Harry James Powell on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Harry James Powell (24 January 1853 – 26 November 1922) was a British glassmaker associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement. He was manager and chief glassmaker of James Powell and Sons from 1875 to 1919. He is best known for his innovations in the production of vessel glass, his contributions of new, medieval-like glass to the Arts and Crafts Movement, and the invention of innovative glass materials designed for the war effort during World War I.
From the beginning of his career, Powell studied the history of glass and glass making. He scientifically analyzed historic glassware and would to try to recreate the old glass. He also investigated new kinds of glass. Powell discovered that by exposing glass to higher temperatures, he could change the colour in dramatic ways. By 1877, Powell had successfully produced new 
In the early 1890s, Powell was experimenting with new glass colours, trying to replicate medieval glass. The new colours were developed for the use in the mosaics designed by
Biography
Harry James Powell was the grandson of James Powell, founder of James Powell and Sons Glass Company (originally known as Whitefriars Glassworks) in London. Powell graduated from Trinity College, Oxford in 1873, where he studied mechanics, physics andchemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
.
Powell was hired at Powell's
Powell's Books is a chain of bookstores in Portland, Oregon, and its surrounding metropolitan area. Powell's headquarters, dubbed Powell's City of Books, claims to be the largest independent new and used bookstore in the world. Powell's City of ...
in 1873. He managed the company beginning in 1875 until his retirement in 1919. He was made a partner of the firm in 1893. Powell was chief designer of glassware. His intricate designs of vases, bowls and glassware had a strong following, as the interest and demand for Arts and Crafts Movement style glass and later Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
glass soared.
From the beginning of his career, Powell studied the history of glass and glass making. He scientifically analyzed historic glassware and would to try to recreate the old glass. He also investigated new kinds of glass. Powell discovered that by exposing glass to higher temperatures, he could change the colour in dramatic ways. By 1877, Powell had successfully produced new opalescent
Opalescence refers to the optical phenomena displayed by the mineraloid gemstone opalopalescent. 2019. In Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language. Retrieved January 7, 2019, from https://1828.mshaffer.com/d/word/opale ...
glass, a milky opaque straw opal and blue opal, which were very well received in the America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
In the early 1890s, Powell was experimenting with new glass colours, trying to replicate medieval glass. The new colours were developed for the use in the mosaics designed by William Blake Richmond
Sir William Blake Richmond KCB, , PPRBSA (29 November 184211 February 1921) was a British painter, sculptor and a designer of stained glass and mosaic. He is best known for his portrait work and decorative mosaics in St Paul's Cathedral in ...
for St. Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Gr ...
. The new, heavier glass, often with light veins of colour, expanded the company's glass palette and was highly favored by artists of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
Powell wrote down his experiments and made detailed notes of his impressions and work in notebooks. The notebooks are now preserved in the British Museum.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Powell applied his scientific knowledge to create new products that were used in science, industry and the war effort in the First World War. Powell's innovations include x-ray tubes, light bulbs, and new thermometers. "His development of toughened glass for thermometer tubes, optical glass and ultimately for toughened glass for use on naval mines in World War I earned him his CBE, but brought the company through the difficult war years and able to expand vigorously afterwards".
In 1919, Powell retired from the company. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his services during the First World War, which included the products he developed for the war effort. Powell died at his home in Dulwich on 26 November 1922. He was buried in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
.
His book ''Glass Making in England'' was posthumously published in 1923.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Harry James 1853 births 1922 deaths Arts and Crafts movement artists British glass artists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Members of London County Council Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford