A delightful discovery we came across this week was our front door glass! Although we’d walked past the door 100 times, we never saw it from outside in the evening with the inside lights shining through it. One evening as we walked in the yard, the light caught our eye. We noticed even through the old metal storm doors we still need to remove that the light was being refracted. Not only is the glass etched but it appears to have been hand carved.

We took a closer look and sure enough, you can see beveling with hand stroked markings. The effect creates the appearance of a jewel! It’s the same type of cuts a diamond has. What artistry!

A little research and we learned that this type of etching is called French embossing and was developed during the mid 1800s. It was widely used in residential and commercial properties at the time. Such attention to detail by hand artisans. Both doors have this pattern, however the left side pane of glass is cracked. When we first saw the cracked pane before we ever bought the house, our original plan was to remove the unbroken piece and use it in a cabinet or door elsewhere inside the house and toss the broken one. But that evening, when we saw the light shining through the intact glass and the lovely jeweled effect; we immediately said: that pane of glass stays!

Upon further inspection of the broken pane, we realized broken pane was a replacement itself. It never had the carvings and the etching pattern wasn’t the same style, plus there were tale tale signs that the pane frame had been removed and replaced. The pattern was a good attempt to be the same but the beauty of the jeweled effect wasn’t there. This makes us feel better about replacing that side, since it’s a replacement itself.

What this means is that the quest is on! How do we find not only someone who can etch glass, but carve it? Any suggestions, let us know please!! In the meantime, I have been researching how to etch glass myself and will try it soon. I’ve already bought the materials to do it and will keep everyone posted how it goes.

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