Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass Paperweights => Topic started by: daveweight on March 26, 2007, 12:26:32 PM
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I have seen several paperweights with names in and I have been reliably informed that these are "Friggers" or one of a kind weights made by someone in the Pilkington Glass Factory between the mid 1960's and the early 1980's. They are all virtually indentical in background and layout so whoever made them just used one design.
I have also seen them with a name and place, usually somewhere in Southern England, but as they are unsigned and umarked they have been attributed to various makers and the current one "Polly" on ebay is shown as being Bohemian.
Here is an example
http://i13.tinypic.com/2vjshuv.jpg
Mod: large image converted to link
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Polly - a very Bohemian name - I don't think. This is speculation but, it is entirely possible that they were actually made at the St Helens glass museum, which was on Pilkington's main site in the town, to order but as a public demo.
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I have a couple of photos of a crate containing a dozen or so of these weights. The ones with names are mostly English names. The grounds and decoration are all very similar. The owner told me that these were made in England by immigrant workers using their known Czech / Bohemian techniques and style.
St Helens / Pilkington?
Very likely.
But the management would not admit it - so I am told!
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Dave, can you re-attach the picture of your weight please. I picked up this "LINDA" weight today barely five miles from Pilkington's in St Helens.
See also here http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,24320.0.html
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also available in upright, non-english and non-bohemian version.
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More paperweights with the same characteristics as my Linda weight. These were apparently from a house clearance near Wigan, not so far from St Helens and Pilkington's. All except one have a snapped pontil mark. Linda and the yellow butterfly have ground bases. There were three virtually identical controlled bubble weights, but I don't think they are Chinese. The bubbles form a fair spiral and the glass has the same yellowish tinge as the other weights. They are rather naive but interesting.
The other weights that apparently came from the same chap were modern Chinese, a modern one that might have been from St Helens glass museum (badly damaged) and a limited edition Selkirk Ebony (that moved in too ;D ).