Chance was looking for ways to improve the production of flat glass at his newly formed factory in Smethwick, Birmingham.
During this time, he helped advise on the optics that Chance's fledgling operation was trying to develop for use in lighthouses.
He was also instrumental in producing a flint and crown glass disc, measuring 29-inches (74 cm) in diameter, which ironically, was purchased by the French government to be used in a telescope.
He is attributed with the re-invention of a technique used to make ruby-red glass that was first produced by Venetian glassworkers in the 16th century.
Translated by Michael Cable, 2008 History of the Firm of Chance Brothers & Co. Glass and Alkali Manufacturers, A, J.F.