I'm not aware there was any glassmaking in New York City or New Amsterdam
before 1700. I would be interested to know of firm evidence of any actual
glassmaking or glass blowing. There were, however, in New Netherland
numerous Dutch glasmakers or glasemakers, who I believe were individuals who
were only glaziers, that is, they only cut glass for windows. They did not
necessarily make the glass. Instead, the glass was shipped to New Netherland
as large, hand-blown, flat, round sheets or crowns. From these imported
sheets, the glasmakers cut individual squares or panes (quarrels) of glass to
be mounted in leaded casement windows. In archeological excavations in
17th-century Dutch sites, the scraps of glass trimmed from the circular edges
of these large sheets are often found. Once the windows were made, there
were other artisans who could paint enamel designs on the windows: coats of
arms, scriptures, dates, etc. Roelandt Savery, and, I believe, Duykinck, did
this work and came up to Fort Orange to do some of this work. And in the
Fort Orange excavations fragments of an enameled roundel from a fancy leaded
window of ca. 1650 were actually found.
|