Although this process is called “silvering,” yet no silver is
used; the substance at the back of the glass is a mixture of tin
and mercury, called an “amalgam,”--indeed, the term “amalgam”
applies to all mixtures of mercury with other metals. The process
is as follows:--A sheet of “tin-foil” (tin rolled out to about the
thickness of paper) the size of the glass to be silvered is placed on
a perfectly level table, covered with cloth; upon the tin-foil some
mercury is poured, and spread evenly and quickly over the surface
with a hare’s foot. The plate of glass is in the meanwhile to be
made perfectly clean and dry--not the slightest speck or smear must
remain. A sheet of tissue paper, also clean and dry, is laid over the
surface of the mercury, the plate of glass is placed on the paper and
made to correspond with the mercurialised tin-foil beneath. Weights
are now placed on the plate of glass to keep it firmly down, and the
sheet of paper is drawn out steadily and slowly; as it passes over
the surface of the mercury it brings away all film or dust, and the
surface being left perfectly bright, adheres so firmly to the dry
glass that it is not easily removed. A great difficulty is to prevent
air-bubbles from finding their way between the glass and mercury. The
table is now raised slightly at one end, and the superfluous mercury
allowed to drain off. After a few hours the tin-foil will be found
to be completely united all through with the mercury, and will be so
brittle that it can be scraped off in powder from the glass. Great
care and practice are required to silver large plates, but any one by
a few trials may succeed perfectly with a piece of glass a few inches
square. Glass globes are silvered inside by shaking in them a mixture
of mercury and tin filings until it adheres to the surface of the
glass, which must first be made perfectly dry and warm.