Kitchen Clock Glass

[Antigue2]

I have two old kitchen clocks with the same design on the the glass. One by Welch, which is "old" but still clear and crisp and not
flaking. Another by Sessions who purchased the Welch company and duplicated the pattern some time in 1903 or 1904 - The Session, much of the pattern is light and almost faded away in some places.

The run of the mill clock supply houses don't carry this pattern - I was just wondering in this modern age with all it's technology if the pattern could be duplicated on glass.

I'm interested because I have several more that predate 1890 that are master (beautiful) Victorian clock glass designs but have been ravaged badly with age (fading away) and not by abuse. I'm at a loss as to how to save them, preserve them or if they can be duplicated for future generations to see and enjoy an "art" that is now lost itself to antiguity.

 

[Antigue2]

I have two old kitchen clocks with the same design on the the glass. One by Welch, which is "old" but still clear and crisp and not
flaking. Another by Sessions who purchased the Welch company and duplicated the pattern some time in 1903 or 1904 - The Session, much of the pattern is light and almost faded away in some places.

The run of the mill clock supply houses don't carry this pattern - I was just wondering in this modern age with all it's technology if the pattern could be duplicated on glass.

I'm interested because I have several more that predate 1890 that are master (beautiful) Victorian clock glass designs but have been ravaged badly with age (fading away) and not by abuse. I'm at a loss as to how to save them, preserve them or if they can be duplicated for future generations to see and enjoy an "art" that is now lost itself to antiguity.

 

[OldCoot]

You might try NAWCC and check out their links to people who do reverse painting.
I bought my kitchen clock glass from Merritt Antiques. They probably don't have your pattern if it is a special one. Have you tried S.Larose?

Gene Rodgers
Garland, Texas

 

[Gene Klodzen]

With regard to duplicating your clock glass pattern you might want to get in touch with NAWCC member Larry Laird, of Columbia, PA, who has developed some interesting modern and fairly inexpensive reproduction techniques.

He can be reached at:

CLOCKSRUS@aol.com

Edited to make the email address live.

[This message has been edited by Phil Schilke (edited 10-19-2002).]

 

[Bob Reichel]

Check out the" Shipley Co. 2075 S. University Blvd, #199, Denver, CO 80210, Fax 303-777-8610, tele: 303-777-0714. They carry a large supply, and may have just what you want.

 

[Charles E. Davis]

This is a copy that I posted on the clock list about reproducing gold or silver images on clock glasses.
I don't think there is anything that will bring the silver and gold patterns back to life. I have done some replacements using silk screen,but that is certainly not the way the originals were done since silk
screening was developed during the first part of the twentieth century.
My feeling is that they were done from wood blocks (or later photo engravings} by a relief-offset process that was widely used in tin plate printing during that latter 1800's. They probably laid down a varnish
print and then dusted it with bronze and silver powders. This is similar to what people are doing with rubber stamps today except they are using fusible powders.
The Bristol museum has some chalk relief plates showing images which might have been used to apply the varnish image that could be dusted.
I have been successful in doing this process with relief images and they duplicate the originals very nicely. The problem is in getting a good copy of the glass to be made into the photo engraving.
The other alternative, which I think was done on some of the reverse glass decorations in the later years was to use the old fashion "decalcomania" process which transferred the image printed onto gummed
paper to a tacky varnished surface. The gum allowed the paper to be stripped away after the varnish bonded the printed image to the glass.
This requires a varnish layer over the entire glass and you don't see that with the gold and silver images. These images were done by stone lithography and were very colorful and elaborate.
Today the current "decals" require a substrate to be bonded to the glass
which gives a very tacky look and is very unlike the original.



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Charlie Davis, La Verne, CA