Ribbons of Glass

A new technology was needed to make glass affordable and in large enough quantities in America.  Henry Bessemer, of later steel fame, was experimenting with a process that would make glass into a continuous process rather than batch by batch or separate sheets.  He hoped to make glass into long broad ribbons of uniform thickness. But he needed several things...

One, a gas fired furnace as Bessemer needed, was slow in coming to America.  Wood was cheaper and the call for glass smaller in America.  About 1880 a method of drawing  a flat sheet of glass directly from the furnace was devised.  A sheet called a "bait" was dipped into molten glass and adhered to the glass.  Then the bait was drawn upward to pull the molten glass into a sheet.  However, once again it was difficult to keep the glass uniform in thickness or width.

By the end of the 19th century, Americans were actually beginning to take the lead in glass making innovations.  Bessemer was a part of this movement.  The canning industry, with the demand for glass jars was another.  Improvements also included Mason's screw top lid for glass jars which was patented in 1888.  With the improvements in heating and canning, the next step was the semi-automatic machine for making bottles.  This most important machine since the invention of glass blowing iron for making glass containers came from a an unexpected place...

Next time...A Kid in Toledo
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Today in Pioneer History: "On January 20, 1930, Charles Lindbergh flew an experimental glider into San Diego, California and became the 9th pilot in the United States to receive a glider's license.