Tax by Windows

After a brief time away for the holidays, the blog is back! The topic was glass. Glass windows in the Middle Ages were small and few because glass was so expensive.  Flat glass required for windows was quite difficult to make especially in small sizes.

On the other hand, colored glass as that used in the medieval Gothic cathedrals in Europe was easy to make since the color came from the quality of the impurities.  It was perfectly clear glass which was hard to achieve.  The small pieces of colored flat glass gave the designers opportunity to use lead to arrange the stained glass windows we know.

Stained glass was first popular around the Mediterranean where it could keep the heat of the sun out, but still offer a design element pleasing to the eye.  Leaded windows of small panes were not made that way for ornamental reasons but because there were no larger panes available. 

From 1696 - 1851,English households were taxed by the number of windows the property contained. France followed from 1798 - 1917.  Since glass windows were not common in any household but the very wealthy, the tax was basically a tax on the rich.

Glass in modern America, just like ice, went from an item of personal luxury to an everyday necessity in every household....

Next time.
____________________
Today in Pioneer History:  On January 6, 1838, Samuel Morse demonstrated his telegraph for the first time at the Speedwell Iron Works in Morristown, New Jersey.  The telegraph used electric impulses to transmit encoded messages over a wire, which would eventually revolutionize long distance communications.