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Glass Letter Cutting

This is the cutting out of glass letters, and includes the selection of the glass, and cutting, bevelling, and polishing. This is the most skilled branch for men and the best paid. The forms of letters are drawn on a sheet of paper; the apprentice has squares of glass which he places over the drawn letters and traces the shapes on to the glass. The form of the letters having been traced on to the surface of the glass, the squares are sent into another department to be gilded by girls; this done, they are returned to be cut into shape by a skilled workman. This part of the work requires great skill and care. The letters when shaped are passed on to men to be smoothed, rouged if necessary, bevelled, and polished. The smoothers, bevellers, and polishers, all sit at tubs containing water, and do their work by dipping the part on which they are working into water and holding it against a revolving wheel.

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Staff Notice

You girls in gilding. I know that you are young and like to enjoy yourselfs, but this work is urgent and I have to employ skilled workmen and they do not care to be kept waiting when they want more work because their wages depend
upon it. And I do not care to be kept waiting because I have orders. So you will kindly remember that there are rules and the rules are that when you work you have one lunch hour and there must always be someone working while you are not working at lunch time. You have fifteen minutes in the morning and fifteen minutes in the afternoon and that includes the time for boiling the kettle and for washing up, that is quite clear, and should be quite long enough for anything else you have to do unless you are sick in which case you should say so.