Stained Glass Tools

Stained Glass Books

The right stained glass books will help you to create beautiful pieces.

If your hobby is stained glass, you will enjoy reading about the wide variety of stained glass books. Stained glass books also make great gifts.

Popular Stained Glass Books

A Thousand Years of Stained Glass by Catherine Brisac: this is a lovely coffee table book, and contains some beautiful images.

Stained Glass in England by June Osborne: This is one of my favourite books about stained glass. One of my friends bought it on a trip to England. She has used it various times to find interesting windows, and I borrowed it from her when I visited the UK myself. There is a well-written introduction, and the general history section is interesting to read. There are also some nice illustrations. The best part of the book, however, is the way in which interesting windows are listed by county.

Stained Glass in Catholic Philadelphia by Jean M. Farnsworth, Carmen R. Croce, and Joseph F. Chorpenning: this is a beautiful, big coffee table book. It is filled with 505 pages of lovely pictures of stained glass windows from Catholic churches in the city of Philadelphia. There are notes about the individual stained glass artworks and nice descriptions about the history of these lovely images. It is a recommended book for American Art History collections.

Stained Glass Before 1700 in the Colleges by V.C. Raguin et al: this is a very expensive book, and is aimed mainly at serious historians and academic institutions. The illustrations are in black and white. This is not meant as a coffee table artbook, but rather as a serious, indepth discussion about stained glass.

The Armor of Light by Meredith Parsons: this book is very popular with people who enjoy stained glass. The illustrations are beautiful. It includes some photographs of medieval glass in churches which have since been closed down, and as such is a valuable read.

Books for stained glass crafters

In addition to books about stained glass, there are also a number of books showing people how to work in stained glass. These include:

• Stained Glass: Step by Step by Patricia Ann Daley  - this is a good beginners’ guide and has some guided projects with step-by-step instructions and good illustrations.
• How to Work in Stained Glass by Anita Isenberg – this is a detailed and acclaimed guide, but is not suitable for absolute beginners.
• Stained Glass in an Afternoon by Vicki Payne  - this is a nicely laid out guide with a number of projects that can be completed in half a day. A hobbyist will really enjoy this book and the projects it details.

There are many more stained glass books on Amazon and other popular online book retailers. These books are very beautiful and popular to have as a coffee table book. In addition, serious hobbyists will enjoy knowing about the details of popular stained glass windows, the history behind the stained glass images and more. The photographs in most of these books are well taken, and anyone will enjoy receiving such a book as a gift. In addition, if you enjoy crafting stained glass, these books will provide inspiration and ideas for further craft projects.