Topic: help identifying weight...

[maryanntique]

Hi.
None of my weights are marked that I can see and I've always assumed their only value was to me. Recently I came across one similar to mine and they had it marked as whitefriars...can anyone help me identify mine?
This is an egg shaped weight very heavy with clear and green glass, controlled bubbles, ground bottom. it's an interesting weight and I love it but wondering if anyone can tell me anything about it, age? maker? I have a heavy ashtray or salt with the same style clear and green controlled bubble, different bottom. If you think that'll help let me know and Ill add photos of it. Thanks so much for your help and this site and message board -they are invaluable!!!!
mary

[myweights]

The green one is possibly by Pilgrim Glass Corporation, West Virginia. I found one alot like yours but mine is a odd teal/blue/green with the controlled bubbles around the larger central bubble. Alot of their work included a label, but mine is long gone, if so. I found this info in American Glass Paperweights and Their Makers book. Page 159-161. They did make ashtrays and many other glass household items. No less yea or nay I am quite satisfied with mine in my collection as well. I believe the others pictured would be likely Indian/Chinese, and know zero about the picture/ad weight.

[maryanntique]

Hi. thanks so much. I am curious about the photo weight too - it's a conversation piece around here -I get a kick making up stories everytime someone asks who is in the photo!!! It is obviously old - it was an extravagance and a time consuming chore to have a photo taken in those days - makes me wonder which glass company produced these and how common they were "back in the day" I'll think I'll add a new post!!!
thanks again
Mar

[PaperweightArts]

The green paperweight is American; Pilgrim is a good guess. The smaller weights - the yellow/red and the mottled colors - are both from India and have minimal value except, as you wrote, to you as a collector. By minimal, I mean three or four dollars. The photo weight could be from anywhere; the woman seems Polish or Russian; but she could be Scandanavian. If it's an American weight, it was certainly hand-made for the owner whio probably lived in one of the northern U.S. states - anywhere from the Dakotas, through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, onto the New England states. If she's Polish-American, Illinois is a good guess as to the original source of the weight, as it has an extensive Polish-American population. If it's a European weight, again, think Poland or Russia or one of the Scandanavian centers.