Willet Hauser is an expert in restoring stained glass windows, including those made by Tiffany and La Farge. They describe their multi-step restoration process which involves dismantling windows, cleaning each individual piece of glass, repairing damages, replicating missing glass, and reassembling the window. They provide an in-depth example of restoring a large, hurricane damaged Tiffany window for Trinity Episcopal Church in Galveston, Texas which was severely damaged. Through careful reconstruction, they were able to restore over 90% of the original window.

1. Where Light Learns to Speak……
Restoring Tiffany Stained
Glass Windows

2. Renowned Creation & Restoration
We bring a century old
legacy of stunning
architectural glass
design & creation and
over six decades of
renowned restoration to
your project.

3. Willet Hauser is a large glass organization with
over 70 employees in two studio locations:
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Winona, Minnesota

4. Philadelphia Studio
Founded as Willet Studios in
1898
To specialize in the design &
fabrication of fine stained
glass windows
Willet window at the National Cathedral

5. Winona Studio
Founded as Hauser Art
Glass Company in 1946
To specialize in the
repair, restoration &
protection of existing
stained glass windows

6. Willet Hauser has created
or restored windows for
over 15,000 buildings
including:
• The National Cathedral, Washington DC
• The Cadets Chapel, USMA West Point
• Cathedral of Saint Phillip, Atlanta
• Cathedral of Saint Paul, Erie PA
• Grace Cathedral, San Francisco
• Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York
• Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Sacramento CA
• National Presbyterian Church, Washington, DC
• The Chapel at the United Nations, New York
Rose window at Peachtree United Methodist
Church, Atlanta, GA

7. What Makes a Tiffany Stained Glass
Window Unique
Tiffany windows are truly unique
works of artistry and craftsmanship.
The goal of Louis Comfort Tiffany
in his windows was to create the
desired scene with a limited
amount of glasspainting. As much
as possible he wanted to utilize the
raw beauty of the glass. He was
able to do this with some of the
techniques that he pioneered.

8. Drapery Glass
Unlike the fully painted
garments of most figurative
stained glass windows,
Tiffany windows have special
drapery glass. This glass was
manipulated when still molten
to create the actual folds of a
garment in the raw glass.
Unlike most stained glass
windows, which are flat and
two dimensional, this adds a
textural and three dimensional
aspect to the Tiffany window.

9. Plating
Plating is multiple layers
of glass sandwiched on
top of each other,
producing extraordinary
effects of color and
depth. Tiffany perfected
the use of this
technique.

10. Plating The panel on the
left is the single
layer of drapery
glass before the
application of
plating. The
bottom panel on
the right is the
same panel with
four layers of
different colored
plating. Note the
richness and color
of the finished
panel.

11. The Restoration of Detailed Tiffany
Stained Glass Windows
Willet Hauser is especially
experienced in the historic
restoration of fine Tiffany and La
Farge stained glass windows.
Following are three examples of the
many projects we have completed
and a detailed look at the recent
restoration of a hurricane damaged
Tiffany window.

12. Brown Memorial Park Avenue
Presbyterian Church, Baltimore MD
Completed 2003
Award Winning
Project for
restoration
Two of the
largest Tiffany
windows in the
world

13. Restoring one of the
large Tiffany
Windows

14. A Tiffany window that had
been in storage for many
years is resurrected as the
focal point of the new library.
Lafayette College Library
Easton, Pennsylvania

15. In studio Restoration

16. The historic restoration of
one Tiffany window and
three windows by La Farge.
Saint Thomas Episcopal Church,
Owings Mills, MD

17. In studio Restoration
of the Tiffany window

18. In studio Restoration
of three La Farge
windows

19. The Restoration of Historic Leaded
Stained Glass Windows

20. Determining the
Condition of a
Leaded Stained
Glass Window

21. Is the window
constructed of a single
layer of glass or does it
have multiple layers.
Most windows have a
single layer.
The layers are called
“plates” and the window
is then a “plated window”.
Plates are most often
found in Tiffany and
“Tiffany style” windows.
This window has a base layer and 4 exterior plates (shown
above). There are areas with two more layers on the interior.

22. The Structural
Support System
Each of these window areas must
be inspected.
1. Glass
2. Lead
3. Lead Solder Joints
4. Cement
5. Braces
6. T-Bar or Meeting Joints
7. Operating Ventilators
8. Sash and Frames

23. When Professional
Help is Needed…
• Broken Glass
• Cracks in Lead
• Extensive oxidation of lead
• Bulging Causing –
Glass Breakage
Glass Loose in Lead
Copper Tie Wire Broken
T-Bars Loose or Twisted
Meeting Joints Separating
• Frames Deteriorating

24. Willet Hauser Offers Two Complementary
Preservation Services
• Repair and Stabilization is the process of strengthening
windows that are in otherwise stable enough condition to
withstand the handling of remedial measures. This can
often be done on-site.
• Historic Restoration is where the windows need
extensive restoration including complete dismantling, the
replacement of all lead and, in some cases, the
restoring of the appearance of any faded painted
glasses. This is best accomplished in a studio location.

25. The Historic Restoration Procedure

26. Removing the stained
glass panels from the
frame.

27. Creating a photographic
record of the condition of
each window section
Before & After Restoration
Transmitted light
Reflected light

28. Recording the images to disk

29. Creating the rubbing
Shows the location of each
piece of glass & lead
Individual rubbing for each
section, for each layer of
plating

30. Documenting the
Rubbing
Record the different
sizes of lead
Record damaged
glasses
Record mismatched
glasses
Record location of
braces

31. Removing the glass
from the lead
Wet removal with
unpainted glass or when
painting on glasses is
stable
Soaking in water loosens
the hardened glazing
cement between the glass
& the lead
Lead dust remains in
suspension in the water
rather than becoming air
borne

32. Removing the glass
from the lead
Dry removal when painting
on glasses is fragile
Safety Requirements:
Fitted mask to filter lead
dust

33. Cleaning the individual glasses

34. Cleaning
Painted
Glasses
The left image
shows a centuries
accumulation of
grime
The right image
shows the same
section after careful
cleaning & full
restoration

35. Edge gluing cracked
glasses with special
conservation glues
Colored dyes are sometimes
mixed with the glues to infill
small areas where glass or
color are missing

36. Restoring fragile &
damaged painted
glasses
Paint has faded or
delaminated from the
surface of the glass.
Restoration, if any,
must be accomplished
without doing any
further damage to the
original painted
surface.

37. Step 1: Cut a thin piece of
clear glass to the same
size and shape as the
original glass.
Step 2: On the clear glass
paint in the missing or
damaged areas (these will
be fired to the clear glass).
Step 3: Attach the clear glass
to the original glass as a
plate either in front of or
behind the original glass.

38. To the viewer the appearance
of the window will be restored
and the original remains the
same.
The process is reversible
should better methods be
achieved in the future.
Before
After

39. The cleaned and restored glasses are gathered
for re-assembly.

40. Copperfoil is applied to the
edges of the glasses that
were originally foiled

41. Re-glazing
Step 1: The copperfoiled
areas are float soldered
to join the glasses.
Step 2: The window
section is reassembled
with new lead.

42. Step 3: In Tiffany style windows multilayered sections
(plates) are built to match the original construction.

43. Step 4: The lead joints are
all soldered on both sides of
the section.
Note the venting tube which directs
the fumes of the lead core solder
into special filters.

44. Cementing
A putty-like glazing
compound is forced beneath
the flanges of the lead came
to seal the glasses into
position and to add stability
to the panel.

45. Pointing the cement in the lead cames.

46. The Restoration of a Hurricane
Damaged Tiffany Window
Trinity Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas
The large Tiffany Altar window
before Hurricane Ike
devastated Galveston.

47. The large Tiffany Altar window after Hurricane Ike (September 13,2008). The
entire window was weakened, glass broken and one panel blown in, the glass
broken and in shards.
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The intact panel before Ike
The same panel after Ike
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48. Fortunately, Willet Hauser had been
chosen earlier to prioritize and restore
the windows of the church beginning
with the large Tiffany window. As part
of our planning we had over 100
photos of this window, taken from the
interior and the exterior.
Problem: We have no record of the
inner plates of the damaged panel.
The extreme damage did not leave any
record as to where the different
glasses were located.
Our Plan: First restore the intact
flanking panels that depict the Christ
and the Children theme. As we take
them apart we will learn how many
plates are in the figure area and which
layers contain which type of glass.
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Panels directly above damaged panel

49. We know the
panels around the
damaged window
panel have a base
layer, facing the
viewer, that
contains the
drapery glass and
any painted
glasses (mostly
flesh areas).
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In the studio we uncrate the panels and discover that each
of these panels has a base layer and four additional
plates.

50. we begin by making a cartoon rubbing of the base layer of the
panel directly above the badly damaged panel. As the panel is
disassembled, a cartoon is made of each layer of plating.
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51. The panel is disassembled and
each piece of glass carefully
cleaned.
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Broken and cracked glasses are edge
glued and in-filled with conservation
glues.

52. Copper foil is applied around the
pieces of glass that had been
originally foiled.
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53. All joints are soldered on both
sides of the base layer. A
layer of solder is floated on
the surface of all lead and
copperfoil.
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Using the cartoon rubbing as
a pattern, the base layer is
assembled with lead and the
copper foiled pieces of glass.

54. Each glass in the base layer is sealed into
the lead with a glazing cement.
The edge of each glass is then “pointed” by
scraping excess cement with a pointed
dowel.
The same procedure is followed with each
of the four additional layers of plating.
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55. The glass shards from the badly
damaged panel are carefully
unpacked and separated by color
and texture.
Beginning the Restoration
of the Badly Damaged
Panel.

56. Using reassembled glass shards to adjust the base layer cartoon.
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57. Using the pictures on a rough cartoon,
the shards are put together to form the
glass shapes of the drapery and
painted glass of the base layer of the
damaged panel.
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58. The pieces are
then taped
together and
placed in position
on the cartoon.
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59. We have all of the painted
glass pieces, but they are badly
cracked. Also some of the
enamel painted surface has
flaked off of the base clear
glass. We have concluded that
all of the painted glasses can
be restored .
About 40% of the drapery
glass in this base layer can be
restored, the rest will have to
be replicated with new glass.
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60. The pieces of drapery glass
that cannot be restored through
edge gluing are taped to a solid
surface and given to specialty
glass fabricators for replication.
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61. This group of shards
pieced together…..
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Become these pieces to be patterned
on the cartoon of an inner plate.
About 90% of the other four plates on this
panel have been destroyed and will be
replicated with new glass. First we have to
find their size and shape.

62. And these glasses are joined ….
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To form the acid etched glasses of another
interior plate showing us what to replicate.

63. Acid etching
flashed
antique glass
to replicate the
destroyed
original acid
etched
glasses.
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64. The cartoon shapes of each of the inner plates of the badly
damaged panel are rediscovered, created and adjusted.
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65. Glasses to be retained are cleaned and edge glued.
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66. The base layer with
edge glued glasses
and the new glass
begins to be
assembled.
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67. Float soldering the base layer.
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68. Adding a layer of plating to the back of the base layer.
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69. Installing additional plates of glass to the panel.
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70. Soldering the newest level of plating.
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71. Cold painting the cracked and
flaked painted glass of the
base layer.
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72. It is now this!
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Remember this?

73. The final restored panel with plating applied.
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74. Packing the restored
leaded stained glass
panels for shipment to
the site.

75. Windows crated and ready for shipment to site for re-
installation.

76. The re-installation of the restored window on-site.

77. Preparing the final documentation
portfolio containing:
• before & after photos of each section
• detail photos of problem areas
• copies of contracts
• lists of materials used
• a CD with electronic copies of all
documentation

78. Documentation Package
Includes:
Copies of rubbings given to the
client for their archives.
Documentation portfolio given to
the client for their archives.

79. Similarities
A detail of the large
window we restored
after the Galveston
Hurricane.
Does it look at all
familiar?.

80. Similarities
Large studios would
often adapt successful
designs and use them
for a number of
projects. This “Christ
and the Children theme
has been used in a
least four different
churches throughout
the country.

81. Preservation of Every Detail
When you choose Willet
Hauser to preserve your
legacy, every detail is
lovingly restored in all
its architectural integrity
and beauty, backed by
our long-standing
tradition of restorative
excellence.

82. Next Steps
• Contact your Willet Hauser representative to
resolve any questions.
• Select Willet Hauser as your stained glass
studio.
• The Willet Hauser Studio Representative will
contact you to begin the collaboration that will
assure the best long lasting care and protection
for your windows.

83. Our Promise to You
You can trust your
legacy to our legacy.

84. Where Light Learns to Speak……
We are Looking Forward to
Working with You