How It's Made

Behind every piece of pressed glass is a custom cast iron mould that helps create the shape and fine details. As the hot glass is pressed into it, it begins to cool and take on the shape of the mould. These moulds often have multiple moveable parts that swing open to allow for careful removal of the glass figurine once it's pressed. Look closely at your Mosser cat; see the tiny little seams? That's where the mould pieces fit together to make your cat. If you zoom in on the images of the mould above, you can see the intricate patterns in the fur, the jewel-shaped eyes and the friendly feline face we've all come to love. 

Your Mosser cat starts out its journey in a liquid state of hot melted glass. Just how hot does it get? The raw materials in the glass are raised to an impressive melting point of 2500°F. The glass working temperature for pressing it in the mould varies from 1800°F to 2000°F. Pressed glass ingredients include lyme, sodium nitrate, soda ash, silica sand, mineral or chemical colorants and leftover glass from the factory. Each batch is mixed entirely by hand. This is why you may notice slight variations in certain colors. Mosser Glass currently has two day tanks and three pot furnaces in their factory. They are all fired by natural gas. 

After the glass is heated up to the correct temperature, it's ready to be gathered and poured into a mould. The cast iron moulds are warmed up to around 1000°F, this takes place 1 to 3 hours before production begins. A person called the gatherer inserts a rod with a ceramic ball on the end into the furnace. This rod is called a punty. As they turn the ball in a circular motion, hot glass clings to it. Once the correct amount is gathered, they will transfer the hot glass over to pour into the mould (pictured right).

When the mould is partly full, a worker snips the liquid glass with scissors to cut the flow (pictured left). The mould is then slid under the mechanical press.

Once the mould is under the mechanical press, it's aligned with the plunger. A worker pulls a large lever that exerts great force on the plunger. This pressure squeezes the glass into every crevice of the mould ensuring an excellent impression that shows even the tiniest of details.

The lever on the mechanical press is released and the mould is pulled out. A small metal plunger is inserted into the top of the mould. The cat is actually upside down in the mould with the feet facing up. This is how you get the imprint on the bottom of the cat from the plunger. The early vintage cats were often stamped with the letter "M" underneath using this technique. After the plunger is removed, the worker then carefully lifts the top off the mould. The intense pressure from the mechanical press has caused excess hot glass to flow into the top. The glass is quickly cut free with a pair of metal scissors. 

The excess glass is swiftly knocked out of the top with a small metal rod (pictured left). This glass is collected in a metal barrel where it will later be recycled and used again in the near future. Look closely, and you will see various stages of cooling in the pieces. The middle piece is still glowing bright yellow-orange; the one on the left has changed to an intense red, while the one at the top right is a faded red that changes to cobalt blue (the color the Mosser cats are being run in). 

As the glass begins to cool, it hardens just enough to be extracted from the mould. Metal tongs wrapped in cloth are used to carefully remove the Mosser cat since the glass is still soft enough to be damaged. Glowing a fiery red-orange, the cat is placed inside a cylindrical hose. This hose gently pumps air around the figurine to help cool the glass further. A torch with a steady flame sits right above its head. This ensures that the ears (the easiest part to crack) don't cool off too quickly and cause stress to the glass. If tiny cracks are noticed in the ears, then a worker will apply more heat to the torch to reheat the ears. This intense heat remelts the glass just enough to remove the cracks while still retaining its shape. This is why some of your Mosser cats have rounder ears and smoother facial features than others. 

After a few minutes of cooling off, the cat is moved to a table while it waits for its next journey to the glazer. The fiery red-orange is slowly replaced with a softer glow. You begin to see more hints of cobalt blue, especially in the ears. The time has finally come, a worker armed with cloth-wrapped tongs grabs the cat and quickly heads to the glazer.

The glass has now firmed up enough to take a couple of trips through the glazer. The cats are rotated in a circular motion through the glazer. First upside down, and then right side up. As the cat moves through the glazer, intense gas flames fire the glass and melt off the very outer layer, leaving it with a smoother, shinier finish. This important part of the process is actually polishing the glass. This is the reason your Mosser cat has such a glossy surface.

Here are some closer images of the Mosser cats in the glazer. Notice the cascading veil of flames. Between the 2500°F glass temps and the intense heat of the glazer, these cats are certainly much tougher than we give them credit for!

If your Mosser cat is supposed to have an iridized (carnival) finish, it heads over to a separate spraying booth. While the cat is still hot from the glazer, it's sprayed with metallic oxides (sometimes called metallic salts). The metallic salts react to the heat of the glass, which brings out the iridescent properties of the metallic oxides, creating a rainbow iridescence across the surface. Note: Cats that are supposed to have a satin finish are produced by spraying hydrofluoric acid or hydrofluoric acid fumes on the surface. The acid is able to cut through the uppermost layers of the glass to give a satin-like look and feel, and remove the shine. 

As each cat is sprayed with metallic salts, revealing their rainbow iridescent shimmer, they are one by one lined up on a cloth-covered metal paddle with a long pole. Once the paddle is full, it's time to take a trip to the final leg of the journey, the lehr. 

We finally made it to the last step! It's time for your Mosser cat to go to the lehr. It's like a giant oven for glass. This step is called "annealing" the glass. The glass is first heated and then slowly cooled to room temperature over a period of three and a half hours. This gradual heating and cooling is critical. It releases stress in the pressed glass to make it less likely to shatter.

With production complete, an impressive army of Cobalt Blue Mosser cats await their new home. The cats pictured here were all eagerly adopted by collectors worldwide. 

Mosser Glass currently only makes Mosser cats as a custom order for glass dealers or certain businesses. A four-hour run can produce around 300 to 350 cats, depending on breakages. Some colors were ordered as a double run (eight hours), which could produce anywhere from 600 to 700 cats.