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FRANCE - JUNE 10: Engraving. Plate or sheet glass was first produced in France in 1688, using a new process whereby molten glass was poured onto a special surface, rolled flat and left to cool. This method allowed larger, better quality sheets to be produced. Illustration from 'Manufacture des Glaces', ('Glass Manufacture') by Denis Diderot (1713-1784), published in Paris in 1765, an excerpt from 'Encyclopedie, ou Dictionnaire Raisonne des Sciences, des Arts et des Metiers', edited by Diderot and Jean d'Alembert (1717-1783). The 'Grand Encyclopedie' (Encyclopedia or Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts and Professions) was a manifesto for a new way of looking at the world. It described many of the processes which transformed the world during the Industrial Revolution. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)