Topic: Perthshire Paperweight but which one

[Alanladd]

Hi all,
I'm new here so please excuse my rookie mistakes.
I have a Perthshire Paperweight which has been in our possession for a while and I was hoping to find out more about it. It comes with a PP box but no information on it.
Would anybody be able to shed any light on it for me, please?
I've attached a photo which hopefully will help
Regards,
Shane McD

[Derek]

Hi Shane

It would be helpful if you also posted side and base views of the weight and
remember just because it has a Perthshire box it doesn't necessarily mean
its a Perthshire weight - same goes for labels!

However, I suspect this is a Perthshire weight and that the design is PP7  or PP8
also known as Aladdins cave. The PP7 has two layers and the PP8 three layers.
They were made between 1969 and 1971.

Best guide to Perthshire Paperweights is the book called " The Complete Guide to
Perthshire Paperweights by Mahoney and Mc Clanahan. Long out of print but
easy to find second hand copies. This book covers 1968 - 1996 and they wrote
a further book "Perthshire Paperweights - The Final Years" covering 1997 - 2002
when the business finally closed.

Hope this helps

Best regards

Derek

[Alanladd]

Hi Derek,

Thanks very much for that.
I have more photos but I was just struggling to get them below the 125k limit in size. 😕

I thought that it might be the Aladdin Cave type but the sticker on the bottom is for Crieff, which I believe was where the manufacturing went after the closure of the original company in 2002.

Here are another couple of photos.

Regards,
Shane McD

[Derek]

Hi Shane

From the side view you have posted - definitely a PP7.

Perthshire Paperweights were in Crieff during their
whole existence although at two different sites.

They started at Ford Road in some disused
school buildings in 1968 and rapidly outgrew the
premises. They then commissioned a new factory on
the Muthill Road almost opposite the Strathearn factory.
Building started there in 1970 and it was operational in 1971

Best regards

Derek

[Alanladd]

Hi Derek,

Thanks again for your reply.
That's good news about the type it is.
Wasn't sure as I thought that it only came into our possession in the last 20 years.

Also, I suppose the information that I was reading was limited thus my assumption that it was post 2002.

Do you think somehow this survived from the late 60's early 70's and was boxed up and sold in the 2000s?

It's a beautiful piece, though it doesn't get enough time out of it's box. 

Regards,
Shane McD

[Derek]

Hi Shane

Perthshire Paperweights made their common paperweights to fit in a common box - very
few designs had a box specifically made for them so the possibilities are almost limitless.

You may have a box that perfectly fits the weight but there can be no way of telling
whether your weight went out of the Perthshire factory in that particular box.

Every weight that Perthshire sold left the factory in a box so in 34 years of production
that is an awful lot of boxes! You see listings on e-bay from time to time just offering
boxes for sale without the weights!

As for surviving - your paperweight is only 50 years old - antique weights are 170 years old!

Best regards

Derek

[Alanladd]

Hi Derek,

Once again thanks very much for your knowledge and insight.

Fair enough on the box issue. Can't argue with the explanation. And no issue with the weight surviving 50+ years.
I suppose my initial thoughts were that this came directly from the factory,  in said box and I was thinking surely their inventory wouldn't have lasted or been allowed to last 30+ years before being converted into income.
However, i know there are businesses out there that would struggle at times with keeping tabs on their inventory levels.
Also, this, as you say, may have been re-boxed and sold on, though not necessarily directly from PP.

Thanks again for your help.
It has been an education.

Regards,
Shane McD

[Derek]

Hi Shane

Don't forget this was a factory operation - Joe public couldn't buy direct from the factory
they had to buy from one of the network of retailers - principally in the UK and USA.
As such there would be VERY little stock at the factory - the weights would be made as
retailers ordered them and would go out of the doors as soon as the order was completed.

You mention about "relocating" to Crieff. You may be confusing Perthshire Paperwieghts
with Caithness Glass - they had a massive factory at Inveralmond on the outskirts of the city
of Perth. They went into receivership in 2006 and were bought out by Dartington Crystal who
closed the Perth factory and set up a much smaller operation at the Crieff visitor centre which
is still running today.

Best regards

Derek

[Alanladd]

Hi Derek,

Sorry, my assumption again. As with a lot of factory outlets these days they would have a shop attached where Joe public could buy pieces.

Again, as with the "relocating" I misread the article that I had seen. I thought I read that after PP closed in 2002 two guys transferred the factory to Crieff and produced PP there. It was actually just a reference that the tradition of making paperweights in Crieff continued through two men (Deacons and McDougall).

I need to slow down when reading so that I can get the actual facts and not my version. ;-)

Regards,
Shane McD

[Derek]

Hi Shane

You need to slow down even more !!

Perthshire Paperweights never had a factory outlet shop - in later years they
had a viewing gallery where the public could see the paperweights being made
but the public STILL had to go to a retail outlet to buy a weight.

John Deacons and Peter McDougall were apprentices at Strathearn glass at the
time Stuart Drysdale set up Perthshire Paperweights and they went with him
from day 1. John Deacons left Perthshire Paperweights in 1978 to set up his own
studio called J Glass which located about a mile away from the Perthshire factory
in an old building that was formerly the Crieff Hydro laundry.

Peter McDougall stayed with Perthshire Paperweights until they closed in 2002
and shortly afterwards set up his own studio in Crieff which ran until 2012.

Best regards

Derek