What we are working on....
First Parish Church- Brookline, MA
Sarah Wyman Whitman- “Lowell Memorial 1899”
Church of the Covenant - Boston, MA
Tiffany Studios,”Dorcas” 1893”
Imagine being the care taker of one of Boston’s most beautiful churches, decorated entirely by the Tiffany Studio’s; Windows, chandelier, wallpaper....Now, imagine for a moment walking into the church one morning and find this...One of the Tiffany windows severely damaged by vandals.
On the morning of November 10, 2011 this is exactly what Brian Reardon, Church administrator was welcomed with. I received a call around 10:00 that morning from Brian, and I could tell from his voice that something was wrong. “Roberto, one of our windows was smashed with a fire extinguisher” My first thought was, how could anyone do this? And why? But, someone did. The Boston Globe recently wrote a story about the incidence and you can read it by clicking here.
Needless to say, I loaded some plywood, ladders etc., and along with one of my most trusted worker, Matthew Fallon, went to the church to assess the damage and remove what was left of the window. It was truly a sad site.
“
Here is what we were able to pick up from the floor. Don’t know if you’ll be able to use any of it” said Brian, 
handing me a box half full of shards of colored opalescent and drapery glass.
The entire window was removed, the
opening covered and back to the studio
we go.
Once in the studio we began going through the box of
glass and separated the shards by color and texture in trying to get a sense of what went where, so that we could start figuring out what glass was needed. The panels were than photographed, documented with acid free vellum
Our biggest challenge at the moment is trying to find a good replacement for the drapery glass destroyed.
Visit soon as I will be posting periodically as the restoration proceeds.
Roberto
Southern Connecticut State University
Tiffany Landscape window restoration.
In 1960, The First Church of Christ in New Haven, CT was restored to its original early nineteenth-century architectural style. They donated this large Tiffany landscape window to the Southern Connecticut State University, where it was installed in a large light box in the campus library, 
along with two other plated opalescent windows. In 2008, the University began the renovation and large addition to their library with plans to build a glass wall where these beautiful windows could be installed and viewed in natural light. This landscape window titled “The Water Brooks Window”, in memory of Ezekiel Hayes Trowbridge, measures 54” wide x 98” high, (not including the bottom memorial inscription panel which measures 11” in height), is a single panel fabricated entirely with copper foil and no support bars, but with an intricate, thorough application of brass fins on the exterior. In September of 2008, our studio was awarded the contract to repair and conserve all of the opalescent windows for the Buley Library. The University’s Project Manager and his team, were aware of the importance of these windows and their historic value. Their goal was to select a studio with sufficient understanding and knowledge of minimally invasive procedures and a philosophy of intervention only where absolutely necessary. We are very proud to have been selected to conserve these beautiful windows and look forward to the challenge.
“The Hector”
This stunning Tiffany window titled “The Hector” designed a
nd fabricated in 1898 is the second Tiffany window from The First Church of Christ in New Haven, CT also being restored and conserved by our studio for the Southern Connecticut State University Library. The Hector was the ship which brought the early colonist to New Haven, CT in 1638. In the corners of the window are depicted the congregation’s four meeting houses dated 1640, 1670, 1757 and 1814. Up to five layers of glass are found in some areas of this window.
Designed and fabricated by Sarah Wyman Whitman in 1899 and 1902, the “Lowell Memorial Window” located in the North transept of the First Parish Church, was installed in two sections; In 1899 the window’s central lancet, a gift of Judge John Lowell and his wife, Lucy Buckminster Lowell, was installed in memory of their three deceased children. It bears the inscription “In memory of Olivia Buckminster, Mary Lothrop and George Emerson, children of John and Lucy Buckminster Lowell” Below are the words “Blessed are the pure in heart.” In 1902 the two flanking lancets were installed to complete the window. At this time we are re
storing the left and right lancet only. Each lancet is made of five individual panels, heavily plated with three layers of opalescent glass throughout, with up to four and five layers in some sections of the panels. The panels were found to be extremely dirty and covered with an incredible amount of soot, mainly from an old coal burning furnace. For a window
fabricated 109 years ago, the lead matrix is in remarkably good condition, proving once again that the philosophy and blanket statement made by some other stained glass studios that stained glass windows must be re-leaded every 80 years or so because the lead deteriorates. The layers were gently removed from the high-heart leads, the old dried out putty was removed and the lead channels cleaned. After all glass has been cleaned and repaired where necessary, we will re-insert the glass in the original lead, solder the lead joints and waterproof the panels. We have just begun dismantling, therefore no panels have been reassembled yet, therefore we hope you return periodically to see
the progress.
