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About Antique Window Glass

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Bendheim’s Restoration Glass® Website Tells the Story of Antique Window Glass Production

Homeowners of historic houses, design professionals, and restoration enthusiasts can now learn about the history of antique window glass on Bendheim’s Restoration Glass® website.
The story takes readers on a journey beginning in the 7th century when mouth-blown “crown” glass was originally developed and later revived in the 11th century. The 11th century also sees the invention of the mouthblown “cylinder” glass technique of making window glass, first developed in Germany. The history of authentic antique window glassmaking ends after the Industrial Revolution when the first mechanical method for “drawing” window glass is invented in the United States.
The article discusses cylinder and crown glass – two authentic, mouthblown antique window glass types typically found in historical structures in the United States. Their unique manufacturing methods are revealed, featuring vintage and contemporary photos of the mouth-blown production process.
Visitors will also find information about the benefits of Bendheim’s Restoration Glass® (new antique window glass) blending the historical accuracy of authentic antique window glass with modern technology and standards. Found in our country’s most prestigious restorations, including the White House, Mount Vernon, and Monticello, it features slight distortions and imperfections characteristic of window glasses from the 17th through early 20th centuries. Concurrently, it offers consistency of color, brilliance and body, is easier to handle than salvaged authentic antique window glass, and can be provided in safety laminated form meeting the most current safety building codes.

Bendheim Joins the U.S. Green Building Council

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Bendheim is now an established member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), joining the ranks of responsible building and design professionals and product manufacturers with a demonstrated commitment to sustainable building. As a USGBC member, Bendheim is part of “a community of leaders working to make green buildings available to everyone within a generation.”

Bendheim is committed to socially and environmentally responsible manufacturing methods throughout its processing facilities. The company collaborates exclusively with North American and European glass manufacturers demonstrating commitment to the environment through recycling and clean production processes. To learn more about Bendheim’s green initiatives, please visit www.bendheim.com/green-policy.
A range of eco-friendly Bendheim glasses can help architects and designers earn LEED® points for their projects. EcoGlass™, a new line of textured architectural glass, is manufactured by Glasfabrik Lamberts in Europe’s only clean-burning oxygen/fuel-fired cast glass furnace. It contains 60% recycled material, including up to 40% post-consumer recycled glass. Bendheim Wall Systems’ Lamberts channel glass is manufactured in the same enviro-friendly fashion and also contains as much as 60% recycled material. It is installed in a number of award-winning LEED-certified projects throughout the country.
To learn more about the USGBC and the LEED Green Building Rating System, please visit www.usgbc.org.

New Bendheim Water-Jet Glass Cutting Machine Brings Increased Production Capabilities

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Bendheim’s new extra-large capacity water jet cutting machine will speed up production on specialty-cut architectural glass orders, including template cuts, cut-outs, holes and notches, and will allow production of extremely complex shapes. Bendheim expects full operation to begin mid-October.

Bendheim’s water jet is equipped with a dynamic cutting head, allowing precision-cutting of complex shapes and curves at straight 90-degree angles, independent of the object’s thickness. In addition to glass, the water jet will cut metal, stone and composite materials.
The new manufacturing capability will enable Bendheim to offer more than 1,500 varieties of its art glasses to the architectural community, including Lamberts’ fine mouth-blown colored glasses, in precision-cut and laminated form. The company will also be able to offer their specialty decorative glasses in tile form.
The new equipment will be added to Bendheim’s advanced computer numerical control (CNC) milling machine and cutting tables at their processing facility in Passaic, N.J.

Bendheim Employee Presented the Inaugural American Glass Guild Lifetime Achievement Award

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Joseph Barnes of Bendheim received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Glass Guild (AGG), honoring his lifetime dedication to the stained glass industry. Joe’s career has spanned over 60 years, of which almost 40 are with Bendheim. He is the first recipient of the award now to be presented annually as the “Joe Barnes Lifetime Achievement Award.”

“Joe’s love of people and deeply rooted work ethic have made him a great asset to Bendheim and the stained glass industry,” said Robert Jayson, President of Bendheim. “Joe is known to be the first man in to work and one of the last to leave; one of the few who can always be relied upon to do the job, no matter what the task. I cannot imagine how many thousands of people he has helped with color selection, substitutions, shipping questions or just “how-to” advice. From assisting visitors to our warehouse to answering a telephone call, Joe has always been there to help.”
Joe Barnes himself smiles as he reflects on his lifelong journey in the field. “I got in the glass business by accident, and I never thought I would stay in it for so long,” he admits.
After World War II, Joe found his first glass job at Leo Popper’s importers of specialty glass, almost by accident. He spent years learning the business under Popper’s guidance. In 1969, Popper closed its doors, and Barnes brought his skills to Bendheim.
Joe Barnes started out at Bendheim with a variety of jobs, including customer service, glass selection, cutting, and delivery. He is still actively involved in the company’s stained glass division, and has many loyal customers to date.
“I love working with glass,” Barnes explains. ”It has charm, beauty and so many design possibilities, there is so much you can do with it. The other great part of this job is working with people. I enjoy talking to them and helping them choose their glass.”
Joe has seen Bendheim grow from a small family-owned business to a national specialty glass company with five divisions, over 100 employees, facilities on both coasts, and a New York City showroom. As the company has evolved, Joe’s commitment to work has not diminished: With his children grown up, Bendheim is as much a part of his life as ever.
“I do not want to retire. I love the family-like friendliness and connection with people here. I do not think such atmosphere exists in companies any more. This job is my life.”

AIA CES Names Bendheim Approved Continuing Education Provider

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Bendheim was recently named a Continuing Education Systems (CES) registered provider by the American Institute of Architects (AIA).  The company’s first programs for AIA and state credit focus on Decorative Architectural Glasses and Channel Glass Wall Systems. Participation in each one-hour program is free-of-charge and earns industry professionals one Health, Safety and Welfare learning unit (1 HSW LU).

Bendheim’s programs are available to architects, designers, and other building professionals as in-office presentations where the company has local representation. Programs will be held regularly at Bendheim’s New York City Showroom, located at 122 Hudson Street in TriBeCa. To schedule Lunch & Learn sessions in your office for groups of ten or more participants, call your local Bendheim representative; you may also contact Jen Miret, CEU Program Coordinator, at  1-800-221-7379, education@bendheim.com.  The Channel Glass Wall Systems course is also available online as a self-study program, and can be accessed through www.bendheimwall.com.

“We are pleased to offer building and design professionals the added value and benefit of free continuing education programs,” said Robert Jayson, President of Bendheim. “Our courses were developed by company experts with extensive field experience in specialty glasses and applications. All Bendheim lecturers have been trained in accordance with AIA CES guidelines, and they look forward to sharing their knowledge with other professionals.”
The architectural glass program (AIA CES #BEND01), titled “Decorative and Channel Glass: Aesthetic Options, Safety, and LEED,” discusses the vast array of specialty glasses, how they are manufactured, their applications, and basic safety and design concepts. A number of award-winning installations are studied to understand how specialty glass can enhance good design and contribute to “greener” buildings. Click here to download the course summary in PDF format.

 

The course titled “Channel Glass Wall Systems” (AIA CES #BWS081) offers an overview of the structural properties and design benefits of channel glass wall systems. It includes sections on performance; application; safety glazing; tests, standards and certifications; as well as studies of channel glass in LEED and “green” installations.  Click here to download the course summary in PDF format.

Bendheim Looks to the Future as It Celebrates Its 80-Year Anniversary

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S.A. Bendheim Co., Inc. has passed its 80-year milestone in the specialty glass industry. Bendheim’s founders persevered through the Great Depression, laying the foundation to become one of today’s largest, most eco-friendly and diversified sources for specialty glass.

What began as a husband and wife team in the wholesale stained glass business in Greenwich Village, New York City has grown into a company with five divisions, a New York City showroom, glass processing and distribution facilities in New Jersey and California, and 100 employees. Today, Bendheim is a national importer, fabricator, and distributor of more than 2,000 types of specialty glass.
“Over the years, our quality and honest business practices have gained us the trust of architects, designers, builders, and art glass studios throughout North America,”  said Robert Jayson, eldest of the three brothers.
The history of Bendheim began in 1927 when Sem and Margaret Bendheim started importing fine mouth-blown colored glass from the Glashütte Lamberts of Germany to cater to the needs of stained glass studios nationwide. From those early days, the Bendheims were passionate about glass. In fact, Sem was instrumental in building the core membership of the Stained Glass Association of America through his close business relationships with glass studios throughout the country.
After Sem and Margaret’s son-in-law Fred Jayson expanded the business and added many more specialty glasses, the baton was passed to his sons, the third generation – Robert, Donald and Steven Jayson. Committed to providing the most innovative glass solutions, the brothers expanded the product line through the technological advantages of tempering and lamination. Working closely with manufacturing partners around the globe, they developed and introduced Restoration Glass® and Specialty Architectural Glass to the U.S. glass market in the mid-1980s.

 

Restoration Glass® has found a place in some of America’s most famous historic homes. Made in the centuries-old anitque window glass tradition of mouth-blown sheet glasses, it has been successfully used in many high-profile restoration projects. This glass can be found in the White House, Monticello, and Mount Vernon – George Washington’s home.
The brothers established two additional glass divisions over the following years. The Architectural Glass Division introduced building and design professionals to over 2,000 of the finest decorative glass options for commercial and residential building use. Since 2001, Bendheim Wall Systems, Inc. has been the exclusive distributor of Glasfabrik Lamberts channel glass in North America. The translucent U-shaped glass contains a high percentage of recycled glass and is produced in Europe’s first environmentally sensitive oxygen-fired cast glass melting furnace. Bendheim Wall Systems’ channel glass installations have received multiple industry and consumer awards, including two 2008 AIA National Honor Awards for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Bloch Building in Kansas City, Mo., and the Shaw Center for the Arts in Baton Rouge, La.
“Bendheim has been running an ecologically friendly business long before being green became popular. The company invests in advanced green manufacturing machinery and partners with other businesses that employ clean production practices,” said Steven Jayson.
The most recent division, Bendheim Cabinet Glass, was created in 2007 to respond to the public’s need for specialty glass products. The company launched a website allowing homeowners, for the first time, the ability to order directly from a collection of more than a hundred of the finest glasses for home and office projects.
 “As we look to the future, we expect to continue to add new products and manufacturing processes, expand our existing green practices, and continue building Bendheim as a national brand based on the high standards and relationship-driven philosophy set forth by our grandparents,” added Donald Jayson.