Topic: Just starting out, what to collect?

[HeavyWeight]

Hi,

First post so, hello, and please be gentle.

I recently attended the Cambridge Glass Flair with a very loose general interest in glass and while there I was quite taken by the paperweights, to the point where I feel I've been "bitten by the bug". Since then I've been researching, scouring ebay, Etsy and other auction sites and sucking up as much info as i can.

I particularly like the close pack millefiori weights. If I had the cash I'd like to start collecting the antique french weights particularly Baccarat but unfortunately for the mean time i don't. So I'm trying to establish what i like and what's affordable. Currently I'm looking at Perthshire and Whitefriars. Perthshire seems quite accessible with weights starting at fairly low prices and rising from there. It seems to me that some of their designs are quite crude though, particularly the general release, earlier stuff. Although I realise at the other end of the scale some are very high quality. I also prefer millefiori where the ground is dome shaped and the canes wrap around with it (if that makes any sense). Most of the Perthshires seem to have flat ground. Whitefriars generally seem higher quality (?) but all their weights seem to be facetted and I generally prefer the domed variety, although the facetted designs are growing on me.

Anyway, i was wondering how you guys restrict your collections? Do you just collect whatever takes your fancy? Do you restrict yourselves to a certain manufacturer, or country, or time period? Do you only buy if the weight is pristine? Or limited addition / rare? Or with it's original box? Or with the potential for financial gains? etc etc.

I realise i can collect whatever I like I was just wondering how other people approached it?

Any other advice is of course welcome.

Thanks for reading.

[bat20]

I'm very much just starting out and like you on a budget,I enjoy the learning curve and The hunt,finding something interesting from acquired knowledge or hunch always gives me a buzz,happy hunting.

[Lustrousstone]

I too get most buzz from the hunt: finding something I like at a reasonable price (preferably cheap), either identified or not, in the flesh (i.e., in my hand) and knowing that it's worthwhile or interesting in some way and almost always worth more than I'm going to pay for it. Often I buy to keep but sometimes I will buy a pretty one cheap to sell on if I know what it is and some of my starter PWs have moved on too. Murano at a good price rarely crosses my path, strange as it might seem but Scottish often does.

I rarely buy online, particularly these days; paperweights do not often go unseen there and too be honest there is little fun in collecting something when it's presented "on a plate" unless your field is very restricted and you "need" one in that colour or whatever.

Apart from a few new Jonathan Harris's bought new and my Allister Malcolm (also new), that is generally how I have built up my pretty eclectic PW collection. So the current rules are 1) it appeals to me in some way, 2) the price is good, 3) the condition is good enough and appropriate for the price/age, 4) it's in my hand and 5) it is worth more than I paid for it. Rules 1 and 3 are the most rigid when it comes to things to keep.
Here is my album, but not all still live with me and not all were bought by me http://lustrousstone.co.uk/cpg/thumbnails.php?album=2

[tropdevin]

***

Hi HeavyWeight.   When I get asked by someone 'What should I collect?'  I usually answer 'Whatever you find attractive'.  I suppose one should add '..and can afford.'   The fact that other collectors may rave about certain makers does not mean that you ought to like them...but it might make them worth investigating further.   You may well find that your tastes change as you become more familiar with different makers and types of paperweight.

Regarding Whitefriars, there are plenty of unfacetted examples, but relatively few closepacks.  Most are concentric designs. 

Regarding 'domed' set-ups, this tends to be more common in older paperweights, for example in Old English designs.  However, closepacks are very rare.

Hope this helps.

Alan

[glass man]

Hi and a good question. I show that I have 107 paperweights.now. Just call it an addiction! Only about five are not glass such as a Fuller Brush Co. adv with a  brush on it. There is fake Baccarat's out their. I lean more to the American weights like Lotton and Orient & Flume. Some came from shows and antique malls. Search E bay, for signed art glass paperweights and look at the one from the 1970's through 1990 esp. with pulled feather designs.  On-line is a good source to learn but the shipping cost can take all the fun out of it.  Check your library as they may have a program to have books sent in by a area system like we have here in Michigan. 
Bob

[KevinH]

... i was wondering how you guys restrict your collections?

My collection is restricted by space available in my home. And cost!

Some people do not believe me when I say my paperweights are spread everywhere, and that I have a channel between them on the floor so that I can get to the tv! But it's true. The weights are on all sorts of surfaces because the shelves and cupboards are full of coloured glass (mainly Victorian period) which was my first glass addiction.

As for what to collect, I bought various types of weight by various makers but my main enjoyment quickly settled on Scottish, primarily Paul & Salvador Ysart.

Ysart weights are a bit of a "fad" and can command quite high prices. And anyway they are not that attractive, so I would recommend that everyone stays away from them. 

[tropdevin]

***

Hi.  I think the few fake Baccarat (ie Murano or Chinese with a stamped or etched logo in the base) have turned up in the USA, and would not have fooled anyone with a modest level of paperweight knowledge.  Books are useful (we have around 60...), but must be treated with a degree of caution: most - if not all - paperweight books contain a few errors or disingenuous comments, and anything written more than 15 years ago will probably contain major errors. 

There is no substitute for seeing and handling lots of paperweights, so there is a lot to be said for joining one of the paperweight collecting clubs.  At a typical meeting here in the UK the dealers present will have 400 to 500 paperweights on display, from a wide variety of makers.  At the last PCC meeting near Cambridge we had on our selling table around 100 paperweights, varying from a £20 medium Strathearn to a Bacchus costing in excess of £5,000, and there were 3 other dealers plus members with weights for sale.  The dealers and collectors are always very happy to talk about the paperweights.

Alan

[orangeglass]

Hi,

I think Kevin is being a little "tongue in cheek" with his comments about Ysart weights  - certainly I would love to collect them but the prices are too high! (for the ones by Paul anyway - some of the Vasart ones I find really quite awful and the prices can be too high! I only have one by Paul in my collection (I am not a weight collector but do collect Ysart glass) it sneaked in unnoticed along with other occasional weights!!

My advice is to buy what you like at what you can afford - Perthshire weights I find are some of the more attractive and can be found at fairly good prices - avoid the cheap Chinese ones - save up for the special ones that come along occasionally, learn as you go along and ENJOY 

[chopin-liszt]

I don't collect weights at all, but I probably have about 70 odd which have sneaked in when I wasn't looking.

One of my favourites is a completely new £5 Chinese one from the Heart Foundation. 
It's really, really pretty and it was a present from a very precious friend. 

I think the most important thing is to really like what you choose to buy, balanced carefully with cost and condition.

And to find out what you like, get out and about and go to glass events and fairs and speak to dealers and collectors and handle as much as you possibly can.
Hopefully, you'll make lots of new friends along the way too.
Glass is a very rewarding area to be collecting in.

[SophieB]

By contrast to Sue, I collect paperweights only (but a few bottles have sneaked in when I was not looking ).

Frankly, I love all things glass, but it is my way of controlling the collecting habit. You see, I already have approx. 200 weights.

I collect any weight that takes my fancy and that I can afford. Still, I have three main areas: Selkirk/Peter Holmes, Chinese whites and Paul Ysart. Although the latter tend to be expensive, it is possible to find a cheap Ysart now and then.

By the way, you may want to consider a way of buying weights that has not been discussed yet: auctions. Paperweights come up in auctions around the country regularly. It can be a good way of getting hold of them. Start with your local auction room and go from there.

Best of luck with the collection and welcome to the glass community (it is a really friendly one).

SophieB