History of Glass

People had used naturally occurring glass, especially obsidian (the

volcanic glass) before they learned how to make glass. Obsidian was
used for production of knives, arrowheads, jewelry and money.
The ancient Roman historian Pliny suggested that Phoenician merchants
had made the first glass in the region of Syria around 5000BC. But
according to the archaeological evidence, the first man made glass was
in Eastern Mesopotamia and Egypt around 3500BC and the first glass
vessels were made about 1500BC in Egypt and Mesopotamia. For the
next 300 years, the glass industry was increased rapidly and then
declined. In Mesopotamia it was revived in the 700BC and in Egypt in
the 500’s BC. For the next 500 years, Egypt, Syria and the other
countries along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea were
centers for glass manufacturing.
In the beginning it was very hard and slow to manufacture glass. Glass
melting furnaceswere small and the heat they produced was hardly
enough to melt glass. But in the 1st century BC, Syrian craftsmen
invented the blow pipe. This revolutionary discovery made glass
production easier, faster and cheaper. Glass production flourished in the
Roman Empire and spread from Italy to all countries under its rule. In
1000 AD the Egyptian city of Alexandria was the most important center
of glass manufacture. Throughout Europe the miraculous art of making
stained glass on churches and cathedrals across the continent reached
its height in the finest Chatres and Conterbury cathedral
windows produced in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Glass History
The very first glass known to stone age people which was used for making
weapons and decortaive objects, was obsidian, black volcanic glass. The
earliest known man made glass are date back to around 3500BC, with
finds in Egypt and Eastern Mesopotamia. Discovery of glassblowing around
1st century BC was a major breakthrough in glass making.

Invention of Glass
Glass was first made in the ancient world, but little is known about man’s
first efforts to make glass. Amulets and solid beads were made in
Mesopotamia as far back as 2500BC. Later, glass making was further
developed in Egypt around 1500BC.

Making Glass
Did you ever wonder how glass is made? What are ingredients of glass?
How many types of glass are there? Here you can read about glass making
process and related information.

Glass Manufacturing History

By the time of Crusades, glass manufacturing was developed in Venice
and it became glassmaking center of the western world. In 1291
glassmaking equipment was transferred to the island of Murano. During
15th century Venetian glass blower, Angelo Barovier, crated cristallo,
nearly colorless, transparent glass. By the late 1500’s, many Venetians
went to northern Europe seeking better life where they established
factories and brought the art of Venetian glassblowing.
By 1575, English glassmakers were made glass in Venetian fashion. In
1674, an English glassmaker George Ravenscroft invented lead glass.
The first glass factory in the United States was built in Jamestown,
Virginia in 1608.

In the early 1800’s, there was a great demand for window glass which
was called crown glass. In the 1820s, the age of blowing individual
bottles, glasses and flasks was ended by the invention of a hand-
operated machine. In the 1870s, the first semi-automatic bottle machine
was introduced.
After 1890, glass use, development and manufacture began to
increase rapidly. Machinery has been developed for precise, continuous
manufacture of a host of products. In 1902, Irving W. Colburn invented
the sheet glass drawing machine which made possible the mass
production of window glass. In 1904, the American engineer Michael
Owens patented automatic bottle blowing machine.
In 1959 new revolutionary float glass production was introduced by Sir
Alastair Pilkington by which 90% of flat glass is still manufactured today.

Sources : http://www.historyofglass.com/