new restoration cd tiffany hurricane

Where Light Learns to Speak……

Restoring Tiffany Stained Glass Windows

Renowned Creation & Restoration

We bring a century old legacy of stunning architectural glass design & creation and over six decades of renowned restoration to your project.

Willet Hauser is a large glass organization with over 70 employees in two studio locations:

• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania• Winona, Minnesota

Philadelphia Studio

Founded as Willet Studios in 1898

To specialize in the design & fabrication of fine stained glass windows

Willet window at the National Cathedral

Winona Studio

Founded as Hauser Art Glass Company in 1946

To specialize in the repair, restoration & protection of existing stained glass windows

Willet Hauser has created or restored windows for over 15,000 buildings including:

• The National Cathedral, Washington DC

• The Cadets Chapel, USMA West Point

• Cathedral of Saint Phillip, Atlanta

• Cathedral of Saint Paul, Erie PA

• Grace Cathedral, San Francisco

• Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York

• Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Sacramento CA

• National Presbyterian Church, Washington, DC

• The Chapel at the United Nations, New York

Rose window at Peachtree United Methodist Church, Atlanta, GA

What Makes a Tiffany Stained Glass Window Unique

Tiffany windows are truly unique works of artistry and craftsmanship. The goal of Louis Comfort Tiffany in his windows was to create the desired scene with a limited amount of glasspainting. As much as possible he wanted to utilize the raw beauty of the glass. He was able to do this with some of the techniques that he pioneered.

Drapery GlassUnlike the fully painted garments of most figurative stained glass windows, Tiffany windows have special drapery glass. This glass was manipulated when still molten to create the actual folds of a garment in the raw glass. Unlike most stained glass windows, which are flat and two dimensional, this adds a textural and three dimensional aspect to the Tiffany window.

PlatingPlating is multiple layers of glass sandwiched on top of each other, producing extraordinary effects of color and depth. Tiffany perfected the use of this technique.

PlatingThe panel on the left is the single layer of drapery glass before the application of plating. The bottom panel on the right is the same panel with four layers of different colored plating. Note the richness and color of the finished panel.

The Restoration of Detailed Tiffany Stained Glass Windows

Willet Hauser is especially experienced in the historic restoration of fine Tiffany and La Farge stained glass windows. Following are three examples of the many projects we have completed and a detailed look at the recent restoration of a hurricane damaged Tiffany window.

Brown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church, Baltimore MDCompleted 2003

Award Winning Project for restoration

Two of the largest Tiffany windows in the world

Restoring one of the large Tiffany Windows

A Tiffany window that had been in storage for many years is resurrected as the focal point of the new library.

Lafayette College LibraryEaston, Pennsylvania

In studio Restoration

The historic restoration of one Tiffany window and three windows by La Farge.

Saint Thomas Episcopal Church, Owings Mills, MD

In studio Restoration of the Tiffany window

In studio Restoration of three La Farge windows

The Restoration of Historic Leaded Stained Glass Windows

Determining the Condition of a Leaded Stained Glass Window

Is the window constructed of a single layer of glass or does it have multiple layers.

Most windows have a single layer.

The layers are called “plates” and the window is then a “plated window”.

Plates are most often found in Tiffany and “Tiffany style” windows.

This window has a base layer and 4 exterior plates (shown above). There are areas with two more layers on the interior.

The Structural Support System

Each of these window areas must be inspected.

1. Glass

2. Lead

3. Lead Solder Joints

4. Cement

5. Braces

6. T-Bar or Meeting Joints

7. Operating Ventilators

8. Sash and Frames

When Professional Help is Needed…• Broken Glass

• Cracks in Lead

• Extensive oxidation of lead

• Bulging Causing –

Glass Breakage

Glass Loose in Lead

Copper Tie Wire Broken

T-Bars Loose or Twisted

Meeting Joints Separating

• Frames Deteriorating

Willet Hauser Offers Two Complementary Preservation Services

• Repair and Stabilization is the process of strengthening windows that are in otherwise stable enough condition to withstand the handling of remedial measures. This can often be done on-site.

• Historic Restoration is where the windows need extensive restoration including complete dismantling, the replacement of all lead and, in some cases, the restoring of the appearance of any faded painted glasses. This is best accomplished in a studio location.

The Historic Restoration Procedure

Removing the stained glass panels from the frame.

Creating a photographic record of the condition of each window section

Before & After Restoration

Transmitted light

Reflected light

Recording the images to disk

Creating the rubbing

Shows the location of each piece of glass & lead

Individual rubbing for each section, for each layer of plating

Documenting the Rubbing

Record the different sizes of lead

Record damaged glasses

Record mismatched glasses

Record location of braces

Removing the glass from the lead

Wet removal with unpainted glass or when painting on glasses is stable

Soaking in water loosens the hardened glazing cement between the glass & the leadLead dust remains in suspension in the water rather than becoming air borne

Removing the glass from the lead

Dry removal when painting on glasses is fragile

Safety Requirements: Fitted mask to filter lead

dust

Cleaning the individual glasses

Cleaning Painted Glasses

The left image shows a centuries accumulation of grime

The right image shows the same section after careful cleaning & full restoration

Edge gluing cracked glasses with special conservation glues

Colored dyes are sometimes mixed with the glues to infill small areas where glass or color are missing

Restoring fragile & damaged painted glasses

Paint has faded or delaminated from the surface of the glass.

Restoration, if any, must be accomplished without doing any further damage to the original painted surface.

Step 1: Cut a thin piece of clear glass to the same size and shape as the original glass.

Step 2: On the clear glass paint in the missing or damaged areas (these will be fired to the clear glass).

Step 3: Attach the clear glass to the original glass as a plate either in front of or behind the original glass.

To the viewer the appearance of the window will be restored and the original remains the same.

The process is reversible should better methods be achieved in the future.

Before

After

The cleaned and restored glasses are gathered for re-assembly.

Copperfoil is applied to the edges of the glasses that were originally foiled

Re-glazing

Step 1: The copperfoiled areas are float soldered to join the glasses.

Step 2: The window section is reassembled with new lead.

Step 3: In Tiffany style windows multilayered sections (plates) are built to match the original construction.

Step 4: The lead joints are all soldered on both sides of the section.

Note the venting tube which directs the fumes of the lead core solder into special filters.

Cementing

A putty-like glazing compound is forced beneath the flanges of the lead came to seal the glasses into position and to add stability to the panel.

Pointing the cement in the lead cames.

The Restoration of a Hurricane Damaged Tiffany Window Trinity Episcopal Church Galveston, Texas

The large Tiffany Altar window before Hurricane Ike devastated Galveston.

The large Tiffany Altar window after Hurricane Ike (September 13,2008). The entire window was weakened, glass broken and one panel blown in, the glass broken and in shards.

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The intact panel before Ike

The same panel after Ike

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Fortunately, Willet Hauser had been chosen earlier to prioritize and restore the windows of the church beginning with the large Tiffany window. As part of our planning we had over 100 photos of this window, taken from the interior and the exterior.

Problem: We have no record of the inner plates of the damaged panel. The extreme damage did not leave any record as to where the different glasses were located.

Our Plan: First restore the intact flanking panels that depict the Christ and the Children theme. As we take them apart we will learn how many plates are in the figure area and which layers contain which type of glass.

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Panels directly above damaged panel

We know the panels around the damaged window panel have a base layer, facing the viewer, that contains the drapery glass and any painted glasses (mostly flesh areas).

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In the studio we uncrate the panels and discover that each of these panels has a base layer and four additional plates.

we begin by making a cartoon rubbing of the base layer of the panel directly above the badly damaged panel. As the panel is disassembled, a cartoon is made of each layer of plating.

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The panel is disassembled and each piece of glass carefully cleaned.

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Broken and cracked glasses are edge glued and in-filled with conservation glues.

Copper foil is applied around the pieces of glass that had been originally foiled.

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All joints are soldered on both sides of the base layer. A layer of solder is floated on the surface of all lead and copperfoil.

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Using the cartoon rubbing as a pattern, the base layer is assembled with lead and the copper foiled pieces of glass.

Each glass in the base layer is sealed into the lead with a glazing cement.

The edge of each glass is then “pointed” by scraping excess cement with a pointed dowel.

The same procedure is followed with each of the four additional layers of plating.

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The glass shards from the badly damaged panel are carefully unpacked and separated by color

and texture.

Beginning the Restoration of the Badly Damaged Panel.

Using reassembled glass shards to adjust the base layer cartoon.

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Using the pictures on a rough cartoon, the shards are put together to form the glass shapes of the drapery and painted glass of the base layer of the damaged panel.

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The pieces are then taped together and placed in position on the cartoon.

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We have all of the painted glass pieces, but they are badly cracked. Also some of the enamel painted surface has flaked off of the base clear glass. We have concluded that all of the painted glasses can be restored .

About 40% of the drapery glass in this base layer can be restored, the rest will have to be replicated with new glass.

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The pieces of drapery glass that cannot be restored through edge gluing are taped to a solid surface and given to specialty glass fabricators for replication.

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This group of shards pieced together…..

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Become these pieces to be patterned on the cartoon of an inner plate.

About 90% of the other four plates on this panel have been destroyed and will be replicated with new glass. First we have to find their size and shape.

And these glasses are joined ….

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To form the acid etched glasses of another interior plate showing us what to replicate.

Acid etching flashed antique glass to replicate the destroyed original acid etched glasses.

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The cartoon shapes of each of the inner plates of the badly damaged panel are rediscovered, created and adjusted.

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Glasses to be retained are cleaned and edge glued.

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The base layer with edge glued glasses and the new glass begins to be

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Float soldering the base layer.

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Adding a layer of plating to the back of the base layer.

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Installing additional plates of glass to the panel.

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Soldering the newest level of plating.

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Cold painting the cracked and flaked painted glass of the base layer.

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It is now this!

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Remember this?

The final restored panel with plating applied.

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Packing the restored leaded stained glass panels for shipment to the site.

Windows crated and ready for shipment to site for re-installation.

The re-installation of the restored window on-site.

Preparing the final documentation

portfolio containing: • before & after photos of each section• detail photos of problem areas• copies of contracts• lists of materials used• a CD with electronic copies of all documentation

Documentation Package Includes:

Copies of rubbings given to the client for their archives.

Documentation portfolio given to the client for their archives.

Similarities A detail of the large window we restored after the Galveston Hurricane.

Does it look at all familiar?.

Similarities Large studios would often adapt successful designs and use them for a number of projects. This “Christ and the Children theme has been used in a least four different churches throughout the country.

Preservation of Every Detail

When you choose Willet Hauser to preserve your legacy, every detail is lovingly restored in all its architectural integrity and beauty, backed by our long-standing tradition of restorative excellence.

Next Steps

• Contact your Willet Hauser representative to resolve any questions.

• Select Willet Hauser as your stained glass studio.

• The Willet Hauser Studio Representative will contact you to begin the collaboration that will assure the best long lasting care and protection for your windows.

Our Promise to You

You can trust your legacy to our legacy.

Where Light Learns to Speak……

We are Looking Forward to Working with You