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"Paperweight" is something of a misnomer. They rarely hold down any paper--they are rather magnificent examples of fine workmanship of the glass artisan at his best, and are appreciated for their esthetic as opposed to their utilitarian aspect.
Paperweights are made in factories where many artists and technicians collaborate, as well as in studios occupied by sole artisans. Both may produce inexpensive "gift" weights as well as the more expensive "collector" weights. The dividing line between these classes, of course, is up to the individual collector. An advantage of paperweight collecting, as opposed to many other collectables such as oil paintings and toys, is that they require no special conditions of temperature and humidity for their preservation.
There are a number of paperweight collectors associations, which hold national and regional conventions and other activities such as tours, lectures, and auctions. There are several different types of paperweights, and collectors often specialize in just one of them.
- Millefiori paperweights contain thin cross-sections of cylindrical composite canes made from colored rods and resemble little flowers. These are usually made in a factory setting. The exist in many variations such as scattered, patterned, close concentric or carpet ground.
- Lampwork paperweights have objects such as flowers, fruit, butterflies or animals constructed by shaping and working bits of colored glass with a gas burner or torch and assembling them into attractive compositions, which are then incorporated into the dome. This is a form particularly favored by studio artists.
- Sulfide paperweights have an encased three dimensional medallion or portrait plaque made from a ceramic. They often are produced to commemorate some person or event.
- Swirl paperweights have opaque rods of two or three colors radiating like a pinwheel from a central millefiori floret.
- California style paperweights are made by "painting" the surface of the dome with colored molten glass, and manipulated with picks or other tools. They may also be sprayed while hot with various metallic salts to achieve an iridescent look.
- Victorian Portrait and advertising paperweights were dome glass paperweights first made in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania using a process patented in 1882 by William H. Maxwell. The portrait paperweights contained pictures of ordinary people reproduced on a milk-glass disk and encased within clear glass.
Various other embellishments may be done to enhance the beauty of the paperweight. The dome or the base may be faceted or etched. It may be coated with one or more thin layers of glass and then have windows cut through it to reveal the interior motif. The ground on which the inner parts rest may be clear, colored or have a granular ground made of unfused sand, or resemble lace (latticinio).
As in any fine work of art, the factors influencing the value of a paperweight are workmanship, design, rarity and condition. Visible flaws, such as bubbles, striations and scratches usually affects the value quite a lot. Glass with a yellow or greenish cast is not found in good collections. Unintentional asymmetries and unevenly spaced or broken elements must be absent. Generally, there are no "happy accidents" in a good paperweight. Everything in it was intentionally put there by the artist. In a modern piece, an identifying mark and date are imperative.
There are two eras in which paperweights were produced: the "classical" period, 1845 to 1860, and the modern period, from about 1950 to the present day. The antiques were produced mostly in three factories in France: Baccarat, St. Louis, and Clichy.
Weights were also produced in the U.S. and Great Britain and elsewhere, but they were generally of a lesser quality.
Are Paperweights Worth their Weight in Gold?
They range in value anywhere from a few dollars to a record of $258,500 once paid for an antique French weight. Thus paperweight collecting is a hobby accessible to those with limited means, as well as those having a passion for rarity in addition to beauty.
In the end, a paperweight may be sitting on your desk right now holding down a stack of bills..what if?
Other guides relating to jewelry and gemstone buying which you may find helpful are as follows:
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