Topic: a tale of two abused concentric paperweights. help with id requested

[sussexglass]

  picked up these two small pwts together at local bric a brac market last week. one is a right off or study piece. other chipped base. seemed a shame to separate them. both about 1 3/4 inches diam. glass tinted, bases more flat than concave. unusual alternate canes with flower centres. scrambled ground. looked at alans page on id of concentrics which helped but now stuck. any help appreciated.

[w8happiness]

Hello,
both weights are from Continental Europe, the area of origin is not yet determined, but they are called Bohemian-Silesian-Thuringian post classic weights. Peter von Brackel writes about these weights in his book, Classic Paperweights from Silesia/Bohemia, p.300 ff. Dates are not yet established but 1860-1910 is accepted as working frame, some of Thuringian weights even can be dated later to the 1930ies/40ies.

Interesting to note is that many of weights like yours appear in the USA and South America, presumably brought there as souvenir from the old home country by immigrants in the late 19th century.

Kind regards, Erhard

[sussexglass]

Erhard, many thanks for your scholarly information on the origin of these weights.
I had hit a brick wall. Dudley

[tropdevin]

***

These often turn up with damage, partly because of their age, but also because the glass is rather brittle.  It is quite hard glass, and that has the downside that bruises generate deep cracks, and so these paperweights are very difficult to restore.

Alan

[sussexglass]

thanks for the warning, Alan, yes one is badly cracked and a section is missing.  sounds like if I decide sometime to get the chips on the base of the 'good' one ground out and polished, it may be a high risk decision. perhaps  the restorer can practise on the cracked one. it seems small paperweights are at risk as playthings or marbles possibly by small boys/girls as a lot seem disproportionally more badly damaged compared to full sized pwts. my own hypothesis. regards Dudley