A Good One for the Collector
|
Glass paperweights, particularly those of the millefiori style are fascinating and in real terms are a recent addition to the glass making art. In fact they really only started to be made in any numbers in the mid 19th century, making their product span only a little more than a 150 years. When one considers that the ancient Romans and Egyptians had solved the problem of making glass over 2,000 years ago, it puts the time scale of glass paperweights into perspective.
A book on the subject is a must for the novice, or any other collector for that matter, as many of the earlier paperweights have nothing to aid the collector in establishing which factory they come from. How does one tell an old paperweight from a relatively new one. Well, experience and looking at as many different weights as possible, either in the flesh, so to speak or good quality photographs is the only way to get a `feel' for the different factories.
Some paperweights do in fact have `signatures.' Later Perthshire paperweights usually have a cane, normally in the centre of the weight with a P on it. Some of John Deacons weights have a cane with a thistle emblem and so on. The canes are the small coloured pieces of glass that are set into the base of millefiori paperweights.
This particular book covers the main factories of France, Scotland and the US. Some of the makers marks or the labels they place on their products are shown and full colour photographs of more than 150 weights are shown. The book also tells the beginner what to look out for when purchasing paperweights. As with most collectibles conditions is everything. If you simply want the weight as a decorative piece of glass, small faults are acceptable and in some of the old papwerweights scratches are virtually unavoidable but if you are trying to get a worthwhile collection together perfection is the key to value.
|
|
|
United States | 
United Kingdom | 
Canada