Topic: Paperweight ID please

[Millefiori]

I need help with the magnum St Paul paperweight. I found this paperweight in MN 4-5 years in a flea market for $250.
I would like to know what French company it belongs to and how much it might be worth today.. Thank you..

[tropdevin]

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Hi.  I don't think it is from a French factory - it does not resemble the work of ny of the major makers.  Some of the canes look like Old English examples, though an OE sulphide would be quite rare.  I suspect it might be Belgian, perhaps Val St Lambert.  Incidentally, we do not offer valuations on this board (though several members including me are willing to give private views on value if contacted by email), but my feeling is you would be unlikely to make a profit on it.

Alan

[Millefiori]

Thank you Alan.. I am not intending to sell it- as this is my first ever 1850s find. ( I hope it dates that far back !) The closest I ever found about this paperweight is the information given in "Sulphides the Art of Cameo Incrustation" by Paul Jokelson page 56. (see photo) According to the the book the white and green canes one with St Paul sulphide  is made by Baccarat. It is exactly the same St Paul Sulphide in both paperweights. I agree the red and white canes in mine look different but i do not have enough knowledge to identify different canes.  And here is a close up picture of canes if anyone wants to help with the cane identification. Thank you again..
Gulsari

[Millefiori]

here is the close up picture of canes

[tropdevin]

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Hi Gulsari.  I agree it looks like the same sulphide, but I believe that the big French factories often bought in their sulphides from elsewhere - so you get similar Queen Victoria sulphides from more than one factory, for example.  The use of the same sulphide does not necessarily imply the same maker.

The close-up of the canes is useful: they look quite like the canes that appear in a small group of unknown paperweights, about which I wrote an article in PCC Newsletter 114.  Not the same canes, but a very similar approach to their construction (see image below).  This group remains 'unknown, antique, probably France / Belgium or England!

Alan

[Millefiori]

Can you at least confirm it is around 1850s? Thank you for all the great information..

[tropdevin]

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Hi Gulsari.  I do not quite know how old the paperweights in this group are, I am sorry to say, because there is no hard evidence.  My feeling is that they are 'classic period' ie 1845 - 1860, but that is, frankly, not much more than guesswork. Your piece may be part of the evidence that links them to the mid 19th century...but canes, sulphides, lampwork and so on can sit on the shelf for many years before being used to make a paperweight - there is hard evidence of that.  When we visited Saint-Louis a few years ago the 'cane store' room had canes that were probably 100 year old...!  That said, I do think the group of weights I referred to - and your piece - are 19th century.

Alan