Belcher Mosaic Glass Koi Fishy Business Card

These mosaic beauties are some of my favorites! Had to share them with the world! Here's a bit of history ~ A process introduced in 1886 by the Belcher Mosaic Glass Co. of Newark was the mercury mosaic window. In it, hundreds of tiny triangular glass fragments appear to flow into each other without being separated by heavy lines of metal. Used for only a few years, the manufacturing process remains a mystery. The Belcher firm produced a hand-colored sales catalogue of designs which the Cortland Old House Museum personnel were able to locate at Winterthur Museum in Wintherthur, DE. The designs fell into several categories: those with a floral theme; those for use in a transom with a house number; those with neoclassic elements popular in the late 19th century; and several pictorial scenes (fish swimming, flying bats and several with the human figure). However, in the designs with a human figure, the figure executed in large pieces of opalescent glass in lead came, with mosaic glass as the background. Due to the complexity of the designs, it is possible the mosaic process had been utilized for several years prior to 1884 when the patent was applied for.