The Suess Art Glass Company manufactured leaded, plate, and beveled glass and mirrors, as well as a variety of other products, including lenses for automobile headlamps. Headlamps were not issued standard on cars until 1912, and performance and quality varied wildly. John Suess patented two devices for the rib lenses he sold, which controlled the headlight beam and eliminated "glare and dazzle." The company operated at its original location at 2421 Western Avenue until about 1910, then moved to Virginia Street near 8th Avenue, where John's son Walter ran the company at least until 1940.
This receipt from September 8, 1915 charges for glass work for a "Westlake Hotel" job to Austin E. Griffiths. Griffiths was a lawyer, King County Superior Court Judge, Seattle City Councilman, and Chief of Police. The printed receipt includes an engraved illustration of stained glass windows.
Caption information sources: The Seattle Sunday Times: July 13, 1919, p. 6; and November 9, 1930, p. 7; "Austin Griffiths, Civic Leader, Taken by Death," The Seattle Daily Times, July 3, 1952.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
