The earliest windows were a mix of colored glass, all handmade, and filled with imperfections which added to its unique character. The glass pieces were small, and put together like a puzzle with broken lead.
Stained glass windows would be the next phase artisans would create in window design. Larger pieces of glass were used and they would be stained with a color or enamel to create detail. Many of the stained glass windows found in churches in the United States in the 1800s were produced in England. Most stained glass artists in the United States found it necessary to import glass.
In the late 1800s, two American’s began to lead in window design: John LaFarge and Louis C. Tiffany. Both began experimenting with different types of glass, and different ways to create the scene of the window without painted detail (except in figures, faces and hands).
In the 1870s there was a large demand for windows in America. Not just in churches, but in schools, political buildings and mausoleums. Tiffany and LaFarge were no longer the only players in this field. In the New York area there was Heuser & Hausleiter, Lamb Studios, Francis Lathrop, and H.W. Young. There were other Midwest firms producing as well.
In the early years, Tiffany did not manufacture his own glass for his windows. He purchased it from several East Coast glasshouses, and also from a new manufacturer called Opalescent Glass Works in Kokomo, Ind. When Tiffany finally began experimenting with glass production he had the misfortune of his first two glasshouses being destroyed by fire. In 1893 he opened a new glasshouse in the Corona neighborhood of Queens.
In his constant striving to be the best, Tiffany traveled abroad to find the best glassblowers and chemists to bring back to the Corona factory. There would be no color of glass he could not create.
Tiffany windows were not designed strictly for commercial buildings, but for private residences of the rich – from the Vanderbilts to the Havemeyers and even Mark Twain.
Tiffany’s windows were expensive. He would lose the option for many commissioned works simply because of the price. The cost of a mid-size window was $700, the equivalent of $15,000 today.
As times and tastes changed, so did the love for all things Tiffany. As the Art Deco movement began to take hold, more people began to remove their Tiffany windows and either pack them away or discard them. Geometric lines and crystal colors defined the Art Deco movement. Tiffany’s brightly colored lamps and windows were thought to be garish and out of style.
Today Tiffany windows can still be readily found gracing residences, churches and public buildings across America. A few of the better-known in the Los Angeles area are the windows at First Presbyterian Church, First Methodist Church and at the Ginter Mausoleum at Hollywood Cemetery.
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