Honestly, the one thing really I'm learning in all of this is that the craftsperson tradition in terms of factory-made paperweights did not engender or allow personal pride in terms of signing something.
I guess an entire book could be written about tradespeople (mostly men) and craftspeople (again most men) in the 12th through 19th centuries making exquisite glass items, but not signing them individually; although sometimes the glass was signed, dated, or stamped by the factory. We know almost nothing about the men (were there any women?) who were kept in virtual isolation in small villages in France who made some of the world's greatest paperweights. Individual names are rare.
So, it comes as no surprise that this Schneider Pedestal weight continues to be a mystery. I was hoping that some people reading might know some people who collect or remember that they've seen one of these Schneider Pedestal weights in a show, or in a gallery, or at a museum.
I'm sort of saddened that, as noted, there might only be two of these because I really wanted there to be more to solve the mystery. I wanted someone to post something like: "hey, I got 20 of them and them came from my great aunt who bought them for a song as they were made by an apprentice who was allowed to do some work after hours at Millville." But nothing like this has happened. But I am also sort of happy that there are only two of them, mine and Mark's. Makes it all very cool.
I even scoured every page of an online Chinese glass catalogue (talk about excess and talk about eye strain - if I looked at one more multi-colored clown I was going to scream) and nothing matched up. Thousands of glass pieces in that catalogue, and not one match. I looked at eBay auctions for Chinese glass and Murano glass and nothing matched up.
I searched Schneider on Google again and again and came up with the usual suspects.
There's a spectacular antique show coming soon to Liverpool, New York (near Syracuse), which is set up along a gorgegeous lake - the Onondaga. It's called the 23rd Annual Great American Antiquefest, July 21, 22, 23. Tons of glass, Belleek, buttons, glass, clothing, paintings, lamps, musical instruments, kitchenware, postcards, medals, furniture, pottery, etc. One year, one guy had something like 50 German paperweights from the late 19th century or the early 29th. One elderly couple has 5000 pieces of white cut glass layed out on red velvet. I asked the old time fellow how he packed them up. He said, "what doesn't sell gets wrapped up one piece at a time." Another dealer, two gay men, have 1000 pieces of Roseville for sale.
Anyway, I hope to find a few paperweights, especially another Pedestal Crocus signed by Schneider. In fact, I better.