Welcome to the Glass Age

171 Nevertheless, many did record valuable insights. Among the earliest records are cuneiform tablets written by the Phoenicians; in the 9 th century, Bede (a monk) and more recently Neri, Bontemps and many others wrote often from personal experience. In the 18 th century, the Diderot Encyclopedia published plates illustrating aspects of glass making (Figure 11.2). Otto Schott, in Jena, Germany in the 19 th century recorded not just glass recipes but also were developing a systematic approach to the relationship between glass composition and property trends, no doubt building on the simultaneous developments taking place in chemistry. Later, at the turn of the 20 th century when universal education was growing rapidly, visionaries such as Turner in the UK realized that many problems were common across the industry and were best solved by collaboration, not competition. His vision quickly extended beyond the borders of the country; he discovered like-minded people throughout the globe (in Germany, Spain, Italy, France, USA and Russia), ultimately giving birth to the International Commission on Glass which included education and ‘information’ among its activities as well as research programs to develop understanding. This was also a period of change and rapid development in the Glass Industry, Figure 11.2. A glass furnace and glass blowers at work. Source: Diderot and D’Alambert’s Encyclopedia (Paris: Brisson, 1751-1765).