Introduction
Paperweights have been used for decades. A decorative heavy object placed on top of important papers to stop them blowing away with a breeze. Glass paperweights were first produced around 1845 mainly in France. The period of this sought after item quickly declined. However in mid-twentieth century there was a new interest in Glass paperweights.
Brief History
Between 1845 and 1860 there were 3 main factories in France that made paperweights. These were Baccarat, Saint-Louis and Clichy. It is estimated during these years approximately 25,000 paperweights were made.
1930’s seen the reintroduction of glass paperweights with artists producing some glass art work in the form of paperweights. Some of these artists from this time onwards included Paul Ysart, William Manson, Peter McDougall, Peter Holmes and John Deacons.
In the 1940’s in the United States Of America a business man by the name of Charles Kaziun had started to manufacture glass items. These included glass ink wells, buttons, bottles and paperweights etc.
1950’s-1970’s seen some small studio works of glass paperweights. Lundberg Studios, Orient and Flume, Correia Art Glass, St. Clair, Lotton, and Parabelle Glass all created their own distinguished designs.
Glass Techniques Used For Making Paperweights
There are 2 main types of glass making for paperweights:
Millefiori, this is where thin coloured layers of glass are used to create intricate designs. The sections of coloured glass are moulded prior to being set in the glass. Usually the paperweights with this technique are flat or slightly curved.
Lamp-work, in which a torch or lamp is used to melt the glass to be blown in the required shape. To crate a 3D image inside of the dome, thin layers of coloured glass are blown into varied shapes (for example animals). Then they are encased in the domed glass. Sometimes controlled bubbles are blown into the glass to create a distinctive design.
There is a lot of Workmanship that goes into crating the glass paperweight. The main issues to look out for when crateing such delicate art work is as follows:
Make sure there is no yellow or greenish cast
No unintentional asymmetries
No unevenly spaced or broken elements
Are there any visible flaws, such as unintended bubbles, striations and scratches.
Where to find us
Currently here at Wildcard we have a selection of Vintage Glass Paperweights in stock. Please click on the online shop link below for items and prices.
Wildcard Curiosities is based in Freemen’s Common Antique Centre, 8 Counting House Road, Leicester, LE2 7LT.
The centre is open from Tuesday – Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
There is a café and toilets on site
We also have an online shop