Topic: Strathearn Weight, Can you tell me about it? ID = Ice Pool, PSF12

[Catisfaction]

I took a trip up to Canada recently and came across this Strathearn paperweight which looks nothing like any Strathearn weight I've seen before, I was wondering if anyone here would be able to clue me in a little?

It's crystal clear with 5 barely concave facets around the edge and a larger one on the top. There is a single blob of "something" in the center (I won't tell you what my friend suggested it might be!!) and it is signed on the base "Strathearn 1978"

I'm hoping it's something more interesting than "The artist dropped his chewing gum" lol

It measures 2" tall and 2 7/8" in diameter.

[KevinH]

This is Strathearn "Ice Pool", design number PSF12 (5+1 faceted version) and limited to 100 pieces per year. A later, multi-faceted version was realeased as "PSMF123", also limited edition. Unfaceted ones were "P1" design and unlimited production.

The something inside is a piece of quartz, which was apparently taken from the river Tay when the Strathearn works was based by the river in Perth! [ * ] Some of these have small quartz pieces and others larger ones. Some are marked and dated as yours is, some have the Strathearn "Leaping Salmon" impressed mark on the base and others have no mark at all.

[ * ] later edit to state ... Please see daveweight's comments below regarding the source of the quartz (silica stone). My comment here that the Strathearn works was once by the Tay is incorrect!

[Catisfaction]

Kevin, once again I must thank you for your expertise. I really appreciate the swift response!

[KevinH]

Not so much my expertise, just knowing a bit about which books and websites to reference.

[SophieB]

Hi Kevin,

I did not know that the quartz came from the river Tay. Many thanks for sharing this titbit with us (i obviously read the wrong books....).

Sophie  

[daveweight]

Just back from holiday and catching up on GMB postings so I thought I would add my contribution. I did a lot of research on Strathearn weights for an article I wrote published in the 2006 PCA Bulletin and my understanding is that these silica stones are unique and only found around the town of Crieff, where the Strathearn factory was located near the river Earn. The river Tay flows through Perth, some 20 miles to the east, and this is a large fast flowing river so stones on the riverbed are likely to be tossed around and rubbed smooth.

These stones are usually found on the ground mixed in with other stones and Strathearn initially had an arrangement with a local builders merchant who allowed them to sift though stones and gravel in his yard and they paid for each bag of silica stones they took but their main "haul" came when blasting for a dam on nearby Loch Turret threw up large quantities of these stones and John Deacons told  me Jack Allen drove him out there and they filled several bags.

Although only white stones were used in these Ice Pool weights they can be found tinged with yellow, pink or blue and some of these were used in friggers but I have never seen one.

I think the rarest of the Ice Pool weights is the PSMF123 which is a multi facetted version and here is a pictue of my copy.

Dave

[KevinH]

Hi Dave, hope your holiday was good.

Thanks for the detail on the silca stones. Looking at my earlier comment again, I am now wondering if I have mixed up some things I was told a few years back. Not sure if I can even find any notes to make sense of it.

Anyway, given that the Strathearn company was a renaming of Vasart Ltd by Teachers, following the move to the new factory at Crieff, I should have thought about my info before posting. Assuming quartz was not used in any Vasart Ltd weights, it makes little sense to suggest that it was gathered from the Tay! I just wish I could recall who told me about this and when.

Sorry to all readers for my use of unchecked information earlier.