Silvering Mirrors

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For the Scientific American I beg the privilege of offering your readers a tew remarks, in reply to an article in your journal of the 25th of April, on the subjeet of "Silvering Glass." The remarks by my excellent friend, the editor ot the " Prattsville Advocate," and which you kindly transferred to your columns, are emphatically true. He testified of what he had seen, and they say, in this age, that "seeing is believing." Since then I have greatly improved the process in its application to large surfaces; and when I again visit the city I shall be happy to show you a reflecting surface, in which Mr. Editor, publisher, and all hands may see exactly what manner of men they are. You refer to other inventors of processes for coating glass with pure silver. With all those processes I am perfectly familiar, having repeatedly tried them all, but always with the evidence resulting that they were impracticable on several accounts. So they have been regarded by those in Europe who purchased the rights, and the attempts to work them on a large scale have been abandoned. My process, on the contrary, is eminently practical on a scale ot any magnitude: I mean that I can silver the largest glass manufactured, iii a few minutes, most beautifully and completely, and that it will ever after remain pure and spotless; and that I can do this any desirable number of times with much greater certainty than usually attaches to chemical processes. My process is wholly unlike the others referred to, excepting that I use " pure silver," a circumstance which in no way affects my origin lity, for this much-loved article is not patentable, I imagine. To your intimation that Pam " exceedingly fortunate," and " most lucky," in making wonderful discoveries, I plead guilty. My entire time is devoted to scientific pursuits, and it is but fair- that I should occasionally get a peep behind the curtain. Allow me to say that these pursuits are mostly connected with my discovery in heliochromy, and that the latter is not neglected, but will be forthcoming hereafter. This is a perplexing pursuit; but I have mastered its greatest difficulties, and shall be able to present the world a process which, in its completed state, will be easily worked, and surpassingly beautiful in its results. L. L. HILL. Westkill, Greene Co., May 5, 1853. [We would much rather know the process than see the mirror. We have always understood that the silvering of glass on any scale, with pure silver, was quite successful in Europe. We trust that Mr. Hill's discovery will greatly advance the art; if it is superior to the old plans it will soon supersede them. Ol course we cannot form an opinion pro or con, until we know what it is.—ED.

Scientific American Magazine Vol 8 Issue 36This article was published with the title “Silvering Mirrors” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 8 No. 36 (), p. 283
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican05211853-283b

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