Hi Barbara,
As Gareth says, info on fake py weights is available through the Ysartglass website, but the really detailed stuff (with many of my thoughts and comments on these) is in my pages at:
http://www.btinternet.com/~kevh.glass/pages/fake-py/fake-py-weights.htmIt sounds to me that Ron has picked up on comments that are passed around but which are often based on either half-truths or just gossip.
Each had a PY cane, (two flowers, a fish and others,) and he told me they were fakes!!! made in the 1980's
Early 1980s is correct for the first known appearances of the fakes.
Now, to be honest, I think he had bought them as "all right", as you don't spend money on 7 or more fakes surely? and then was informed they were wrong.
Possibly as you say, Barbara, purchased as ok. But I have known cases where, in more recent years, some batches of a dozen or so have been bought together at a cheaper price than used to be asked.
Now, to me, they looked OK, the flower ones were lovely with really complicated canes as the centers
Yes, many of the fakes flower examples do appear to be be rather nice, and complex canes have appeared in lots of these weights.
When I asked Ron on Friday his explanation was Paul Ysart was tied into a contract which said he could only make weights with the PY cane for one person and one outlet and made these "fake" weights to sell on the side, so to speak.
Not true, as far as I am aware. His contract for signed weights was with an American importer / dealer (Paul Jokelson - one of the papeweight world's leading figures of the 20th century). Although in the later years, Paul's "home market" products often had an "H" cane signature, many were not signed. Paul did make "beer money" weights from the 1930s and possibly into later years as well.
I have heard yet another comment recently that the original fake py cane (as first known in the 1980s) was made by Paul. However, if that was true, Paul would also have had to have used somebody else's lampwork, and not the pieces made by his helpers, either - the lampwork in the fake weights is
not consistent with Paul's work.
Take a look at my detailed info in the link (and the links from there) and see if the Flowers etc. are like the ones you have seen. And compare the coloured grounds too, because many of these are distinctive in the fakes. But the real clue is in the colour of the p (pink) and y (orange) in the signature cane, assuming you can get a close-up view. Paul Ysart's "py" was not two coloured.
If you can get some photos - please post them here, or send to me directly (email address in my profile) and I should be able to let you know if they are right or wrong.