action you will sever the jugular vein of science, cripple
the great industries and transforju homes into dark,
poorly lighted, unsanitary shelters reminiscent of the
middle ages. The microscope, marvelous because of glass,
would be valueless without it. The minute organisms,
isolated under the skillful direction of the scientist, would
continue to exist unseen. The telescope without its won-
derful lenses would not reveal the universe filled with
uncounted heavenly bodies, the knowledge of whose
movements and characteristics enables the astronomer
to forecast with uncanny precision natural phenomena.

The constantly increasing use of glass has made it in-
dispensable in our domestic, scientific and industrial lives.
In this book we shall attempt to trace briefly its develop-
ment from known antiquity to present-day modern
practice. The last fifty years have seen the greatest
development in glass manufacture since its discovery.
Processes have been marvelously improved. Intricate
machinery has supplanted the slower, less accurate hand
methods. Laboratories have eliminated to a great extent
the element of chance, which, in earlier days, and even in
this more enlightened period, has worked much havoc.

There are innumerable examples of glass, both in
public and private collections, which are unquestionably
of ancient origin, yet because of the lack of proper
inscriptions it is impossible to classify them in chrono-
logical order.

The paintings of the Theban
glassmakers reproduced herein
were discovered on the tombs of
Beni Hassan. These tombs, accord-
ing to authentic records, were Figure 2

Thirteen

Figure 3

erected about 2000 B. C, but it is claimed that the
paintings were executed during the Reign of Onsertasen
I (3500 B. C.)J Figure 1 represents an ancient Theban
taking molten glass from the foot of a furnace. Figure 2
shows two others seated on the ground, holding pipes
similar to those used at the present time. The glass
on the end of the pipes, which are pointed toward the
fire, is ready to be blown. Figure 3 illustrates the
blowing of a large glass vase by two men.

The glass bead (Figure 4) found by Cap-
tain Hervey, of the Royal English Marines
at Thebes, has inscribed on it in hiero-
glyphics the name of Queen Ramaka, for
Figure 4 whom it was made. She was the wife of
Thoutmes III of the eighteenth dynasty (1500 B. C).
We find it definitely established, therefore, that glass
was being manufactured at Thebes at this early date,
and it is quite evident that the industry was in more
or less an advanced stage at that time.

When the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, con-
quered Egypt (26 B. C.) he quickly recognized the
commercial value of glass and ordered that it should
form part of the tribute which he imposed upon the
conquered country. This had the extraordinary and
paradoxical effect of stimulating the Egyptian glass
industry. The Romans, eager for novelty, bought

FourUen

freely of the product of the Egyptian glassmakers,
with the result that this industry flourished until
the Reign of Tiberius (14 A. D.), when, according
to Pliny, the Romans began the manufacture of glass
in their own country'. With characteristic intelligence
and industry, they assimilated the knowledge of the
Egyptians, and within a comparatively short time
Roman glass rivaled that of Egyptian origin. Recog-
nizing that the perpetuity of the
industry depended upon wide-
spread demand, glass was made
into many dissimilar articles hav-
ing broad application. Bottles,
drinking glasses, vases and toilet
articles, many of which bear a
striking resemblance to those of
the present day, were produced by
these early Roman glassmakers. \

When ancient Gaul fell under
the yoke of the conquering Roman
it was most natural that the art of
glass making should be introduced into the new prov-
inces. That the Gauls were adept students and later be-
came in some respects superior to their Roman masters is
evidenced by the works of art which have been unearthed
in the ancient provinces of France. Probably the best
example of the skill of these ancient Gallic glassmakers
is the Strassbourg vase found in a coffin excavated by
chance near the glacis of Strassbourg. It bears the name
of Maximianu Herculius, a Roman emperor (250 A. D.
— 310 A. D.). The difficulties overcome in the man-
ufacture of this vase clearly indicate that glass making
was highly developed at this period.

When Rome and many of her provinces were overrun
by the barbarous Huns, they ruthlessly devastated

Strassbourg \'ase

Fifteen

and destroyed the industries of the conquered country,
with the result that we find that glass making became
a lost art in the West for several centuries.
^Constantine the Great (274 A. D.— 337 A. D.), when
the glass industry died in the West, hastened to offer
alluring inducements to the skilled workmen in that
part of the world to come to Byzantium (Constanti-
nople), the seat of his Empire. With the encouragement
of Constantine, and also of Theodosius III, who reigned
from 408 A. D. to 450 A. D., the manufacture of glass
became an important industry^. This monopoly of the
East was not overcome by the West until the fourteenth
century, when Venice became a factor. For several
centuries the Venetian Republic maintained its leader-
ship as the principal producer of glass. In order to
more closely supervise the industry, to guard its
secrets and to break the contact of the workmen with
foreign countries, all the glass workers were confined
to the Island of Murano, which is separated from
Venice by a narrow strip of wateii Marco Polo, in his
travels in the Far East, discovered the rich markets of
Tartary, India and China, where the
natives were fond of false pearls and
imitation gems. Wnice quickly took
advantage of these new markets, with
the result that the city became wealthy
because of its glass trade. iThe Ger-
mans, in spite of the attempted mon-
opoly of the Wnetians, began at this
period to manufacture glass in their
own country. Their product was heavy
and ungraceful — in contrast withX'ene-
tian glass, which was noted for its fine
and light filigree work and for its color]
The German decorations were put (..rmmCiMi

Sixteen

\'enetian Glass

on with enamel and were, for the
most part, reproductions of coats
of arms. The German glass-
makers of this time were re-
sponsible for many valuable
formulas, among which was the
one for making a beautiful ruby
*-ed, discovered in the early part
of the seventeenth century.

Bohemia followed Germany
closely in the establishment of
her own glass works. It was not
long, however, before the Bohe-
mian manufacturers were mak-
ing glass of a ^earness superior to any previously
manufactured. About 1609 Gaspar Lehmann, a Bohe-
mian, invented a new method of decoration — that of
engraving on glass. This new decoration revolutionized
the industry, and while the Bohemian glass of this time
was clear and light in weight, it unfortunately lacked
brilliancyl It did, however, possess an originality
which was not always. in good taste
but for which there was a demand be-
cause of its peculiar individuality.

England neglected the glass indus-
try during the middle ages, and it was
not until the Reign of Queen Eliza-
beth that glass was made in that
country. This famous queen invited
Cornelius de Lannoy to London for
the purpose of establishing a glass
works, and he was responsible for the
first glass made in the British Isles.

Bohemian Gla

Seventeen

"•>•.

Harper's Encyclopedia of

United States History

Copyright, 1901, by Harper

& Brothers. All rights reserved .

JAMESTOWN IN 1622

EithUen

GLASS INDUSTRY
IN AMERICA

^^^

LASS making enjoys the distinction of being
one of the earliest industries introduced in
the new world.

In 1607 the first glass furnace was erected
about a mile distant from Jamestown,
\'a. The product was confined to bottles. The second
plant was erected in 1620 to manufacture glass beads,
which were used extensively at that time in trading
with the Indians. Both works were destroyed in the
great massacre of 1622.

The next attempt to make glass in America was at
Salem, Mass., where a plant was built in 1639 to
produce bottles and other articles.
In Pennsylvania the first mention
of glass making was found in a
letter written by William Penn in
August, 1683, to the Free Society of
Traders. The location of the works
and the product unfortunately were
not disclosed.

Two glass factories were in operation in New York

Glass Beads Made at
Jamestown, Va.. 1621-1625

Nineteen

City in 1732. Seven years later the first glass works
in New Jersey was built by Caspar Wistar about one
mile east of Allowaystown, Salem County. In 1775 the
failure of this enterprise resulted in the workmen mov-
ing to Glassboro, N. J., and establishing a new factory.
The glass works now in operation in that city is a
development from the factory built in 1775 and is one
of the oldest continuously operated glass plants in
America.

In the beginning of the nineteenth century, a number
of glass factories had been erected throughout what is
now the eastern part of the United States.

It was not long before the early American glass
manufacturers discovered that it was important in the
economic production of glass to locate in a section of
the country which could, from its natural resources,
furnish proper fuel. It was for this reason that Western
Pennsylvania, and particularly the Pittsburgh district,
showed such phenomenal growth as a glass center
during the 19th century.

The celebrated American statesman, Albert Gallatin,
has the distinction of establishing the first glass works

in Western Pennsylvania. His
plant was located about sixty miles
above Pittsburgh on the Monon-
gahela River and began in 1787 to
manufacture window glass. In 1795
the first glass works was built in
Pittsburgh and was known as
"Scott's" — located on the south
side of the Monongahela River.
The product of this factory was
chiefly window glass.

In 1797 General O'Hara and
stirKiU i... abler Major Craig erected a plant near

Twenty

Molded Bottle
Elarly Nineteenth Century

"Scott's." These men have been gen-
erally recognized as the pioneers in
the glass industry in Pittsburgh. The
success of O'Hara and Craig quickly
attracted others, with the result that
we find the glass industry in the Pitts-
burgh district in the first half of the
nineteenth century showing a devel-
opment clearly indicative of the ul-
timate dominating position of Pitts-
burgh as a glass center.

In the period dating from the re-
construction days of the Civil War
down to the present time the glass industry has
undergone many revolutionary changes. No similar
space of time in the history of glass making records the
same number of epoch-making improvements in machin-
ery and methods.

As in every great industry there are certain dominat-
ing influences which have contributed most to its
advancement. Because of this fact, the history of the
Macbeth-Evans Glass Company is interesting to the
reader who knows in a general way that this company
has been an important contributor to the advancement
of the art of glass making during the time of its greatest
development. It was with this fact in mind that the
history of the Macbeth-Evans Glass Company has been
written.

Twenty-one

PITTSBURGH IN 1869

X 1869, at the foot of Gist Street, in that
part of Pittsburgh known as the Bluff, Thos.
Evans estabHshed a glass works which
marked the beginning of the Macbeth-
Evans Glass Company. The plant was
operated under the name of Reddick & Company.

In 1872, three years later, Geo. A. Macbeth, with
several associates, purchased the Keystone Flint Glass
Works, Second and Try Streets, Pittsburgh, known as
the "Dolly X'^arden." The company operating the
plant was called Muzzy & Company.

The melting equipment of the plant of Thos. Evans
consisted of one ten-pot furnace, and the output was
confined to handmade chimneys. A ten-pot furnace also
completed the melting equipment of Geo. A. Macbeth's
first glass works. The product, however, consisted
of handmade chimneys, reflectors and lantern globes.
Thus we find the beginnings of a great glass company
like that of many of the world's greatest industrial
institutions of today — modest, and for the most part
financed by perseverance and courage.

Before tracing the development of each of these
companies to the time when they were merged in 1899,
forming the Macbeth-Evans Glass Company, it will be
interesting to know something of the early careers of
the founders.

Twenty-three

George Alexander Macbeth

EO. A. MACBETH was born in Urbana,
Ohio, October 29, 1845, the son of James
Reed and Frances Ann Macbeth. Edu-
cated in the pubHc schoolsof his native city,
he moved at an early age to Springfield,
Ohio. Here he secured employment in a retail drug
store and it was while compounding prescriptions that
he gained his first knowledge of chemistry, the study of
which he continued unceasingly throughout his long and
successful career.

Recognizing the limitations of the work in which he
was engaged, Mr. Macbeth began to look for an opening
which would give him an opportunity for greater
development and ultimately more remuneration. It
was not long after he had made up his mind to leave
Springfield that fate opened the way for him to go
either to Cincinnati or Pittsburgh, selling opjX)rtunities
being offered him in these cities. In deciding to go to
Pittsburgh, Geo. A. Macbeth disclosed some of the
uncanny foresight which stood him in good stead in
later years.

After coming to Pittsburgh he sold the products of
B. F. Fahnestock Company, wholesale druggists;
Armstrong Cork Company, manufacturers of cork
products; W. H. Hamilton, bottle maker, and the
Keystone Flint Glass Works, whose product was lead
lamp chimneys. About 1872 the last named company
became financially involved. With several associates
Mr. Macbeth bought their plant, which was located at
Second and Try Streets, and began the operation of this
factory in 1872 under the name of Muzzy & Company.

Tvfenly'four

This marked the beginning of the career of George
Alexander Macbeth as a glass manufacturer. How
successful he was is very fitly expressed in the following
extract from the Proceedings of the Engineers Society of
Western Pennsylvania, published after Mr. Macbeth's
death on February 11, 1916:

"Geo. A. Macbeth had a good schooling experience at various
institutions prior to his arrival in Pittsburgh in 1862 to engage
in business. What difficulties he overcame and how, after 1862,
he labored to perfect himself in his chosen field of glass making,
we are not told, but we may be sure that it required an inflexible
purpose and diligent effort on his part to emerge, as he did in
1872, as a glass manufacturer.

"Almost from the start he commenced those improvements
in the composition and manipulation of glassware used for
lighting purposes, which at once attracted attention and brought
to his name a fame which spread all over the country and even-
tually reached all regions of the globe where American refined
oils were used.

"When one thinks of this illimitable field of enterprise — true
not monopolized by any one firm, but having regard to the
commercial value of a name — there was here offered to Mr.
Macbeth an opportunity for becoming the head of a legitimate
trust of vast capitalization. With him, however, the advance-
ment of personal wealth was secondary to his desire to explore
ways for advancing knowledge in his chosen sphere. The
inauguration of the Carnegie Institute in this city with its
department of Science, Art and Literature brought together
a group of the best equipped minds and the most noted scientific
workers of western Pennsylvania. Mr. Macbeth was intimately
associated with the men of this group and enjoyed their esteem,
as he did also that of Mr. Carnegie, to the fullest extent. Besides
Mr. Macbeth's interest in applied science, he was an authority
and critic of no mean rank on etchings and engravings. He was
ver>' active in bringing about the vast extension of the great
building and especially the enlargement of the library and the
establishment of its branches throughout the city."

Twenly-five

HOS. EVANS was born in Pittsburgh, on
October 5, 1842, the son of Evan and
Eleanor Jones Evans. His father and
mother had come to the United States from
^ Wales in 1835 and settled at Ebensburg,
Pa., moving a few years later to Pittsburgh, where Thos.
Evans was born. He was one of a family of six. In
1856 his father, who was employed as a mechanic
in the glass works of Bake well, Pears & Company, was
killed in a fly-wheel accident. Thos. Evans, who was
thirteen years old at the time, was compelled to leave
school and accept with his brothers the responsibility
of providing for the family. His mother having died
seven years before his father made the task all the
greater. With characteristic courage, however, he
assumed the burden which fell upon his youthful
shoulders.

His first position was with Bakewell, Pears & Com-
pany, where he was employed as an errand boy at a
salary of $6.00 per month. He took up his duties on
Wednesday, and on Saturday he received his first
pay, which consisted of one gold dollar. He has often
said that he has not seen a dollar since quite as large
as that one.

He continued in the employ of Bakewell, Pears &
Company until 1862, when he became associated as a
salesman with William N. Ogden & Company, dealers
in oil and lamp chimneys, located at Liberty and Wood
Streets. In 1863 he went to Cleveland, Ohio, where he
remained for one year, during which time he was
employed as a salesman by S. S. Barrie & Company,

Twenty-six

large retailers of oil lamps and glassware. Return-
ing to Pittsburgh he was successively employed by
Wallace & Company, who had a retail store on Wood
Street, and Atterbury & Company, large glass manu-
facturers at that time. Just previous to the organization
of his own company in 1869 he was with Fry, Semple &
Reynolds, who operated a glass plant at the foot of
Seventeenth Street on the South Side. The diversified
experience which he gained in being associated with
both the retail and manufacturing branches of the glass
industry provided him with the foundation upon which
his later career was built.

Those who have been associated with Thos. Evans
over a long period of time can best appreciate the
sterling qualities which eventually brought him recogni-
tion as one of the outstanding figures in the glass
industry in America.

The history of the Macbeth-Evans Glass Company
and of Mr. Evans's earlier venture in glass making
reveals to only a small extent his genius for organization
and finance. His has always been an indomitable will
plus a high type of courage, primary essentials in the
pioneer days of his career, and contributing factors to
the success of Macbeth-Evans Glass Company, of which
he was treasurer from 1899 to 1916, when he became
president.

Twenty-seven

Development of the

Thomas Evans

Connpany

EDDICK& COMPANY, organized in 1869
by Thos. Evans, was capitalized at $14,-
000.00, the stock being owned by Thos.
Evans, James Reddick and fifteen skilled
glass workers. After operating for three
years, it developed that the continued existence of the
company necessitated the removal of the works to the
south side of the Monongahela River. This was because
the more favorable labor conditions in that section made
it possible to operate a glass plant with greater economy.
After a thorough canvass of the situation, Mr. Evans
found that the works of Fahncstock, Fortune & Com-
pany, located at Josephine and Twenty-second Streets,
could be purchased for $35,000.00. A glimpse of the
courage of this man is revealed in the fact that but
$5,000.00 was paid in cash, the balance being repre-
sented by notes. It was a noteworthy transaction
and, because of the lack of money, extremely difficult
to handle. The fact that Thos. Evans was barely
thirty years of age at the time he negotiated this deal
shows that his genius for organization and finance
was developed at an early date. The new plant was
the largest lamp chimney factory in Pittsburgh, operat-
ing sixty shops.

Twenty-eight

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Works at 18th and Josephine Sts., Thos. Evans & Co.

In 1873 James Reddick retired and the name of the
company was changed to Evans, Sell & Company. In
1877 a machine known as the "Patent Crimper" was
invented. The introduction of this machine had the
immediate effect of greatly increasing production and
reducing costs correspondingly. Quickly recognizing
the necessity of having this machine in his factory in
order to meet competition, Mr. Evans secured a
license to use the "Patent Crimper." The workmen
were not in sympathy with any improvement tending
toward the increase of production, laboring under the
delusion that it would result in fewer employees as
well as less work. The conditions outlined by the
workers under which they would operate the machine
were so unreasonable that they could not be accepted.
The men quit work and very quickly a general strike
spread through all the factories operating patent

Twenty-nine

Employees of the 18th St. Works, Thos. Evans & Co.

crimping machines. The fifteen glass workers who
owned stock in Evans, Sell & Company refused to work,
thus creating an unpleasant situation. Mr. Evans
made a proposition to them for the purchase of their
interests, which was accepted. The firm name was
then changed to Evans & Company. Because of the
determined stand taken by the workmen, it was evident
that the strike would be of long duration. What to do
under the circumstances was a problem. With his
characteristic ability to think straight and decide
promptly, Mr. Evans determined to secure a factory in
another city which could be operated temporarily and
thus maintain the identity of his company with the
trade during the time his Pittsburgh plant was closed.
A careful search disclosed an idle glass works in the
northwestern part of Chicago. Leasing this plant he
secured workmen from widely separated sections of
the country and within a short time had the factory in
operation. Desperate attempts were made to prevent
the operation of the works, but in spite of the great
difficulties encountered, Mr. Evans, although his life
was in danger almost constantly, kept the plant going

Thirty

for about one year, when the strikers made overtures
looking toward a settlement. After several conferences a
compromise was effected, the result of which was the
immediate abandonment of the Chicago works and the
resumption of operations at the Pittsburgh factory.

In 1881 Mr. Evans sold his interest in the company
and erected in the same year a plant at Josephine and
Eighteenth Streets, operating under the name of
Thos. Evans & Co. The melting equipment of the new
factory consisted of a large fifteen-pot furnace. The
business grew so rapidly that in order to meet the
demand for his product Mr. Evans leased the factory
owned at one time by his former employers, Frye,
Semple & Reynolds, located at the foot of Seventeenth
Street on the South Side. In 1887 the Thos. Evans
Company was incorporated.

In 1890 the development of the natural gas field in
Indiana gave the glass manufacturers an opportunity
to obtain fuel at small cost, and many factories removed
to that section. To meet the competition of these plants,
Mr. Evans in 1892 established a works near Marion,
Indiana. The new plant contained three fifteen-pot
furnaces. Coincident with the opening of the Marion
works, the Seventeenth Street factory was discontinued.
Forty-five pots at Marion and fifteen pots in opera-
tion at the plant on Eighteenth Street, Pittsburgh,
making a total of sixty pots, made the Thos. Evans
Company the largest lamp chimney manufacturers in
the world.

The production of the Thos. Evans Company reached
the enormous total at that time of 12,000,000 lamp
chimneys a year. The factories of the company pro-
duced in addition to lamp chimneys large quantities
of lantern globes and oil lamp shades as well as other
illuminating glass. One historian of the time visualized

Thirty-one

Group of Employees of the Thos. Evans Company

the output of the Thos. Evans Company in the state-
ment that the production laid in line would reach 1500
miles — built up as a ten-foot hollow square it would
form a chimney over nine miles high.

The use of colored decorations in the forms of
wreaths, flowers, landscapes and marine views on lamp
chimneys and shades became popular about 1885.
The demand for these decorated chimneys became so
widespread that within a comparatively short time
the Thos. Evans Company were decorating 4,000,000
chimneys and shades a year, employing seventy-five
to a hundred women for this work alone.

The Thos. Evans Company continued to maintain
its leadership as the largest lamp chimney manufac-
turers in the world until 1899, when it was combined with
the Geo. A. Macbeth Company, forming the Macbeth-
Evans Glass Company.

Thiriy-two

Development of the
George A.Macbeth
Company

HE melting equipment of Muzzy & Com-
pany organized by Geo. A. Macbeth in
1872 consisted of a ten-pot furnace. The
employees numbered about 150. The
plant was generally known throughout the
glass industry by the nickname "Dolly Varden."

In 1880 the factory of Atterbury & Company, known
as the "White House" and located at Tenth and Carson
Streets, South Side, was leased and operated by Mr.
Macbeth under the name Geo. A. Macbeth & Company.
The output, which was confined to lead glass chimneys,
reflectors and lantern globes, was melted in a ten-pot
furnace.

In 1881 Muzzy & Company, operating the Keystone
Flint Glass Works, and Geo. A. Macbeth & Company
were absorbed in a corporation which was called the
Geo. A. Macbeth Company. The principal owners
were Geo. A. Macbeth, Harry Darlington, W. G. Muzzy
and C. Z. F. Rott. Coincident with the formation of
the new company, the plant at Second and Try Streets
was abandoned.

In 1882 the Geo. A. Macbeth Company, in the plant
at Tenth and Carson Streets, built a fourteen-pot

Thirlx-three

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"White House" Employees, Geo. A. Macbeth Company

"Deep Eye" furnace, the largest melting unit of its
kind in the United States at that time. After the
completion of this furnace this company began the
manufacture of colored lantern globes, signal glasses,
lenses and roundels, for railroad and marine use.
It was in the making of these products that Mr. Mac-
beth gave expression to his unceasing study of glass
chemistry and his desire to reach ultimately the position
of being able to manufacture everything for industrial,
scientific and illuminating purposes.

In 1886 a factory located at Eighth and Sarah Streets
was purchased from Adams & Company. The melting
capacity of this plant was limited to a ten-pot furnace
and its product was confined to lead glass chimneys.

In the year 1883 Mr. Macbeth secured the design
patent under which he manufactured chimneys which
he marketed as "Pearl Top." This patent covered the
decoration consisting of thirty-six beads or pearls
around the top of the Number 1 chimney and forty

Thirty-four

beads or pearls on the Number 2 chimney. "Pearl Top"
chimneys continue to be manufactured that way to
this day.

Mr. Macbeth's merchandising instinct quickly recog-
nized the possibilities of trade-marking and advertising
these chimneys. He engaged the services of an adver-
tising agency in St. Louis and during the first year his
appropriation totaled $25,000.00. Compared to the
mammoth advertising appropriations of the present
day, this amount seems insignificant. In those early
pioneer times when advertising was frowned upon by
many of the old-established companies who believed
it to be an instrument employed chiefly to exploit
patent medicines and fake schemes, the spending of this
amount of money to advertise a lamp chimney was
exceptionally daring and a decided deviation from
the ordinary selling methods. There were many who
believed that it would ultimately ruin his business,
but notwithstanding the criticism of his friends and
competitors, the advertising was continued year after
year with splendid results.

In 1886 Mr. Macbeth engaged the services of John
E. Powers, who was the outstanding figure in the
advertising world at that time. Working together,
these two men outlined an advertising and selling cam-
paign for "Pearl Top" and "Pearl Glass" lamp chimneys
which made these chimneys famous the world over.
The unusual copy used in the advertisements created
widespread comment. Particularly was this true of the
car cards used in the New York Elevated Railroads.
These were always placed at the end of the car where
they were easily seen. Some of the early advertise-
ments are reproduced on the following page.

In 1890, wishing to take advantage of the cheap fuel
available because of the gas development in Indiana,

Thirty-five

a factory was built at Elwood, Indiana. Two fifteen-
pot furnaces completed the melting capacity and the
product consisted of paste mold lead lamp chimneys.
It was in the Elwood plant in 1891 that optical glass
was first successfully produced in the United States.
This was a signal triumph and was accomplished in
spite of the doubts of the instrument makers and other
users that optical glass equal in quality to the imported
could be made in America. A one-pot furnace for
melting the glass was built and skilled workmen were
secured at great expense. Optical glass of excellent
quality was produced, but unfortunately labor in
foreign countries was so much cheaper that it was
impossible to compete with the imported glass inas-
much as most of it came in duty free or nearly so. In
addition, the American instrument makers agreed
among themselves to buy only foreign glass. The folly
of refusing protection to this industry was demon-
strated during the late war, when frantic attempts were
made to make optical glass. Had the industry been
fostered, there would have been plenty of optical glass
for the instruments used by the army and navy.

After losing three sets of six-inch lenses which he
was making for the Tokio Observatory at Tokio, Japan,
during the grinding process. Dr. John A. Brashear
appealed to Mr. Macbeth for avssistance. Optical glass
made at the Elwood plant of the Geo. A. Macbeth
Company was sent to Dr. Brashear, and from it the

Thirty- six

tmployees at the "White House," Geo. A. Macbeth Co.

lenses now used in Tokio Observatory were ground and
polished.

The high quality of the products of the Geo. A.
Macbeth Company was recognized at the International
Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876, the Exposition
Universelle in 1889 at Paris, France, and at the Colum-
bian Exposition at Chicago in 1892. Reproductions
of the certificates awarded to the Geo. A. Macbeth
Company are shown on page 44.

In 1894 two fourteen-pot furnaces were added to
the melting equipment of the plant at Charleroi, Pa.
The factory known as the "White House" at South
Tenth and Carson Streets was abandoned in 1895,
leaving three plants operated by the Geo. A. Macbeth
Company: Charleroi, Pa.; Elwood, Ind., and the
factory at Eighth and Sarah Streets, South Side,
Pittsburgh, Pa. These factories were in operation at
the time of the formation of the Macbeth-Evans Glass
Company and were taken over by the new corporation.

These plants are still operated with the exception
of the factory located at Eighth and Sarah Streets,
which was sold in 1920. The disposal of this works
marked the passing of one of the historical glass plants
of the South Side of Pittsburgh.

Thirty-seven

J^^rr is generally conceded that the two most
fcfoiiai powerful influences giving the greatest im-
petus to the manufacture of glass during
the last fifty years were (1) the substi-
tution of gas for coal and (2) the invention
of the glass-blowing machine.

When coal was used for fuel it gave off sulphur fumes
which destroyed the brilliancy of the glass. This
defect was overcome by the use of gas, with the result
that we find a contemporary' writer stating that the
new fuel will * 'cause ultimately Pittsburgh glass to
surpass the wonders of old Venice and the Bohemian's
best work." The second influence, the invention of the
glass-blowing machine by M. J. Owens, of Toledo, Ohio,
made it possible to increase the production of lamp
chimneys and other articles many fold over what could
be made by hand. The patent on this machine was
owned by the Toledo Glass Company, which operated
a factory at Toledo, Ohio, under the name of the
American Lamp Chimney Company. It can readily be
seen that the invention of this machine would cause
much concern on the part of glass manufacturers
inasmuch as it was not possible to compete with it
successfully.

Realizing that the continued existence of their
respective companies depended upon securing the
ownership of this patent, Mr. Thomas Evans and
Mr. George A. Macbeth in 1899 formed the Macbeth-
Evans Glass Company, which in turn absorbed the
American Lamp Chimney Company, taking over the
patents on the Owens glass-blowing machine. The

Thirty-nine

new company was capitalized at $2,000,000.00. This
was probably the largest single transaction which had
taken place in the glass industry in America up to
that time.

Shortly after the incorporation of the new company,
the Hogan-Evans Company, whose plant was located
at Twenty-second and Josephine Streets, was pur-
chased. The Geo. A. Macbeth Company, at the time
of the merger, operated a factory at Charleroi, Pa.,
containing three twelve-pot furnaces and a plant at
Elwood, Indiana, which had two fifteen-pot furnaces
and one twelve-pot furnace. A third plant located in
Pittsburgh operated one twelve-pot furnace, making
a total in all of ninety pots.

The Thomas Evans Company at this time was
operating one fifteen-pot furnace in the plant at Eight-
eenth and Josephine Streets, Pittsburgh; three fifteen-
pot furnaces in the factory at IMarion, Indiana, and
two ten-pot furnaces in the Seventeenth Street Works,
making a total of eighty pots. Immediately after the
Owens patent was acquired together with the American
Lamp Chimney Company, whose capacity was limited
to one sixteen-pot furnace and one fourteen-pot furnace,
the Seventeenth Street Works was abandoned, making
the total of 180 pots as the capacity of the Macbeth-
Evans Glass Company at the time that it really began
operation. Shortly after the company was formed a
continuous tank with a working capacity equivalent to
thirty pots was built at Charleroi Works. In 1902 the
fourth furnace was built in the same factory. When this
furnace was completed the Macbeth-Evans Glass Com-
pany began the manufacture of all kinds of glass for
illumination.

The most important feature in connection with the
formation of the Macbeth-Evans Glass Company, aside

Forty-one

Display Room

Technical Display Room

from the purchase of the Owens glass-blowing machine,
was the bringing together of Mr. George A. Macbeth
and Mr. Thos. Evans, one the antithesis of the other
in many respects, but both well grounded in the intricate
processes of glass making. The first, a man of great
imagination ; the second, more conservative but admir-
ably fitted by reason of a keen business instinct and a
thorough knowledge of glass making to direct the
financial destiny of the new company, an exceedingly
difficult and important task, as later years disclosed.

The Macbeth-Evans Glass Company, under the
guidance of these two men, grew so rapidly that it
soon outdistanced its competitors in the majority of
the lines manufactured. The works at Bethevan, Ind.
(changed from Marion, Ind.) ; El wood, Ind., and Toledo,
Ohio, have been extended and improved by the intro-
duction of labor-saving machinery, since they first
became part of the Macbeth-Evans Glass Company.

It has been the Charleroi Works, located at Charleroi,
Pa., about 40 miles distant from Pittsburgh, that has
had the greatest growth. This plant, including the
Hamilton plant acquired in 1918, covers 21 acres, and
has a melting capacity of 63 pots, 2 continuous tanks,
and 15 day tanks. Combined with this melting capacity
is the large accessory equipment necessary for the
efficient production of glass in large volume as well as
that needed in the manufacture of glass of special
nature.

The Charleroi Works has been responsible for many
of the extraordinary accomplishments of the past
twenty years in the glass industry. Some of these are
described in the chapter reviewing the products of this
company.

Forty-three

Staff Organizaiion and.
Its Development

HEN the Macbeth-Evans Glass Company
was incorporated in 1899, the separate
organizations of the Thos. Evans Company
and the Geo. A. Macbeth Company were
combined. The general office of the new
organization was established in the Bell Telephone Build-
ing on Seventh Avenue, Pittsburgh. As in every corpora-
tion, a board of directors was the governing body. The
active direction of the Manufacturing and Sales Depart-
ment was directly under the supervision of Geo. A.
Macbeth, President, and Thos. Evans, Secretary and
Treasurer.

The comparatively simple organization at that time
has developed due to the rapid growth of the business
into the highly specialized company of the present day.
It would be tiresome to trace the various changes which
have taken place during the past twenty years, but it
undoubtedly will be of interest to describe the organiza-
tion as it exists today.

The operations of the company are divided into the
following principal departments: Executive, Manu-
facturing, Research, Purchasing, Sales, Advertising,
Accounting, Credit, Traffic and Engineering, each
with a head responsible to the Executive Department.
Finance is not represented, as it is under the direct
control of the Executive Department.

The Export Department is located in New York
City. Through this department and its representatives

Forly-fixe

Chemical Laboratory

Physical Laboratory

throughout the world, the products of the Macbeth-
Evans Glass Company are distributed to foreign coun-
tries, some of them being shipped to the most remote
parts of the globe.

WVekly meetings of the various department heads are
held, at which increasing problems of operation are
discussed and solved. The co-ordination of the various
departments is under the direction of the Assistant
Secretary'. While the work which the Research Depart-
ment is doing has always been carried on to a certain
extent, the highly specialized organization of today was
not dreamed of a few years ago. In its well-equipped
laboratories, its chemists, physicists and ceramists,
under the supervision of an able director, have elimi-
nated to a very large extent the element of chance
which has made the glass industry so hazardous. It is
in the Research Department that the increasing number
of glass problems, presented by the widely diversified
industries of the world, are studied and solved.

The operation of all works is under the supervision
of the Manufacturing Department, directed by a com-
mittee consistingof a General Manager and two Assistant
General Managers. Works superintendents are directly
responsible to this committee. In addition, this com-
mittee has to do with the company's relations to its
workmen, their employment, efficiency, welfare, com-
pensation for accidents, and with other duties of similar
character. That the welfare of the workmen is carefully
considered is evidenced by the establishment of a cafe-
teria a few months ago at Bethevan plant, at which the
employees can secure their noon-day lunch at cost.

Quite recently the life of every employee was insured
under the "Group" plan as it is generally known. All
this expense is borne by the company — the amount of
each policy being dependent upon the salary and the
length of service of the employee.

Forty-seven

TOI.iaX) WOKh

Tol MX) OHIO

Philadelphia Office

Cafeteria — Bethevan Works

GLASS MAKING

-?f#^TOilii^ffS«i

safe:-

[O the uninitiated the manufacture of glass
has about it a halo of mystery. This can

j be attributed, partially at least, to the fact
that the materials which compose it are
opaque. The resulting product — glass — is
usually thought of as transparent, notwithstanding the
fact that glass is made in various degrees of opacity.
The mysterious agent which causes this transformation
is fire.

Since the first glass was made, the two essential
ingredients have been silica in the form of sand and
alkali. In commercial glass of the present day, a
metal such as lead, zinc or aluminum forms the third
ingredient.

The glass industry depends upon natural deposits of
sodium and potassium. The principal ingredients of
nearly all modern glass are sand, soda-ash, potash,
lime, borax and lead.

il

Pot Furnace

Fifty-three

A "Shop" Making Blown Ware

Sand, which comprises 50 to 75 per cent of the mixture
or batch as it is called, which is melted to form glass,
is found in practically pure form in various parts of
the United States. Notwithstanding this fact, how-
ever, it is necessary to wash all sand in order to remove
any foreign substances which may be present, chief
among which is alumina.

Soda ash (sodium carbonate) is used as a flux. Its
substitution for potash reduces the melting point of the
batch considerably below that in which the same
quantity of potash has been used. The chief reason,
however, for using soda ash instead of potash is because
it is less expensive.

Lime (calcium carbonate) is used principally to
harden glass, and at the same time, facilitate melting
and refining.

Potassium, in the form of pearlash or potash, like
soda, acts as a flux. It is more expensive than soda

Fifty-four

and for that reason is used only in those glasses where
high brilliancy is required.

Nitre and borax are alkalies which are frequently used
because of the large amount of oxygen which they con-
tain. Glass in which alkalies have been used to excess,
when exposed to the chemical action of the atmosphere
and moisture, takes on an iridescent appearance, and in
many cases this "soft glass" if stored away for a time
will have its entire surface covered by a white film.

Lead is the principal metallic ingredient and is used
either in the form of litharge or red lead. Lead increases
the brilliancy of glass and makes it heat resistant.

Aluminum, arsenic, zinc, tin, barium, antimony and
many of the rarer elements are now used in glasses
manufactured to meet special requirements.

^^

Grinding and Polishing Department

Fifty-five

U , ■■:%{{ M 11

-*'^!:52^,

Making Glass with Machinery

Colored Glass

One of the most difficult problems in glass manu-
facture is the control of color in glass. Metallic oxides
are generally used and while certain elements produce
a definite color, such as the blue of cobalt, yet the
varying conditions entering into the manufacture of
glass frequently result in the same element producing
different colors.

It is interesting to note here, however, that the
development of highly organized laboratories in the
plants of a few glass manufacturers is, to a large
extent, bringing under control the vagaries of the batch
in its transition from the raw mixture into molten glass.

Melting
The batch, after the raw materials have been carefully
mixed, is melted either in a pot or a tank, at a temper-

Fifty-six

Clay Pot

ature of approximately
2600° Fahrenheit.

Except in the man-
ufacture of optical
glass, in which one pot
is used in a furnace,
the number of pots to
a furnace will range
from six to twenty. A
pot furnace is ordi-
narily conical in shape,
tapering toward the
top and extending well
above the roof of the building. At the base of the
furnace is the fire, above which the pots are arranged
before arched openings. The fire by forced draft
envelops the pots, melting and refining the batch.
The time required is dependent upon the kind of glass
which is being made. The pots are filled and the mol-
ten glass gathered through a projecting aperture extend-
ing to the furnace wall.

The material used in the manufacture of pots from
time immemorial has been fire clay. It is absolutely
essential that this clay be as homogeneous as possible.
The making of a pot is necessarily a long and tedious
process, requiring great care, as obviously a defective
pot may mean the loss of a valuable batch.

The present day tendency in plants of large produc-
tion is toward an increasing use of the tank furnace, of
which there are two kinds — a day or intermittent tank
and a continuous tank. The former is nothing more
than a large rectangular pot where the batch is charged,
melted and gathered in much the same way as when
a regular pot is used. A continuous tank furnace, on
the other hand, is one so constructed as to melt glass

Fifty-seven

by a continuous process. It consists of two principal
divisions, a charging and melting "End" and a refining
or working "End," connected by a restricted passage
called the throat. The capacity of these furnaces
varies from one hundred to seven hundred and fifty
tons of molten glass. Glass batch and cullet are fed
at short intervals into the charging end of the furnace
and are there melted. The molten glass then passes
through the throat of the furnace into the refining end
and gradually flows toward the various points at which
it is gathered or otherwise removed.

\i%__

■"^^^fe^v-^ ^^

ij

Making Lamp Chimneys with Machine

Fiflyeighi

Molds Used in
Glass Making

X the manufacture of any article made
from a liquid or molten substance, which
is in its finished state either solid or shell-
like, it is necessary to use some kind of
form or mold which will give the finished
article the desired shape. Each industry whose product
is made in the most part by the aid of molds has its
own peculiar type and trade names for molds.

Molds have been used in glass making from the
very early ages. The ancient Egyptians used crude
molds, presumably made of cla^, in the manufac-
ture of bottles and other containers and ornaments,
upon the surface of which were sunken hieroglyphic
characters. But the industry in those ages, in fact up
to the time of the Venetians, was not developed commer-
cially, and the use of molds probably died out or at
least was not commercialized and improved. The
Venetians made practically all of their glass by the off-
hand method, which is accomplished without the aid of
molds. Using this method the blower gathers the
molten metal (glass) on the end of a tube and by
blowing upon the tube, pressure is exerted upon the
inside of the glass gathered. The blower, knowing
exactly how much pressure to exert from the inside,
combined with his skill in properly distributing the

Fifly-nine

glass — by swinging or revolving the tube — and by the
use of his various tools, is able to produce an article
in the desired shape.

Glass molds are of three kinds: iron, paste and
press molds, and considerable confusion has resulted
from these names. The fact is that all of these molds
are made of iron and the names which are used grew
out of manufacturing methods rather than from the
kind of material of which the molds are made. If one
understands the history of glass making and the applica-
tion of molds to help in the shaping of articles, he will
understand better how the names of these different
molds originated and will then be able to tell quickly
which of the three styles has been used to make certain
articles.

From the method used by the early Egyptians
someone conceived the idea of an iron substitution
for a primitive clay mold. These iron molds were

Paste Blow Mold

Sixty

Press Mold Showing Plunger

made in two sections, hinged on one side and held
closed by a clamp or lock on the opposite side. The
inside of the mold was polished so that the surface
of the finished article would not be marred or scratched.
These molds consisted of two or more segments
hinged together, which permitted the mold to be
opened and the blown article removed.

It was impossible to fit these molds tightly enough
to prevent the mold joint or seam from showing on
the surface of the finished articles in the form of a
ridge. As the molds were cleaned from time to time
and became abused in handling, the seam became more
and more noticeable in every piece of glassware blown
in them. This same condition exists today in spite of
all modern methods of making tight joints — but of
course to a much lesser degree.

Although the faces of these molds were highly
polished, it was impossible to obtain a perfect surface
and all inequalities that were in the iron showed in
the glass. Of course the development of fine abrasives
has enabled mold manufacturers to produce a much
smoother surface; nevertheless, it is practically impos-
sible to produce an iron blown article which does not
have more or less of an obscure surface, varying of
course with the condition of the mold.

Sixty-one

The German glassmakers made molds from maple,
apple and other hard woods which were kept water-
soaked to prevent them from taking fire as soon as the
molten glass came in contact with the mold. It was
soon found that in spite of the water-soaked condition
of the mold the extreme heat of the glass charred the
surface of the mold and the longer it was used the
larger became the inside dimension, consequently a
larger article was produced than originally intended. It
was also noticed that after a mold became slightly
charred the blower could readily revolve the article
which he was making. A study of these conditions
revealed the fact that the charred surface of the mold
formed a paste which acted as a lubricant, thus per-
mitting the blower to turn the article at random. The
finished article made in this way had a smooth surface
free from seam marks and of a pleasing lustre.

Grinding and Polishing Tumblers

Sixty-two

Semi-Automatic Machine

Iron molds were also in use at this time and it was
found that if the inside surface of these iron molds
was covered with some of this charred substance from
the wooden molds the glass could be revolved, while
being blown, just as it could in the wooden molds.
From this developed a carbon mixture which is now
known as "paste." This paste is applied to the inside
of an iron mold and is frequently sprayed with water
so that it will not get too hot and burn. The name
"paste mold" is generally used to designate an iron
mold which has an inner lining of some material which
allows the glass to be turned or revolved while it is
being blown.

It will be readily seen, however, that any article
having a design or figuration impressed upon or raised
from its surface cannot be revolved and must be blown
in an iron mold. Any article having a smooth and

Sixty-three

symmetrical surface can be blown
a paste mold. Perhaps we can

m

No. 832

illustrate this better by two of our
products, No. 832, which is a 12-inch
paste mold ball globe, and our No.
2691, a 12-inch Alba ball globe with
a figuration, which is made in an iron
mold.
Lantern globes are blown in both paste and iron

molds. Globes having lettering on their surfaces must

be blown in an iron mold, but

globes without lettering can be

blown in a paste mold. The ma-
jority of lantern globes are, due to

other manufacturing conditions,

made by the iron mold process.
A press mold is made of iron

and consists of two parts, the mold

proper and the plunger. The mold

proper forms the outside surface of

the article and the plunger the inside surface. When

they are in proper position the space between the surface

No. 2691

Iron Blow Mold

Sixty-four

Part of Gas Producer Plant at the Charleroi Works

of the mold proper and the face of the plunger represents
the article. The surfaces of both are ver>^ highly polished
so as to leave as few marks as possible on the finished
article. In making press mold glassware the molten glass
is gathered on the end of an iron rod or punty and then
dropped into the mold proper; the press operator
severs with shears the intervening thread between the
body of the glass and the punty. The plunger is now
pressed down into the hot glass, squeezing it from the
bottom of the mold up and around the sides until
the mold is filled. One can readily see that the
presser must know exactly how much glass to cut off
the punty in order that the mold may be sufficiently
filled when the plunger is dropped into place. Too
much glass will cause over-pressing and too little under-
pressing.

From the nature of the process it is obvious that in

Sixty-five

making pressed articles the largest diameter is at the
top of the mold, so that after the plunger enters the
mold it may be withdrawn when the glass has solid-
ified. Our Alba shades, such as No. 3429, are made in
this manner, with the fitter at the bottom of the mold
and the widest part at the top.

Glass cooled suddenly is fragile and will break
easily when subjected to rapid temperature changes.
The elimination of this brittleness is accomplished by
tempering, or leering, as the process is called. After the
glass has been blown or pressed into the proper shapes
it is placed on large pans in a leer, which is an oven-like
structure of considerable length with doors at both ends.

Sand Blasting Department

Sixty-six

zMK^^~

^"^tmj^^x.

mm
^1

Leers

These pans are drawn by mechanical means through a
zone of rising temperature which at its greatest inten-
sity closely approaches the melting point of the glass.
The pans move on into other zones, the temperature
being gradually reduced as the glass approaches the
end of the leer, from which it is removed. This slow
cooling eliminates the brittleness that the glass would
otherwise possess. Obviously, painstaking leering of
glass is one of the essential elements in successful glass
making.

Sixty-seven

%

TheWirDepartksnt of
THE UNITED STATES OF fiKIrZCA

RECOGNIZES IN THIS AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE

THE LOYALTY ENERGY AND EFFICIENCY IN THE PERFORMANQ

OF THE WAR WORK BY WHICH

AIDED MATERIALLY IN OBTAINING VICTORY FOR THE ARMS

OF THE United States of America in the war with

THE Imperial German Government and the Imperial

AND Royal Austro Hungarian Government

/

i\

Sixty-eight

PRODUCTS

The Macbeth-Evans Glass
Company manufactures
almost every kind of glass
for illuminating, industrial
and scientific purposes.
While a large part of the pro-
duction consists of such widely
known articles as chimneys,
gas and electric shades and
tumblers — yet there are many
special glasses produced, with
which the layman is not so
familiar. Their importance in
the commercial Hfe of the
world makes them of more than
ordinary interest to the reader.
Descriptions of the most im-
portant of these glasses, their
application and development,
will give some conception of
the problems which this com-
pany is called upon to solve.

LIGHTHOUSE

LENSES

IN 1805 the great destruction of vessels
with the consequent loss of life resulted
in definite action the following year look-
ing toward the systematic lighting of coasts
and harbors. Previous to 1806 the coast
signals at night were confined to a few "beacon"
lights, produced by either coal or wood fires on tops
of buildings erected for that purpose. This was an
uncertain and dangerous method of marking coasts
and harbors, as vessels could be lost by mistaking the
fire of a lime kiln for a "beacon" light. The first
permanent lighthouse was built about twelve miles
distant from the coast of Scotland off the Firth of
Forth. Here the great lighthouse engineer, Robert
Stevenson, began experiments in which parabolic mir-
rors were used to project the light.

Seventy

It was not until 1822 that Fresnel, an ingenious
Frenchman, utilizing the experience of others, developed
the cylindrical lamp employing one central light source.
It is this system with improvements which is used
today.

There is probably no more impressive example of
the glassmaker's art than a lighthouse lens. Involved
in its manufacture is not only a glass making problem
but in addition a mathematical problem, an optical
problem and a mechanical problem.

The making of lighthouse lenses by the Macbeth-
Evans Glass Company for the first time in United
States in 1910 was a signal triumph and convincing
evidence of the great advancement of the art of glass
making in this country. In this connection an extract
from a paper read before the Engineering Society of
Western Pennsylvania in 1914 by Mr. Macbeth is
interesting:

"In commencing the manufacture of these glasses
(Lighthouse Lenses) it seemed like assuming a duty
with an unknown investment as well as an unknown loss
or profit, but it also answered a challenge to an old
glass center like Pittsburgh to produce high-grade
articles and run the risk in the endeavor."

The first attempt to manufacture lighthouse lenses
in the United States is best described
in the annual report of the Secretary
of Commerce and Labor, under which
Bureau the Lighthouse Department
operates :

"Until lately it has been necessary to pro-
cure all the cut glass lenses used in the Light-
house Service from either France, England,
or Germany, most of them coming from
France. Recently the matter was taken up
with an American firm of glass manu- ^""'^S^S'L^n*^ ^"**'

Seventy-one

facturers with a view to ascertaining if a
better lens could be made in this country
than abroad by using some modern manu-
facturing methods. The results to date have
proven satisfactory. The lenses are superior
to those purchased abroad and can be made
for the same cost or less. The essential
feature of the American method of manu-
facture is that the prisms are formed by
machine instead of by hand. Every part

Fourth Order Four • . /- i • •

Panel Flashing Lens is made to fit an accurate template or jig,
so that they are true to size and parts of the same number are
completely interchangeable. Improvements have been made in
pressed glass lens lantern and buoy lantern lenses, and tests
show them well adapted for many conditions of the service, at a
decrease in expense."

Due to superiority of design and the accuracy
attained in manufacture, the light-
house lenses made by the Macbeth-
Evans Glass Company are approxi-
mately fifty per cent more efficient
than those made abroad. The glass
which is used is not hygroscopic —
that is, it does not absorb moisture. mm mm Fixed Lens
Because of this fact, Macbeth-Evans
lighthouse lenses, after years of continuous service, have
the same clear, highly polished appearance as when
originally installed.

This "permanent" glass, as it is sometimes called,
made by this company, is the result of extensive research
which culminated in producing the
proper combinations of certain
materials which form the glass
batch. The actual melting of the
batch and the manipulation of the
glass are, obviously, vital parts of
the whole process of securing suc-

Fourth Order Two I'anel r 1 1^

Bivalve unH cesstul results.

Seventy-two

tJMINATING

N Pennsylvania in 1859 Col. E. L. Drake,
successfully boring for petroleum, caused
the flooding of the market with oil at prices
never dreamed possible. This led to the
introduction of foreign-made oil lamps
and had the immediate eff'ect of stimulating their
manufacture in America. Chimneys being an essential
part of oil lamps, it was quite natural that the increased
use of the latter would cause a correspondingly heavy
demand for the former. It was not long before the
consumption of chimneys became so great that their
manufacture quickly grew into a distinct industry in
Pittsburgh.

It was as manufacturers of lamp chimneys that
Geo. A. Macbeth and Thos. Evans became identified
with the glass industry. Although many diversified
lines for widely different purposes are now made by
the Macbeth-Evans Glass Company, yet the major
part of the production is illuminating glass.

Seventy-three

The fame of "Pearl Glass" and "Pearl Top" lamp
chimneys has extended to the most remote parts of the
globe. They continue to be sold where oil lamps are
burnt and, strange to relate, there is a surprisingly
large number of lamp chimneys used today — this in
spite of the development of the more efficient modern
light sources.

The advent of the Welsbach mantle in 1886 created
a demand for illuminating glass of somewhat different
character than that used for oil lamps. The manu-
facture of chimneys, shades and globes for this new
light source made necessary new factory equipment and
the readjustment of the business to meet the changed
conditions.

The incandescent electric lamp, possibly the most
interesting development in illumination, was the achieve-
ment of the famous American, Thomas A. Edison.
Electric lighting had been used pre-
vious to Edison's invention but was
produced by the means of the electric
arc, discovered by Sir Humphry Davy
in 1801. The greatest development
in the use of electricity for lighting
has been during the past twenty-five
years. Special glassware was devised
by this company to meet the require-
ments of each improvement in elec-
tric lighting.

It is interesting to note that the
Macbeth-Evans Glass Company has
contributed through its illuminating
(MiiL^ineering department and byexten-
si\ e publicity in no small degree to the
impetus which has been given orna-
mental street lighting during recent

>mnnri'inl I,i(;litir>K I nil

Seventy-four

years. Handsome posts, surmounted by attractive and
efficient globes made either of Alba or Monax Glass,
are enhancing the appearance of cities and towns today.

The manufacture of illuminating glass for the carbon
filament lamp, and more recently for tungsten and gas
filled lamps, has given the resources of Macbeth-Evans
Glass Company an opportunity for real expression.

This company recognized early in the development
of modern light sources that their intrinsic brilliancy
required modification in order to produce useful and
efficient illumination. The invention of Alba — a white
diffusing glass — was the first step toward the solution
of the problem. The manufacture of this glass in the
form of globes, shades and bowls, scientifically designed
to distribute the light efficiently, quickly followed its
invention.

In the creation of an illuminating engineering depart-
ment, the facilities, which this company offered to those
who desired efficient as well as attractive illumination,
were complete.

Comprehensive publicity campaigns, advocating bet-
ter lighting, had the effect of creating a
demand for improved lighting conditions
in factories and offices, as well as in homes.
The requirements of home lighting differ
somewhat from the demands of the indus-
trial world. It is the desire of the average
owner to light his home artistically, depend-
ing upon local illumination for reading or
writing. It was therefore with this in mind
that the illuminating glass manufactured
by this company for residence lighting was
designed.

Alba, in many of its decorative forms, has
beenused toadvantageinhomeillumination. Ligh^unTpost

Seventy-five

Thebian is another form of decorated glass designed to
meet the requirements of those residences in which
artistic Hghting is desired at moderate cost. Artistically,
however, the most beautiful product of the Macbeth-
Evans Glass Company is the glass known as Decora.
Here the artist designer was given the opportunity for
unlimited expression. Exquisite colors combined with
a wealth of rarely decorative designs distinguish Decora
among other illuminating glass. It is truly a glass of
character — distinctive because of its originality and
artistry, yet having the restraint necessary to become
part of an harmonious interior.

The illuminating glass made by this company
includes not only that described above, but in addition
a great variety of more or less staple shades and globes
in common use, the description of which would be
uninteresting because it is so well known.

Semi-Indirect Ligliting Unit

Seventy-six

ra'ia^way glass

^.^

-^-^

HERE is probably no more exacting con-
sumers of glass than the railroads. It is
important to the traveling public that such
be the case, as glass is a vital part of all
railway signal systems. The large American
railroads maintain testing departments, which scientif-
ically examine samples of all railway guide glass. For
instance, photometric tests are made when color and
transmission of light are involved, and when it is nec-
essary that the glass have a certain inherent strength,
it must pass mechanical shock tests. These tests deter-
mine whether or not the glass will meet the rigid speci-
fications of the Railway Signal Association.

It is interesting to know that red and yellow glasses
transmit approximately one-fourth as much light as
clear glass — green glass one-sixth and blue even less. In
order, therefore, to project red light rays as far as white,
the intensity of the light source must be four times that
used with clear glass, while for green it must be six

Seventy-seven

Roundel

times as great. In small de-
tached units it is not practicable
to so grade the light sources,
and for this reason the railroads
require colored glass which has
a minimum of absorption. This
is one of the many problems
which must be solved by the
Research Department of this
company. Another is to make a glass which when
subjected to mechanical shock sufficient to break it will
not fall to pieces. The importance of this quality is
best illustrated when we consider the situation of the
flagman, who may break the red globe in his lantern
when going out in a storm to stop a train. Disin-
tegration of a globe could easily result in a serious acci-
dent, such as a rear-end collision.

In the manufacture of roundels, which are used in
connection with semaphore signals, the color of the
glass is the essential requirement. Lantern globes,
other than clear, on the other hand, must combine, not
only the quality of great heat resistance necessary in
clear globes, but also the proper colors to meet rigid
railroad specifications. Lamp chimneys for switch lamps
and coach lighting must also be made of special glass.
One of the outstanding developments in the making
of glass for railroads was accom-
plished in producing tubular and
reflex water gauge glasses now used
on locomotives. Previous to the
invention of the special glass now
used in their manufacture serious
accidents resulted from the break-
ing and disintegration of gauge
glasses, allowing the escape of scald-

R. R. Lantern Globe

Seventy^eight

ing steam and hot water. The inher-
ent construction of the gauge glasses
now made for railroads by this com-
pany is such that if a gauge glass is
broken, it does not disintegrate and
preserves its original shape, thus
preventing the escape of steam from

Semaphore

the boiler.

The automatic signals of railroads are dependent for
their operation upon electric storage batteries. One
can easily imagine the serious consequence should these
batteries fail to operate. It is of vital importance there-
fore that the glass jars used to encase batteries be so made
that they will withstand the most severe service. On
some of the Northern roads it is not uncommon to renew
batteries by pouring in caustic soda, thus bringing the
temperature inside of the glass jar up as high

fas that of boiling water when the temperature
outside the jar may be below zero. To deter-
mine whether the Macbeth-Evans battery jars
would stand this terrific strain samples were
^ ■ placed in cracked ice, where they were allowed
to remain until the temperature of the glass had
Gauge Glass ^^^^ rcduccd to 5° F whcn boiling water was
poured into the jar. This is a severe test but is necessary
because of conditions under which battery jars are used.
The illumination of coaches, Pullman cars and
terminals has in recent years been given more con-
sideration by the railroads than formerly. This
company manufactures specially designed shades and
globes made to meet certain photometric requirements
specified by the railroads in order to secure efficient
lighting of terminals and cars for passenger service.

Seventy-nine

A

MARINE
GLASS

y*'^./:*:

O those who have spent their lives on land
the statement that a vessel could not safely
leave our shores without being equipped
with certain glasses may seem somewhat
exaggerated.
It is quickly apparent even to those least familiar

with the sea that a ship would be in constant danger

traversing the ocean at night without masthead, port,

and starboard lights, running lights as they are called.

These lights are of different colors, thus identifying

certain parts of the vessel. It is for these lights that

this company makes special glass

to meet marine conditions.

Gauge glasses like those used on

the railroads are provided for the

high powered steam boilers with

which the large passenger liners and

warships are equipped. These gauge

glasses must resist the corroding

Eighty

action of superheated water under steam pressure. The
superiority of gauge glasses made by this company is
shown by their widespread use by the United States Gov-
ernment, as well as by private steamship companies.

During the recent war the Macbeth-Evans Glass
Company devoted almost all of its production to
the manufacture of glass for the army and navy. Chief
among the articles made were the reflectors used on
the powerful searchlights with which our warships
and coast defenses are equipped. A battleship's
battery of searchlights is a vital part of its equipment.
In repelling a night attack it is obviously desirable
that a ship have sufficient searchlights to disclose each
attacking unit; the lack of an additional searchlight
might mean a battleship's doom, since one of the small,
swift-attacking units may slip up and deal the great
ship its death blow under cover of darkness.

Mirrors for searchlight purposes are of varied forms
and sizes, the shape depending largely upon the par-
ticular form of beam which they are designed to project.
Large searchlights generally are designed to project a
straight beam or bundle of light, and for this purpose a
reflector having a parabolic form is required.

In most cases these parabolic mirrors are made of
crystal mirror glass. A flat disc of the glass is placed
in an oven on a parabolic iron former. The temperature
of the oven is increased gradually until the glass softens
sufficiently to settle down to the shape of the former.

This approximately parabolic blank is then ground
to a true curvature on both the inside and outside sur-
faces. After polishing and silvering, the mirror is sub-
jected to severe test to determine whether the various
zones of the inside and outside surfaces have a common
focus. After completion each lens is rigidly examined
by a government inspector.

Eighty-one

The glass itself must be of good color and free from
cords, seeds, etc. It must also show durability under
the action of atmospheric agents.

Aside from the constitution of the glass itself the
backing or silvering presents a difficult problem; the
nature and quality of the glass considerably affects the
ease and success of the various silvering processes.

Many of the older mirrors have mercury or quick-
silver films placed on their reverse surface for the
reflecting medium. Generally speaking, the present
method is to deposit metallic silver upon the glass, but
the manner in which this is accomplished, to enable
the mirror to stand up under government tests, is a
trade secret with the manufacturer. The silvering
must be deposited at a rate that can be controlled and
in a manner to give a uniform, continuous film, free
from all defects.

There are other glasses used on board ship which
are essential, the description of which is impossible
here because space is limited.

Eighty-two

^, LABORATORY

:i!it.L * 'J^/ GLASS

HE increase in the number of industrial
laboratories throughout the country during
the past few years has caused a heav}'
demand for laboratory glass. In addition
there is a large consumption of this kind
of glass by private testing laboratories, schools and
colleges.

In order to realize the difficulties that present
themselves to the glass manufacturer in the production
of high quality glass for chemical purposes one should
know that when the science of chemistry was still in
its infancy chemists generally
had not yet realized the necessity
of having glassware of known
resistance to repeated evapora-
tion and resistance to chemical
reagents.

When water was boiled for
considerable period in glass ves-

Eighly-lhree

sels a distinct amount of solid matter col-
lected in the glass container. The expla-
nation commonly given, on the basis of the
old Greek philosophy, was that water had
been turned into earth.

Lavoisier, the great French chemist,
came into contact with this problem in his
earlier experiments, and was not satisfied
with this explanation. He was soon able to prove
that the earthy matter observed was accounted for
by the attack of the water on the glass, which had
corroded or lost weight during the boiling process.
Davy, another of the early chemists of note, in his
electro-chemical experiments, was able
to show that the alkaline substances
found in water that had been boiled
in glass containers could only have
arisen from the glass used as the con-
taining vessel. As the developments
of quantitative chemistry proceeded,
other errors in analytical work were
noted which arose through the use of
the glass apparatus of the day.

Because of this chemical instability of glass surfaces
there soon arose a demand for a glass that would
resist the action of solutions that might be placed in
it, but years of experiment were to pass before it
became commercially possible to produce such a glass.
Eventually, however, the desired results were achieved,
and a satisfactory glass was produced, thus making it
possible for the chemist to accurateh- determine the
atomic weights of various sub-
stances.

The chemical processes in-
volved in determining atomic

Eighty-four

weights constitute a delicate
task. The substance must be
first prepared and weighed in
the pure state, and must then
be subjected to suitable reac-
tions and again weighed with
proof that in the process noth-
ing has been lost and nothing
accidentally garnered into the material to be placed on
the scales. These requirements among other things
require a glass the production of which is a technical
problem of the first rank, and even today considerable
variation is still to be found in the various makes of
laboratory ware.

This company produces a glass which is eminently
suitable for analytical work, since it gives up no appre-
ciable quantity of alkali even after prolonged boiling.
This glass resists not only gradual heating, which
almost any glass will
stand, but also violent
and sudden changes of
temperature — in other
words having a low
coefficient of expansion.
Alkaliesandacidshavea
negligible effect upon it.

Eighty-five

MISCELLANEOUS
GLASS

N addition to the glasses which have been
described there are many other kinds for
special purposes, made by this company,
which cannot be placed under broad class-
ifications. A few of these are sufficiently
interesting and important to warrant their mention here.
The glass condenser jars used in connection with the
more powerful types of wireless sending apparatus are
made of a special glass, which will withstand the
tremendous shock of electrical currents from high
frequency. This is an unusual glass, the successful
making of which was not dreamed of a few years ago.

An American company utilizing large
vats for distilling purposes was in a quan-
dary a few years ago because of frequent re-
placements of the observation glass through
which the contents of the vat are observed.
The glass which was used lasted but a few
days, because of its inability to resist a
chemical action of the contents, sudden
changes of temperature, and corroding
action which caused the glass to become
obscured. To meet these unusual and se-
vere conditions this company invented a
glass which resists not only the chemical condenser jar

Eighty-six

action of the contents of the vat, but in addition will
not break when subjected to sudden changes of temper-
ature. The use of the special glass has resulted in
reducing the cost of production through the fact that
it is now possible to keep the vats in operation almost
continuously.

In coal mines, where electric lights are not used,
accidents have occurred due to defects in the glasses
used in miners' safety lamps. A miners' safety lamp
glass has been produced by this company which will
not fall to pieces, or even permit the passage of air
through a crack in this glass. The introduction of this
glass has no doubt averted many mining catastrophes
that have so often in the past formed terrible blots
upon the pages of the history of coal mining.

Flame Test

Miners' Safety Lamp Glass

Flaine can play indefinitely against glass without breaking it

Eighty-seven

W-^^ AUTOMOBILE

^' ' '' LENSES

I HP2 alarming increase in the number of
automobile accidents in the United States
caused by glaring automobile headlights
definitely established the necessity for this
light to be controlled in a way to eliminate
dangerous glare and to provide at the same time the
long range and side lighting necessary for safe driving.
The engineering vskill which produced the wonderful
lighthouse lenses made by this company was con-
centrated on the problem with the result that "Macbeth
Green Visor" and "Liberty" lenses are giv-
ing the same measure of safety to motorists
as Macbeth lighthouse lenses are giving
to travelers upon the
ocean and inland waters.
More than 1,000,000
automobiles are now
equipped with headlight
lenses made by the
Macbeth-Evans Glass

Macbeth Lens CoUipany. Liberty Lens

Eighty-eighi

List of Products

HE following is a list of articles made
by this company, reproduced to give a
general idea of the ramification of glass
making. It will also serve to acquaint the
reader with the reason why 80% of the pro-
duction of the Macbeth-Evans Glass Company went to
the government during the recent war.

July 14, 1918, Commodore Denig gave the com-
mand to break out the Emergency Fleet Flag at the
Charleroi Works. This date to future generations will
be a reminder that the 264 employees of the Macbeth-
Evans Glass Company who served in Army and Navy,
and those who remained at essential tasks at home,
contributed in no small way to bring the war to a
successful conclusion.

Flag Raising. July U. l''is

Eighty-nine

Lamp Chimneys for domestic use.

Lamp Chimneys for railroads.

Lamp Chimneys for lighthouses.

Lamp Chimneys for steamships.

Lamp Chimneys for street lighting.

Lamp Chimneys for gas mantle burners. I

Lantern Globes.

Lantern Globes for use as signals on railroads.

Lighting Fixture Glassware.

Globes for street lighting.

Shades for street lighting.

Reflectors for street lighting.

Globes for Welsbach and other gas mantle burners.

Shades for Welsbach and other gas mantle burners.

Laboratory Glassware.

Tumblers.

Lubricator Glasses — used on gas and steam stationary
engines, locomotives and steamships.

Miners' Glasses — used in miners' safety lamps in all
gaseous mines.

Gauge Glasses, flat (oblong and round) — used on all
steam gauges on stationary boilers, locomotives, and
by the Navy on nearly all war vessels.

Gauge Glasses, tubular — used on all steam gauges on
stationary boilers, locomotives, and by the Navy on
nearly all war vessels.

Protector Glasses — used on tubular gauges, on station-
ary boilers, on locomotives, and by the Navy to
protect firemen and engineers from escaping steam
caused by the breaking of tubular gauge glasses.

Observation Glasses — used in the manufacture of
chemicals.

Glass Sponge Cups for holding sf)onges for office use.

Reflectors for automobile and truck headlights.

Reflectors for household use in connection with old-
fashioned wall brackets.

Ninety

Shades for railroad use.

Founts for side wall brackets for household use.

Bowls for use in railroad cars.

Plates for use in stove doors.

Meter Covers for gas meters.

Dental Glassware for spittoons in dental chairs.

Globes for collection boxes.

Globes used in flour mills.

Globes for electric sign use.

Globes for water filters.

Globes for sterilizers.

Cylinders for carburetors on automobiles and trucks.

Cylinders for electric meters.

Globes for ship lights and in tunnels.

Bowls for ship lights.

Cylinders for airplanes.

Lenses, in colors, for airplanes.

Cups to collect oil drippings in lamps used in railroad

coaches.
Bull's-eyes for advertising signs.
Bull's-eyes for lanterns.

Globes used as containers in dispensing gasoline.
Candle Globes for ecclesiastical use.
Bottles for milk testing.
Glass bowls for automobile lighting.
Glasses for dispensing paper cups.
Lenses for lightships.

Mirrors for searchlights for the Army and the Navy.
Ship Light Glasses — used on vessels — masthead, port,

starboard and running lights.
Buoy Light Glasses — used on buoys for marking

channels along coast.
Lenses for lighthouses.

Lenses for automobiles, trucks and motorcycles.
Lenses for railroad signals.

Ninety-one

Lenses for locomotive headlight use.

Battery Jars, of special quality of heat-resisting glass,
for the operation of block signals on nearly all
United States Railroads and in Europe.

Relay Covers for covering apparatus for operating
signals on railroads and water meters.

Glazing Glasses for polishing leather.

Globes for Pintsch and other railroad passenger car
lighting systems.

Cab Globes for illuminating locomotive gauges.

Candle Globes for railroad passenger cars and cabooses.

Lamp Chimneys for locomotive headlight and passenger
car use.

Headlight Front Glasses, of special quality glass, for
locomotive headlights.

Elevator Signal Glasses.

Vacuum Bottles for Thermos and other vacuum bottles.

Mantle Formers — used in the manufacture of gas
mantles.

Glasses for coffee percolators.

Glasses for vending machines.

Glass Bushings for bell cords and whistle cords in rail-
road coaches.

Globes used in chemical manufacture.

Globes for medicinal use.

Tubes for Ozone machines.

Globes for water heaters.

Jars to contain tobacco.

Plates for dental chairs.

Holders for cotton for dental chairs.

Glasses for automatic milking machines.

Nituty-two

Toward Tomorrow^

^^ImIi

HERE are comparatively few prosperous
businesses a half century old. This will
not seem astonishing when we consider
that our country is still young in the
world's history. The pardonable pride of
the Macbeth-Evans organization, because
of its long and successful career, is tempered by the
responsibilities thrust upon those whose duty it is to
maintain the carefully fashioned individuality which
has distinguished the Macbeth-Evans Glass Company
since its founding. The personnel changes, but those
intangible but nevertheless potential forces — the spirit
and ideals of the founders, together with the traditions
of the company — remain to mark the course for those
upon whom rests the responsibility of preserving
Macbeth-Evans standards.

In the growth of the Macbeth-Evans Glass Company
the value of knowledge gained by intimate contact with
the intricate problems of the business has been carefully
emphasized. It is this tradition which has made possi-
ble many of the achievements of glass making recorded
in the preceding pages.

The earliest effort produced an incomparable lamp
chimney. The same high standards of progressive
manufacturing gave to the world at a later date Alba,
the original white diffusing glass. It is seemingly a far
cry from a modest lamp chimney to that marvel of the
glassmakers' art, the lighthouse lens, yet the success-
ful manufacture, for the first time in the United States,
of lighthouse lenses, by this company, was a natural
development, a visible tribute to the fifty-year tested
ideals and policies of the Macbeth-Evans organization.
It is in the contemplation of a successful past that
we find the best augury for a successful future.

Ninety-three

We are indebted to the Pennsylvania
Museum of Philadelphia for their courtesy
in allowing us to use the following illustra-
tions found on pages 19, 20 and 21: Glass
Beads made at Jamestown, Va., 1621-1625;
Stiegel Glass Tumbler and Molded Bottle,
Early Nineteenth Century, and to the
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Pa., for
several illustrations in the Historical Section.

Ninety-four

TP Macbeth -Evans Glass Company,
853 Pittsburgh, Pa.
P6>G Fifty years of glass
making

Engin.