A person admiring the beautiful colors in a piece of porce- 
lain, glass or enamel ware—and enameled stove colored in 
mahogany, black and white and other colors—has no idea 
of the long, tedious, painstaking work required to produce 
a color. Often it takes an expert years to bring cut a par- 
ticular shade. 
An important branch of the company’s system is the 
research department. A large laboratory fully equipped 
is maintained where new colors are produced, better methods 
for using old and new materials are developed, and where the 
materials manufactured are tested to keep them uniform. 
This department is famous throughout the United States, 
Canada and Mexico. Not a day passes but some query 
comes in by phone, by mail or by person asking for the cor- 
rect or most approved method of using some material. Mr. 
Hommel, together with his staff of experts, are often called 
upon as consultants by glass, pottery and iron enamel manu- 
facturers who are having technical or other difficulties. 
In the early days, the method of blending and shading 
colors on pottery and glass was crude Stippling and dry 
dusting were tried and discarded as unsatisfactory. Mr. 
Hommel, seeing the possibilities in the advancement of 
decorating if an instrument or tool could be made to produce 
the proper effects with his experts, set to work on the prob- 
lem. The result was the air brush—a spraying tool operated 
oy compressed air. The air brush has revolutionized the 
glass and pottery industries. By its use every variety of 
shade and blend of color are applied to ware. This we see 
in lamp shades and bases; white lamps in hospitals, trains 
and offices, with blends of ivory effects; vases of every color 
and shade; and other articles too numerous to mention. 
Nearly every pottery and glass factory now has its decorating 
shop, many making this the important part of their business. 
Thousands of men and women are employed in these shops 
in all manner of art decorating. The air brush has been 
developed and improved until now there is an air brush for 
every kind of surfacing from the smallest piece of art china 
or glassware to the largest objects—even house painting. 
The industry has an appeal to the educational institutions 
of the city. Every year chemical students from our high