Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass Paperweights => Topic started by: A to Z on November 02, 2015, 07:50:55 AM
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I would like to better understand the thinking behind the variations one can sometimes see
in a limited edition run. Take the Whitefriars Christmas paperweights: there
can be considerable variety in the 3 Kings, for instance. In one weight, they are fat,
in another, their robes are of different colors, in another one King is black, and so on.
Or sometimes within one version of an LE, there will be entirely different color combinations--
I'm thinking of the Baccarat Gridel series of the '70s in which The Rooster weight can
show up in yellows and pinks, or in pinks, whites and blues (although the central motif is
still in black and white).
How does that happen? Is it to keep the glassblower(s) from losing their minds repeating
the same weight? Is it encouraged or discouraged by QC? And is one variation going to be
more desirable to a buyer/collector than another? Or, if you are acquiring a weight in a
sought-after LE, does variation in color or image matter? (Assuming no flaws, damage etc.)
Thanks!
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Hi. I don't think these variations are unusual: I suspect that there was never an intention by the factory to make fully identical pieces. Some people might prefer one colour of rooster to another, for example, so there are more potential sales with a bit of variation - and the variation also reflects the fact that they are handmade items. I don't think minor variation in design is important to collectors, as long as quality is maintained...but at the end of the day, people buy what they like.
Alan
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The answer to the variation in Whitefriars weights is simple, the Christmas weights were made in editions of 1000 for each year, you cannot make a cane long enough to get 1000 pieces in order to make them all identical so Ray Annenberg, who made all the mosaic canes, had to make several lengths of individual canes to get enough to make the full edition. I believe there are something like 18 different versions of the Kings and I am sure the same thing happened with other editions.
I cannot explain why there are variations in Bacarraat weights but at least this answers half you question !
Dave
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Given the extraordinary and numerous variables involved in the process of making canes and paperweights, I think the question would be best turned around. Perhaps the question should be how is it possible for the factories/makers concerned to produce paperweights that are so similar?!
:-))