Hello
In 1880, Atterbury & Co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylavania was making glass fiber clothing, feathers and table cloths.
Crockery & Glass Journal, November 4, 1880. It is reported that Miss Bernhard, during her engagement in this city, will wear one of the marvelous glass and silk dresses manufactured by Messrs. Atterbury & Co., of the South side. The process of manufacture is still a secret, but is said the firm has secured the invaluable services of the discoverer of the secret. The main obstacle in the way of glass fabric, the brittleness of the material has been surmounted, and the goods rendered remarkably pliable. The firm made an exhibition of glass shawls, glass neck-ties, and glass feathers in Cincinnati, at the Exposition, this year, but as yet have not generally exhibited the articles in this locality. Mr. Atterbury says the articles are as flexible as cotton silk. They can be washed, and you can tie them in knots as readily as you can tie cotton. They are uninflammable and not at all fragile. The firm do not expect to market in this city. They decline to give the public any of the details of manufacture at the present time, but have promised that the cuprous shall in due time be satisfied. The editor of the Journal, on his recent visit to Pittsburgh, was shown some of the neck-ties, etc., made by the new process. An exhibition of the goods would add to the laurels of the ingenious craftsmen of Pittsburgh.
Crockery & Glass Journal, November 4, 1880. Page 18. Our Pittsburgh correspondent, in this week’s letter, speaks of some dress goods made of spun glass by Atterbury & Co., of that city. While on a visit to the Smoky City, we were shown some of these articles, such as neckties, shawls, and feathers made of glass, and we can aver by personal handling that the Atterburys have accomplished all that they have claimed in the wonderful process, and that the goods are valuable as articles of wear both in their sparkling beauty and qualities of enduring wear and tear. It certainly is a marked triumph for the Pittsburgh artisans.
Crockery & Glass Journal, November 25, 1880. Page 6. Mr. Thomas Atterbury, of Atterbury & Co., says people seem to think the statement that fabrics can be made out of glass is a hoax; but he adds: “we are going to show you all in a very short time that there’s nothing deceptive about it, and that we can manufacture of pure glass alone fabrics that will be just a perfect, just as delicate, just as durable and just as handsome as the finest silk.” Mr. Atterbury has exhibited a large table cloth, a towel and a napkin, which, on close inspection, were found to be marvelous specimens of the glass-worker’s handicraft. The table cloth is six feet square, white in color, with a delicate green border, fringed all the way around. The borders of the other pieces were pink and red. The cloth is made of threads which rival cobwebs in fineness. These frail filaments were woven together perfectly, and the cloth proved itself to be as flexible and but slightly heavier than if it had been composed of cotton. Mr. Atterbury stated that this cloth could be washed and ironed with equal propriety. There was also shown six or eight large feathers, which with a degree of skill which seemed marvelous had been fashioned into a natural shape of variously colored threads of glass. The base of each feather was a piece of brass wire about which the millions of fibres of the article were connected. Each piece had about the same proportions as an ostrich feather, and all were wonderfully beautiful in hue and shape. Mr. Atterbury says they will put the goods on the market as soon as there is a demand for them. Which will doubtless be in the near future. Two hundred and fifty of the fine threads, each ten miles in length, can be spun in a minute. The process is said to be much more interesting than the spinning of cotton or other threads by the usual methods. The weaving is accomplished on an ordinary loom. Mr. Atterbury further say: “The fabric cannot be ripped or torn and it can be spun, woven, and sold at a less cost than cotton, silk or whatever other fabric we choose to imitate in manufacturing. With this crystal cloth be either coarse of fine in texture when worn as a dress, shawl, or other garment, it will prove itself to be just as warm, easy-fitting, and comfortable in every way as clothing of any other kind.”
Back when I was with Fiberglas Canada we used looms to make a woven textile with glass fibres but the cloth was used in the FRP industry not for clothing.
Sid
Topic: What the best dressed glass collector is wearing this season! (Read 1714 times)
