Topic: Paperweight purchases - "rules" for a good buy?

[KevinH]

In another message, Bradbury7308 said:

Ive never picked p/w up before as they seem to be all over the place and i wouldnt know which are good to purchase and which are not are there any hard and fast rules with buying p/w that i should know to help with getting a good buy for my pounds...

Questions of this type have appeared in the GMB several times, usually in connection with an ID posting. But perhaps it would be useful to get some broader views as far as "paperweight purchasing" is concerened.

So, as a general topic, please comment ...

[KevinH]

And I will start off with ... It depends on the reason for purchase, just as with any other field of interest.

If buying for pleasure then personal preferences are likely to override general thoughts about price paid (up to limits of bank balances, of course).

If buying for future investment then a major rule will need to be experience and study of the paperweight market. Don't buy anything until sufficient knowledge and experience has been gained that will give a confidence of making a longer-term profit.

If buying for serious dealership, make sure you have enough capital to offset all the mistakes that will be made.

If buying for "casual dealership" then "suck it and see" would be a good rule and will provide the necessary experience for a steady cash flow (hopefully in the right direction).

As for specific types of paperweight to go for, I think there are few rules that can be safely applied. However, don't buy in any quantity until a few months have been spent studying what is regularly available. Also check with what is on offer through experienced dealer outlets.

I will leave it others to suggest possible makers as targets for a "good buy".

[alexander]

Being a fairly new collector of paperweights I have learned a few lessons which may bear mentioning.

1- Buy good paperweight books and study well.
Older books may be less accurate as new information comes to light.

2- Quality over quantity!
Dull weights from a famous maker may make for dull prices.

A chipped or damaged paperweight may be good for study but usually not so good for investment.
There are exceptions of course, a $20 Clichy with scratches and a small chip to the base would be a good buy.
Cracked weights have little investment value.
A big batch of cheap weights may seem like a good buy, but if you plan on selling them online remember
shipping and packaging costs (for you and the buyer).

I have found that Chinese copies and Murano pieces are often thrown into a lot with a good weight,
so if you want samples of those styles you may very well get them when buying good weights.

3- Watch eBay auctions, even if you have no intention of buying the prices achieved will give an indication
of the lower end of the market. As a bonus you may learn to identify some makers, you will see labelled weights,
see lots of Chinese and Muranese weights and learn to recognize their styles etc.
If you find a weight interesting look it up in books and online.

3a- Do not trust an attribution given on eBay unless it's from a reputable dealer and accompanied by
evidence, ie signatures (that you recognize), signature canes (that you recognize) etc.
Beware that Baccarat etchmarks can be found regularly on Murano weights.

Sellers may not be trying to cheat, they may simply be mis- or uninformed.

3b- Learn the copies. A few makers have made more or less successful attempts at copying well known makers,
the best I've seen are the copies of a New England nosegay on latticino ground.
There are many fake signatures, signature canes and signature etchings - learn to recognize the more common.
In particular the common Baccarat and Schneider etchmarks; and the well documented false Paul Ysart "Dropped Y - PY" cane.

4- Watch brick & mortar auction house's websites for their listings. Many b&m's post online auction catalogues
along with prices realised.

5- Values give in books are usually higher than what is achievable, increasingly so with older books.

6- Antique French usually perform well, with scrambles and Baccarat pansies being in the lower pricerange.

7- Don't spend big bucks on speculation type items, an unclear auction image may be hiding a jewel but it may
also be hiding a dull tourist piece / copy

8- Check a seller's shipping policy and price when buying online.
Some sellers charge exhorbitant amounts for shipping and handling.

9- When buying to sell take into account all costs, there are obvious ones and hidden ones;
auction fees, auction premiums, picture fees, shipping, packaging, PayPal/Bank/Creditcard fees, time spent etc.
Remember that brick & mortar auction houses also charge the buyer a premium, so if a paperweight has a fair value at $1000
a buyer may only be willing to bid $850 to offset the 10 to 20% usual premium.

I'm sure there's lots more but this post is getting long

[alexander]

One more thing:

10- Beware that flat base!

Most antique paperweights do not have flat bases, they are usually varying degrees of concave,
some (often Old English or antique New England Glass company) with a partly ground/polished or full pontil mark still showing.
These concave bases are usually well polished.

Modern (1950-today) Murano weights usually have a flat and well polished base.
Modern (1920-today) Chinese weights have a varying degree of treatment to the base, from crude grinding
on the earlier weights to well polished recent weights.

[w84it]

When I was starting out collecting, I had one golden rule (and it still holds good some 300 weights later)...

"Buy only what YOU like"



Cheers

Keith

[glasstrufflehunter]

I'm a 'buy-what-I-like' collector too. Definitely not an investor type collector.

I don't always get to buy what I like, however. I like Clichy but I have yet to see one my pocket could possibly afford. I harbor a hope of finding one in a yard sale.

There's still plenty of other stuff I like that I can afford.

I have a particular weakness for aventurine glass, especially a glittering translucent green ground that John Deacons sometimes employs.

It takes a little while to get a feel for how much a given paperweight should cost and there are those out there who over estimate the value of what they're selling. Do a lot of looking at first. This will help you decide what you do like best and what is reasonable for your budget.

For investment, antique pieces hold their value pretty well. Newer stuff fluctuates. For a long time modern sulphides were pretty expensive. Now if you keep your eyes open you can find them in the 10 - 30 (US) range. They might eventually go back up in 'value' but then again they might not. I got a bunch of them because I like them.

[TxSilver]

An important one for me is don't buy a paperweight that has a "small bruise" or some other flaw unless you see a picture. Often it looks like a meteorite hit the weight.

[Kari]

These are such good conversations, and good issues brought up!

I am a collector, so I don't buy with a thought of resale - except that I don't disreagard it either.  Long before Ebay were Larry Selamn's auctions.  Granted, his prices go higher than some Ebay auctions but for the most part, his estimates are accurate...albeit retail.  I never want to be a bidder who looses a sense of reality and goes beyond his estimate.  That said, I have regretted that choice on one occasion.

I live in an area where paperweights don't appear - although we have 2 great collectors as relative newcomers to town and things are changing.  I was so lucky to buy a Ken Rosenfeld in person when he was here for a visit.  Santa Fe is a great place to shop for art - and Native Americans are doing great work in glass, but for paperweights I have to depend upon my knowledge from research and an occasiopnal mistake in order to buy sight unseen.

Mistakes... 

When it just isn't as great in person, and the seller is a good photographer who chose the best angle to camouflage a weakness in the design or execution.  When you are trying too hard to save a penny: I bought a Parabelle about 12 years ago that I liked for about $350., but another in the Selman catalogue was $425., and I liked it more.  Saving the $75. wasn't worth it, as I ended up trading the cheaper weight; it was boring.  Sometimes you do get what you pay for, especially with modern weights.  Occasionally I have been on a mission: I really wanted an antique New England Poinsettia, and bought the one that was available instead of waiting for one that was wonderful.

I think collecting well involves your emotions, yet keeping them in control.  Knowing when to jump and when to wait.  Realizing that if you are potentially paying too much that you are certain to love it because the resale may not be pretty.  I still have regrets of weigths that "got away", and still watch out for another chance.   I have also been fortunate enough to eliminate a few that lacked chemistry for me.  I am similarly impatient about being rid of the ones that disappoint, not so good at waiting for the market to turn.  For that reason I value the dealers who will make trades - even if only partial - to be finished with a mistake so I can move on to something happier.

[janettekay]

great thread..great info...
Alexander--love your informative post..

[Hourglass]

I have just in the last few weeks started looking into collecting glass paperweights and I must confess that it is rather addictive and in this very short time I have been learning a lot and would totally agree with what has been said in this topic. I knew nothing about glass weights although I have for some years admired them as my Sister has a small collection of what to me is just 'pretty glass' and not what I would term as real weights. My first purchase was at a car boot of a nice size inky-blue round weight with an iridescent 'sea-urchin' internal design, no markings but bought because I liked the look of it. The next couple came from charity shops and then I went to a local antiques fair and found several that took my eye. First up was a boxed (hinged lid hard dark blue box with 'satin' lining) Caithness large round weight with the usual etch markings to the base and the title 'Moon Flower' and /3000 for a tenner, I then decided that if this was going to get serious then I'd better buy the Charlton Standard Catalogue to gen myself up and this is where it has all started. I also found that talking to a couple of the stall holders at the fair who seemed to have a large number of weights on offer was very usefull and they were very accommodating in my questioning and one of them even came around with me to observe what caught my eye and when I pointed and said 'that one' he said that I seemed to have a good eye so I went back to his stand and bought a couple of Harris earlier impressed marked I.O.W. large spherical weights from him. From other stalls I picked up Mdina, Dartington, a Selkirk and a couple other CG weights as well. I have now in this last fortnight bought from eBay numerous good weights, all marked and with the aid of the catalogue bought previously and have bought them relatively, no, wrong word, cheap! Sunday at the car boot I found a good glass Selkirk signed weight, 'Monarch' 468/500 1992. Weighs in at almost 4lb and is very big at 4"x4"1/2. Magnum perhaps? Quite a good find for a ten pound note I thought! Sorry for waffling on. Terrific Forum, been studying it for a while before joining.