Vitremanie is the process by which glass of all kinds may be easily, durably, inexpensively, and elegantly decorated by any person. Diaphanie, which this art supersedes, was a great success, (no less than 250,000 sheets of designs having been sold in England alone). It had, however, its defects; the sheets being applied with transfer varnish, bubbles of air sometimes remained between the design and the glass, which in the subsequent process of rubbing off the paper, resulted in holes; this rubbing off, moreover, required much time, patience, and care, and was rarely perfectly performed. These defects are obviated by Vitremanie. By this method the designs, after being covered with Glucine, may be applied to the glass with water only, and the paper removed entire, a few minutes sufficing for the operation, and nothing being left upon the glass but the design in colors of unclouded brilliancy and transparency.

The Materials Required are as follows: The printed designs, three brushes, (two of camel’s hair and one of hog’s hair), a bottle of each, Glucine and enamel varnish, a roller, a sponge, a little blotting paper, and a pair of scissors.

The instructions are very simple. With the camel-hair brush pass a coating of Glucine over the colored face of the designs that are proposed to be used, care being taken that the Glucine does not touch the plain side of the paper; the sheets of the designs should be laid flat to dry, they should be left two or three days before being used, and they will remain good for three months, or even longer.

To apply the design to the glass it should be wetted with water on both sides, the glass should also be wetted; lay the design on the glass, and roll well down—all air bubbles will be easily removed by this means—keep the plain side of the paper wet for a few minutes, then, with the point of a knife, carefully raise a corner of the paper and pull it gently off; the work is now to be washed with a camel-hair brush and water, and afterwards dried by placing a piece of blotting paper over the work, and rolling it; leave it now for a few hours, then coat it with enamel varnish, and the work is finished. In removing the paper it is sometimes better, particularly when the design is large, to carefully scratch a hole in the paper, and tear it off in pieces from the center. The work is more easily performed on free glass, cut to the proper sizes, and afterwards fixed over the glass already in the window, by means of a bead; it may, however, be done upon the window as it stands.

The designs may be arranged to fit any window, strips of lead foil applied with gum being used for the purpose of covering the edges of the borders, groundings, etc., where they join. For circles and other shapes the strips of lead may be stretched with the thumb and fingers to any pattern desired, the creases being smoothed by the handle of a knife or paper-cutter, slightly wetted.