Louis Comfort Tiffany (1846-1933)

Louis Comfort Tiffany was born into a family who were part owners of the famous American jewelery firm, Tiffany and Company. Later becoming a partner himself, Louis Tiffany achieved certain acclaim and diversified into interior design and architecture. He rejected the highly artificial prevailing style of Victorian Rocco and pursued the Art Nouveau art form, leading to his free flowing designs of natural objects and symbolism. In 1881 he created his own company of Louis C. Tiffany, where he and outstanding artists and craftspeople in his employ excelled in the production of stained glass and masterful artworks.

The interplay of the light, and the artistic possibilities inherent in reflected light, led to his total devotion to the production of stained glass. His efforts were crowned with success and he became a leader in stained glass manufacture. In his lifetime electricity was invented, so with a desire to bring beauty to the home, stained glass became a medium in which he could share his love with the world. He concentrated on the production of extremely complex designs in lampshades and windows, using coloured glass produced at his own factory. With the use of electric lamps the colours appeared more brilliant and could be appreciated by all, enhancing his love of art and glass beauty. In order to build the lampshades for which he became known, he required a new, lighter, stronger method to join the glass, hence the invention of copper foil.

Lead as the construction medium in three-dimensional work, like lampshades with flowing designs, imposed restrictions with rigidity and fineness. Thin copper fitted to the edge of the glass proved a much stronger, simpler and finer construction method. Allowing a greater freedom for intricate detail and imaginative designs, copper foil uses the application of solder to define the edge on the glass. This method requires no cement to stiffen the artwork, avoiding the problems of the traditional lead method. The copper foil process has been further refined today, making the application simpler, with superior self-adhesive and finer copper with multiple widths to enhance the design.

Tiffany foiled glassworks are considerably stronger than leaded, enabling the making of finer detailed, larger panels and double glazing. Fitting of the glass panels is possible in any two dimensional window frame and can also take a three dimensional form with repair being considerably easier to perform.

Tiffany foiled glassworks are considerably stronger than leaded glass, enabling finer detail, eliminating the use of metal strengthening bars in larger panels and making it simpler to double glaze.