This thread was created as an aid to part of a lengthy discussion on a query about a
“Venetian ball” in Apsley Pellatt’s 1849 book Curiosities of Glassmaking. The discussion widened to touch on other issues, including “letter weights”.
I have constructed this post as a summary of my own findings on letter weights, but not quite as brief as I had hoped. As at the time of this post, the main references back to the initial thread are:
Reply 13,
Reply 22,
Reply 24,
Reply 25Did Apsley Pellatt mention “letter weights”?I found no mention of “letter weights” in Curiosities of Glass Making. That might seem odd, considering the descriptions of such items (see below). And if letter weights had been made since the time of increased interest in writing letters (1840+), surely there would have been time between then and 1849 to have added some information to the book?
However, Pellatt’s book (he called it a Treatise) was based on lectures given to the Royal Institution and also on information in a “Memoir” on glass production published in the 1820s. He gave no indication of how long the later book was in preparation. The focus was certainly on the “how” of glassmaking rather than the specifics of output. Perhaps it would have been unseemly of him to have discussed his own products for which no special manufacturing process needed to be explained.
In the
Reply 25 of the initial thread, Alan (tropdevin) provided a reference within the 1851 Great Exhibition catalogue to
“letter-weights (mille fiori)”. That is very intriguing but I have found no additional information to suggest what those items actually were. However, see below for a reference by Paul H. Dunlop to “millefiori in knobs or handles”.
Basic references (providing fairly clear information)1952 –
Auction Catalogue: Sotheby & Co. Sale of the Mrs Applewhaite-Abbott Collection. Tuesday, October 21st, Lot 2921954 –
Paperweights and other glass curiosities, E. M. Elville
1977 –
An Illustrated Dictionary of Glass, Harold Newman
1989 –
Glass Paperweights of the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum, The City of Neena Municipal Museum Foundation, Inc.
2009 –
The Dictionary of Glass Paperweights an illustrated primer, Paul H. Dunlop
2016 –
Annual bulletin of the Paperweight Collectors Association, Inc.
The Sotheby’s auction entry is probably typical of various auction listings from the early 20th century to current times. Invariably, “letter weights” are given only a brief description and no illustration. The Sotheby’s Lot 292 entry simply stated:
A FRENCH LETTER WEIGHT moulded with hobnail diamonds with a knob enclosing a sulphide portrait bust of Jean Baptiste Massilon (1663-1742), 4½ in. …
Elville, in 1954, in a section on “LETTER-WEIGHTS”, page 47, said these items were:
… of the larger variety of paperweight, … up to eight inches in diameter, … often rectangular in shape with chamfered corners, sometimes with a large knop as a handle, or a pyramid-shaped finial.
And
… most specimens … the base is cut with strawberry diamonds, a favourite finish on Apsley Pellatt’s productions. A popular … incrustation [by Pellatt] … is George IV as Roman emperor. … Another … the Duke of Wellington, …
Newman, in 1977, gave the description:
A large type of Paper-Weight, usually with an oval, or rectangular flat base and a handle in the form of a central vertical metal ring or a glass finial. Some … in Hyalith glass ... some by Apsley Pellatt with ‘cameo incrustations’ … others have the base cut with strawberry diamonds.
He also illustrated a hyalith example on page 184 –
a Buqouy oval hyalith plaque ... gilt chinoiserie ... gilt bronze handle ... c 1820-30, length 12.5 cm. Kunstgewerbemuseum, Cologne.
(The item is similar to an online example linked to below – but that one is called a “paperweight”.)
The 1989 catalogue of the Bergstrom museum stated in the Introduction:
While Apsley Pellatt dominated cameo incrustation in England, 1819-40, he produced “letter weights” in geometric rather than spherical forms.
What was the meaning of that text? Does it indicate that the letter weights were made during (and after) the period stated or only after those years?
The museum acquired, in the 1980s, two examples of “letter weights”:
a) Page 5, Item 1519, attributed to Harrach Glass House, 1821-30. Very detailed description covering shape and decorative cutting, but basically a “shallow oval colorless base ... circular knop ... sulphide portrait of Nicholas I ... colorless stem between knop and base.” Size: 7.2 cm height, 6.2 cm knop diameter, 14.0 x 8.8 cm base diameter.
b) Page 3, Item 1763, attributed to Apsley Pellat, c1820. Again a very detailed description and an unusually shaped item, being essentially a very fancy cut clear panel enclosing sulphide of George IV, set on a stepped round base. Size: 10.7 cm height (i.e. longest side), 6.4 x 1.5 cm width and 7.5 x 5.0 cm base.
Dunlop, in 2009, has no entry for “letter weight”, referring instead to “Letter press”. The description is, however, much the same as other references –
... square, rectangular or round and having a handle or knob.
But the description differs in some detail such as,
... base may be clear or made with filigree
and
... knob or handle has a paperweight type decoration.
Sulphide inclusions are mentioned in connection with the French makers Clichy and St Louis. And a Venetian example by Franchini is illustrated (not described) showing a mosaic plaque set on a clear base, cut as a rectangular, flat-topped pyramid and without any knob or handle.
The 2016 PCA Bulletin illustrates on page 57, in an article on Engraved Bohemian Paperweights, one of the very few examples I have seen in my books showing a basic "stained and engraved letter weight." Its size is 9.7 cm length, 5.7 cm width and 2.4 cm thickness (very roughly 4 x 2 x 1 inch). The base of the clear block is red-stained and engraved overall with a view of lake Geneva.
Online examplesIt is just as hard (for me) to find online examples of “letter weights” as it to locate them in literature. So far I have found the ones below which fit within the basic descriptions outlined above – three referred to as “paperweight”, not “letter weight”, and one which is not glass (!):
Liveauctioneers: 202 Count Buquoy Bohemian Hyalith PaperweightSaunteantiques.com – Sulphide Paperweight by Apsley PellattRed Hyalith Glass Paperweight – Shape of a BookThis item is quite like a couple of others I have seen, in books or online, but I cannot recall where. They are large enough to have also been called “letter weights” and would fit well with the detailed description in Newman’s dictionary.
The Saleroom.com – Silver Plate Letter Weight – Kangaroo FinialOk – it’s not glass but it is a bit of fun, and shows that “finials” could mean almost anything!
More informationMore links or literature references with extra information would be welcome. In fact, any additional input to this thread as a specific topic for Letter Weights could be useful.
Topic: Letter Weights (Read 8503 times)
