Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass Paperweights => Topic started by: KevinH on June 05, 2016, 04:54:40 PM
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This thread was created as an aid to part of a lengthy discussion on a query about a “Venetian ball” in Apsley Pellatt’s 1849 book Curiosities of Glassmaking (http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,51678.msg293055.html#msg293055). The discussion widened to touch on other issues, including “letter weights”.
I have constructed this post as a summary of my own findings on letter weights, but not quite as brief as I had hoped. As at the time of this post, the main references back to the initial thread are: Reply 13 (http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,51678.msg350992.html#msg350992), Reply 22 (http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,51678.msg351352.html#msg351352), Reply 24 (http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,51678.msg351501.html#msg351501), Reply 25 (http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,51678.msg351553.html#msg351553)
Did Apsley Pellatt mention “letter weights”?
I found no mention of “letter weights” in Curiosities of Glass Making. That might seem odd, considering the descriptions of such items (see below). And if letter weights had been made since the time of increased interest in writing letters (1840+), surely there would have been time between then and 1849 to have added some information to the book?
However, Pellatt’s book (he called it a Treatise) was based on lectures given to the Royal Institution and also on information in a “Memoir” on glass production published in the 1820s. He gave no indication of how long the later book was in preparation. The focus was certainly on the “how” of glassmaking rather than the specifics of output. Perhaps it would have been unseemly of him to have discussed his own products for which no special manufacturing process needed to be explained.
In the Reply 25 (http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,51678.msg351553.html#msg351553) of the initial thread, Alan (tropdevin) provided a reference within the 1851 Great Exhibition catalogue to “letter-weights (mille fiori)”. That is very intriguing but I have found no additional information to suggest what those items actually were. However, see below for a reference by Paul H. Dunlop to “millefiori in knobs or handles”.
Basic references (providing fairly clear information)
1952 – Auction Catalogue: Sotheby & Co. Sale of the Mrs Applewhaite-Abbott Collection. Tuesday, October 21st, Lot 292
1954 – Paperweights and other glass curiosities, E. M. Elville
1977 – An Illustrated Dictionary of Glass, Harold Newman
1989 – Glass Paperweights of the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum, The City of Neena Municipal Museum Foundation, Inc.
2009 – The Dictionary of Glass Paperweights an illustrated primer, Paul H. Dunlop
2016 – Annual bulletin of the Paperweight Collectors Association, Inc.
The Sotheby’s auction entry is probably typical of various auction listings from the early 20th century to current times. Invariably, “letter weights” are given only a brief description and no illustration. The Sotheby’s Lot 292 entry simply stated:
A FRENCH LETTER WEIGHT moulded with hobnail diamonds with a knob enclosing a sulphide portrait bust of Jean Baptiste Massilon (1663-1742), 4½ in. …
Elville, in 1954, in a section on “LETTER-WEIGHTS”, page 47, said these items were: … of the larger variety of paperweight, … up to eight inches in diameter, … often rectangular in shape with chamfered corners, sometimes with a large knop as a handle, or a pyramid-shaped finial.
And … most specimens … the base is cut with strawberry diamonds, a favourite finish on Apsley Pellatt’s productions. A popular … incrustation [by Pellatt] … is George IV as Roman emperor. … Another … the Duke of Wellington, …
Newman, in 1977, gave the description: A large type of Paper-Weight, usually with an oval, or rectangular flat base and a handle in the form of a central vertical metal ring or a glass finial. Some … in Hyalith glass ... some by Apsley Pellatt with ‘cameo incrustations’ … others have the base cut with strawberry diamonds.
He also illustrated a hyalith example on page 184 – a Buqouy oval hyalith plaque ... gilt chinoiserie ... gilt bronze handle ... c 1820-30, length 12.5 cm. Kunstgewerbemuseum, Cologne.
(The item is similar to an online example linked to below – but that one is called a “paperweight”.)
The 1989 catalogue of the Bergstrom museum stated in the Introduction:
While Apsley Pellatt dominated cameo incrustation in England, 1819-40, he produced “letter weights” in geometric rather than spherical forms.
What was the meaning of that text? Does it indicate that the letter weights were made during (and after) the period stated or only after those years?
The museum acquired, in the 1980s, two examples of “letter weights”:
a) Page 5, Item 1519, attributed to Harrach Glass House, 1821-30. Very detailed description covering shape and decorative cutting, but basically a “shallow oval colorless base ... circular knop ... sulphide portrait of Nicholas I ... colorless stem between knop and base.” Size: 7.2 cm height, 6.2 cm knop diameter, 14.0 x 8.8 cm base diameter.
b) Page 3, Item 1763, attributed to Apsley Pellat, c1820. Again a very detailed description and an unusually shaped item, being essentially a very fancy cut clear panel enclosing sulphide of George IV, set on a stepped round base. Size: 10.7 cm height (i.e. longest side), 6.4 x 1.5 cm width and 7.5 x 5.0 cm base.
Dunlop, in 2009, has no entry for “letter weight”, referring instead to “Letter press”. The description is, however, much the same as other references – ... square, rectangular or round and having a handle or knob.
But the description differs in some detail such as, ... base may be clear or made with filigree
and ... knob or handle has a paperweight type decoration.
Sulphide inclusions are mentioned in connection with the French makers Clichy and St Louis. And a Venetian example by Franchini is illustrated (not described) showing a mosaic plaque set on a clear base, cut as a rectangular, flat-topped pyramid and without any knob or handle.
The 2016 PCA Bulletin illustrates on page 57, in an article on Engraved Bohemian Paperweights, one of the very few examples I have seen in my books showing a basic "stained and engraved letter weight." Its size is 9.7 cm length, 5.7 cm width and 2.4 cm thickness (very roughly 4 x 2 x 1 inch). The base of the clear block is red-stained and engraved overall with a view of lake Geneva.
Online examples
It is just as hard (for me) to find online examples of “letter weights” as it to locate them in literature. So far I have found the ones below which fit within the basic descriptions outlined above – three referred to as “paperweight”, not “letter weight”, and one which is not glass (!):
Liveauctioneers: 202 Count Buquoy Bohemian Hyalith Paperweight (https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/9168141_count-buquoy-bohemian-hyalith-paperweight)
Saunteantiques.com – Sulphide Paperweight by Apsley Pellatt (http://saunteantiques.com/product/magnificient-quality-paperweight-by-apsley-pellat/)
Red Hyalith Glass Paperweight – Shape of a Book (http://www.invaluable.co.uk/auction-lot/paperweight-from-red-hyalith-glass,-bohemia,-novy-530-c-cd1eaddbbf)
This item is quite like a couple of others I have seen, in books or online, but I cannot recall where. They are large enough to have also been called “letter weights” and would fit well with the detailed description in Newman’s dictionary.
The Saleroom.com – Silver Plate Letter Weight – Kangaroo Finial (http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/lodge-thomas/catalogue-id-lodge-10006/lot-cc573e5a-f070-4640-a4c6-a58d00ac9bb7)
Ok – it’s not glass but it is a bit of fun, and shows that “finials” could mean almost anything!
More information
More links or literature references with extra information would be welcome. In fact, any additional input to this thread as a specific topic for Letter Weights could be useful.
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I have one (I 'think'?)
I don't know what it's made of as I've never been able to work it out. It's some form of stone enamelled over possibly, it's extremely heavy almost as though it's iron but I don't think it is. Possibly French but I think at least Victorian in era - reminds me of something a governmental department office might use.
The millefiori weight is large btw. Not a miniature.
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[Mod: very long link converted to clickable text]
Google Books: Paperweights 101 - Preview (https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=NpQkAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA27&dq=apsley+pellatt+paperweights&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi5oeary5HNAhWHJ8AKHTHwCh0Q6AEIJTAA#v=onepage&q=apsley%20pellatt%20paperweights&f=false)
PAPERWEIGHTS 101: An Introduction to Collecting Glass Paperweights
By Doris B. Robinson
pp27
'It was recorded that "letter weights" were displayed at an exhibition in Birmingham in 1849' - written in reference to Bacchus.
(Somewhere I found a list of the items on display in Birmingham in 1849) I'll try and find it again.
m
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I wondered if it might be a case of 'lost in translation'?
The one in the Great Exhibition catalogue was from a maker in Vienna.
Then there are three mentioned here in a WMF Art Nouveau Catalogue
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=8gvrAAAAMAAJ&q=letterweight&dq=letterweight&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjbxqH_z5HNAhVkAsAKHac0C8EQ6AEIHjAA
page 268 and also on page 289
Art Nouveau Domestic Metalwork from Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik: The English Catalogue 1906
However that wouldn't explain the mention of Bacchus producing 'letter-weights' for the Birmingham exhibition 1849.
But then by 1862 Queen Victoria was requesting 'paperweights' made of marble specimens from Frogmore House
http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/holloways-auctioneers/catalogue-id-srhol10011/lot-171090c7-ac2f-4fcb-9f63-a45300f472d5
Perhaps 'letter-weight' just means paperweight?
or 'became' known as paperweight
I could not find any references in the Harrach book 'From Neuwelt to the Whole World'. But it is a massive tome and very difficult to reference quickly as the index does not cover items.
m
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1) on the Selman blog I found this :
http://www.theglassgallery.com/blog/book/the-art-of-the-paperweight/chapter-3/2/
'The glassworks, which initially specialized in domestic glassware and plate glass, began experimenting with fancy Y’enetian-style glass and paperweights in the 1840s. “Letter weights,” as they were sometimes called, were never more than a minute part of the company’s production; however, they did attract attention. In 1849, an article in the .1/7 Union Monthly Journal of the Arts had this to say:
The introduction of these ingenious and pretty ornaments from Bohemia has induced some of our glass manufacturers to turn their attention to the production of similar objects. We have seen a large number of home manufacture, which, for beauty and variety of colour, are equal to the best imported; and in design are superior to them. .Mr. Bacchus, an eminent glass manufacturer of Birmingham, has produced some that deserve special notice for their novelty and elegance.
Most of the weights made by Bacchus are large, usually more than three inches in diameter.'
And
2) This snippet came up on google search but I'm unable to find the entire section and so cannot check if it is correct:
apparently from Homes and Gardens - volume 19 - page 195 (1937?)
'Some years ago Her Majesty Queen Mary gave a dozen letter-weights of this type, containing views of the town, to the Brighton Museum. Other glass weights enshrine Apsley Pellatt medallions, classic cameos in low relief of royal personages'
Which led me to this
https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/3658/paperweight
'Apsley Pellatt (1753-1826)
Paperweight 1820-35
Glass with sulphide cameo | RCIN 3658
Shaped rectangular glass paperweight on an oval star-cut glass base, with a cut-away top and sulphide cameo of Frederick, Duke of York in profile to the left; the rear of the panel with deeply cut horizontal lines.
Provenance
Probably acquired by Queen Mary.'
Also in the Royal Collection but still called a paperweight and unfortunately with the wrong photo attached!
https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/3674/paperweight
'Apsley Pellatt (1753-1826)
Paperweight early nineteenth century
Glass with sulphide cameo | RCIN 3674
Small rectangular glass paperweight, diapered on all sides except smooth front. Sulphide cameo of white draped female figure, leaning against column with dog, set into front.
Provenance
Probably acquired by Queen Mary'
So possibly whilst Homes and Gardens called them 'letter-weights' they may now be catalogued as paperweights?
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Cyclopædia of useful arts & manufactures, ed. by C. Tomlinson. 9 divs (written sometime between 1852 edition and 1866 edition) :)
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=DPgGAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA784&dq=pellatt+letter-weights&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwixmvv88JHNAhUhCMAKHe6GBmUQ6AEIPzAF#v=onepage&q=letter-weights&f=false
pp 759
'Venice was celebrated for that kind of ornamental glass, the manufacture of which has recently been revived in the form of letter-weights, and named by the French mille-fiore glass, in which a number of coloured glass flowers and ornaments are imbedded in a lump of transparent white glass'.
I'm afraid I could not find a date for when this was published but from information on the link below it appears to have been sometime between 1852 and 1866?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomlinson%27s_Cyclopaedia_of_Useful_Arts
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see post above and also
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=QwtEAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA153&dq=letter-weight+glass&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiqi6Tv-pLNAhVM1RoKHcHfCUoQ6AEILjAC#v=onepage&q=letter-weight%20glass&f=false
The World of Science, Art, and Industry: Illustrated from Examples in the ...
edited by Benjamin Silliman, Charles Rush Goodrich
1853-1854
pp 153
Description of letter-weight see photograph of paragraph - two references to letter weights, one at the start of the paragraph and the other highlighted.
Appears to be describing a millefiore paperweight.
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oh look :o :o (or did we already know this?)
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=j5XFNhUmMt8C&pg=PA1038&dq=letter-weight+mille-fiore&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiQ49riwpPNAhWMPRoKHaVWBcQQ6AEIJTAA#v=onepage&q=mille-fiore&f=false
1851 catalogue of Great Exhibition
page 1038 Under Austria entry number 606
J Pfeiffer & Co, Gablonz, Bohemia (Agent, Oscar Frauerknecht, 80 Bishopsgate Street Within, London)
'Letter-weights, mille fiori'
In a post on the other thread Alan said:
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I thought the first clear reference to a 'paperweight' like object with millefiori in a glass ball was by Sabellico in 1495. But what you actually call them is another matter. Around 1845 - 1850 in the UK they were called 'letter weights', more often than 'paperweights'. I do not know when that latter phrase was first used, or became popular, but it was not an obvious choice, to my mind.
Alan
The reference I have just given shows them listed as 'letter-weights, mille fiori' in the 1851 catalogue.
But by 1862 Queen Victoria was asking for 'paperweights'( Reply #3):
http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/holloways-auctioneers/catalogue-id-srhol10011/lot-171090c7-ac2f-4fcb-9f63-a45300f472d5
A Victorian specimen marble paperweight, of pink marble inlaid with 15 different stones, bearing a white metal plaque engraved 'Royal Mausoleum / Frogmore / 1868', 8.5 x 14 x 2.5 cm (3 1/2 x 5 1/2 x 1 in) Note: This paperweight, probably one of several although no others appear to have come to light, was created on the instructions of Queen Victoria. In December 1862 she expressed a wish to A. J. Humbert, the Mausoleum's architect, 'to have specimens of all the marble & granite stones used in the Mausoleum prepared, about the size of paperweights'. Humbert proposed making a small wooden case with sliding trays, but the Queen's Assistant Private Secretary, Sir Charles Phipps, replied that she wanted paperweights and asked Humbert to prepare two or three designs and send them to Osborne. (Correspondence in the Royal Archives)'
for future searches:
Letter weights millefiori millefiore mille fiore
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Hi m, I think you might need to slow down a bit ... :)
Yes, we already knew about the 1851 exhibition entry for J Pfeiffer & co. Alan (tropdevin) had provided that information in the thread about Venetian balls (etc.)
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Generally, I do think that the evidence so far shows that "letter weight" and "paper weight" have been used by various folk in various reports, books etc. as an interchangeable term.
But the definitions by such as Elville (1954 book) and Newman (1977 dictionary) have tried to make a distinction by size (and possibly shape) of the items - i.e. "Letter weights" are "large paperweights".
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Re: Reply 6 above - about the 1854 book "The World of Science, Art, and Industry ..."
At the end of page 152 is a reference to " ... the letter weights with interior clusters of flowers ...". This is in context of opening remarks leading to the descriptions on page 153 for methods (based on processes from "centuries past") of making drinking vessels, letter weights etc.
I have tried to set out in the quote below, a reduced version of parts of the page 153 text, with my own editing in square brackets:
.. ornaments of infinite variety [such as the "clusters of flowers" referred to on page 152] may be formed whose presence in letter weights has puzzled so many … fashioned at the blow-pipe table, out of the very spiral and colored rods whose origin has been already described; ... [Then] A mass of soft glass sufficient for the lower half of such a letter weight is now prepared, and upon its hot surface the colored floret or ornament is applied, while immediately another workman approaches with a second hemispherical mass of colorless glass which he applies upon the upper surface of the ornament. Thus one compound mass is produced having the ornamental glass in its centre, and after being duly fashioned, and annealed, and cut, forms the wonder which we see.
So, what is that referring to? It could be a domed paperweight having millefiori elements and possibly finished with facets. Or it could be a (larger) rectangular or circular letter weight including a mosaic pattern and finished with cut edges. And the text for "glass sufficient for the lower half" and "a second hemispherical mass ... applied to the upper surface" does not make it easy to understand what is being made.
The text is about products made in Murano around the 1850s. In those years, Murano domed paperweights were of the style of "scrambled, millefiori and filigri" set close to the surface of the dome. But that does not sound like a "compound mass ... having the ornamental glass in its centre".
So maybe it really is referring to a rectangular (or other shape) block with an internal (or centrally placed on the top) element of mosaic or millefiori.
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I wondered Flying Free what the base of your letter weight looks like. Is it ground flat? Polished?
Ross
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The word 'cut' in there also confused me, because up to that point I had, in my head, a picture of a round glass millefiori paperweight being formed from two gobs of glass and fashioned into a round shape, with (in my head) fairly randomly placed millefiori inside it.
At the point I read the word 'cut' I tuned out. But I did wonder what the word 'cut' actually meant? did it mean cut and if so are there examples of faceted round millefiori weights from that period?
m
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Ross, it faintly and vaguely looks as though it's turned on the wheel like a wooden piece would perhaps be ( or even pottery? and made of ceramic of some sort perhaps (as indeed the only other two I've managed to find are advertised).
But it's extremely heavy - my other half said too heavy for pottery. The only other thing I could think of though might have been Lignum vitae as it reminds me of bowling balls. But I can't see that you could enamel wood, so dismissed that idea.
I don't believe it's glass simply because the base does not look like the two pieces of Hyalith (Hyalite (sic) as it has been referred as in contemporary early 19th century descriptions) I have.
m
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Hmm! Flying Free it sounds very similar to the query I had back in 2010 which was declared a linen smoother at the time.
http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,31506.msg170583.html#msg170583
My problem with that description lay in the fact that a number painted on the base looked really fresh, and I would suppose a linen smoother would show signs of substantial wear. It has a very shallow "spiral" to the base and its general outline is very similar to yours.
I have always thought it would be an excellent document weight.
Ross
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yes Ross, one and the same except mine has gilded bands on it.
I didn't think mine was glass because there is a tiny nick on it and it looks as though it is stone or pottery inside the nick.
Yours also has a nick but it seems has only nicked the enamel so it still looks like glass ...presumably because the enamel is glass.
I had thought mine was either c.1860s or c. much earlier in the 19th.
I did investigate linen smoother as my first port of call but couldn't match it.
I really wanted it to be a glass linen smoother :D when I bought it, but sadly haven't managed to pinpoint it either as glass or a linen smoother so far ... or the date.
Thanks so much for pointing yours out. I'll do some more investigating.
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Ross, this is the Corning's version - c. 1800-1825 (so I was close on my early possible date). I'd not come across that one in the Corning before but that might be because I used a search term not including the word glass.
Oddly the little scratches on it look just like the little scratches I'd noticed on mine (they caught my eye for some subconscious reason).
http://www.cmog.org/artwork/linen-smoother
I'll add some further pictures tomorrow for comparison.
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ooh actually the 'stone' like bit inside the nick looks like the stone coloured bits in this one
http://hctcollections.org.uk/index.asp?page=item&mwsquery=(%7Btotopic%7D=%7BThreads%20through%20time%7D)&filename=HMCMS&hitsStart=29
That's extremely interesting.
I'm hopeful now :)
Thank you for prompting me to look more closely.
m
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Have you had a look at the Google Images for linen smoother's Flying Free?
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=Linen+Smoother&espv=2&biw=1745&bih=943&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjZn7_o4JnNAhVnE6YKHf6JCvAQsAQIGg#imgrc=_
It strikes me that all of the examples shown, that are complete, have handles large enough for the whole hand to grasp. That would mean they could exert pressure using the arm rather than just the fingers - which to my mind makes a lot of sense. After all you don't use an iron with just the first two or three fingers - rather the hand and the arm provides the pressure.
I reckon your item is a letter-weight and so is mine. They would be simply moved into position with the first 2 or 3 fingers of the hand and pressure would be provided by their own weight.
Ross
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I think the point about the height of the handle may be a key issue.
Most of the examples of "linen press" I have seen in literature or online had a handle with multiple bulbous bits ("knops"). And the CMOG & Hampshire Trust examples linked to above both show cracked parts indicating at least one more section to the handle.
But ... ??
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yes, I agree that the height of the handle might be a possible key issue Ross and Kev.
That might also be why (in my head) I had discounted Linen Smoother or slickstone the first time I was investigating this one.
*I can't remember now why I'd discounted that as a use but for some reason gravitated onto it being a paperweight.
* see my comments on next post re this.
p.s.
Kev, I'd already done quite a lot of 'letter weight' research because when the phrase came up I thought it possible that's what mine might be - hence all my links previously ;D sorry for the overload of information :-[
m
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Edited - *I've just remembered why I didn't think it was a smoother
http://www.romanglassmakers.co.uk/pdffiles/linensmoothers.pdf
and this
https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/heritage-culture-and-recreation/archives-and-history/surrey-history-centre/marvels-of-the-month/early-medieval-linen-smoother,-surrey
My thoughts were the shape of mine was wrong - smoothers are all curved sort of like a gob of glass that has just been flattened into shape leaving it a flattened doughnut shaped. Mine has a cut across flat base. I thought that would not work efficiently as a smoother nor be able to be manipulated well as a smoother. Which is why I went on to thinking it must be some form of paperweight.
However ... the medieval example found in Exeter at the bottom of that link, does in fact look very similar in shape to ours Ross.
and also this one which is 18th century and does have the tall handle but a flat base.
https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18621207/
If ours is a smoother, then it could be possible the handle got shorter as the type of 'ironing' or smoothing to be done, changed focus. i.e. what I mean is perhaps that shape and handle size worked ok for smoothing or starching sleeves and collars for example?
This is what wikipedia has to say about 'Calendering linen' (fascinating reading btw with reference to other processes used for materials)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendering
However, I still think as you've both pointed out, that the handle would be a deciding factor. I can't imagine trying to 'polish' starched collars and cuffs with mine. Would make your hand ache and you couldn't apply enough pressure really without your hand hurting quite quickly.
I'm with them being letter-weights. I'd just like to know what mine is made of - I'm hoping glass :) but I'll add a photo later of the nick and the base.
m
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Ross - proof of yours and mine being a 'letter-weight' or paperweight - a malachite coloured (and swirled pattern design ) item in the same shape as ours with the knop handle
http://www.sellingantiques.co.uk/253672/late-victorian-porcelain-desk-paperweight/
proof in the sense that the particular piece has a label. Seller says the label reads:
Waterson Bros. & Layton, Law & General Stationers, 23, 24 & 25 Birchen Lane, London"
I think the seller may have the maker wrong in that the label is hard to read and I found a reference to
'Waterlow Bros. and Layton'
Graces says:
1877 James Waterlow's business was divided by his heirs; two of the sons, with other members of the family and Mr. A. T. Layton, established the firm of Waterlow Brothers and Layton; Sir Sydney Waterlow and his sons, together with his brother Walter and some of their most experienced colleagues, continued as Waterlow and Sons.
Specialized on the legal and country side of the business.
1887 The company was registered on 8 January, to acquire the business of the firm of the same name, as stationers, printers.
1893 On 2 August, re-registration was effected under the same title in connection with an increase of the capital. [1]
1920 Merged into Waterlow and Sons
http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Waterlow_Brothers_and_Layton
seller also says
'(Birchen Lane is in the heart of the City). '
So his is possibly post 1877 and pre 1920 (when the company merged into Waterlow and Sons).
However the Waterlow company goes back to 1810, so ours might be earlier (and his might be earlier - acquisitions and labels don't always coincide on dates)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterlow_and_Sons
Still don't know what that is made of - should think not porcelain unless porcelain is known to be heavy?
but the base of his also shows the glaze. So wondering what 'earth' mine is made from?
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sorry to add yet more posts
re my thoughts on the dates being either early 1800s or 1860s:
- this is the type of style (French) that made me think possibly earlier 1800s (obviously I was thinking of the black versions rather than the white with gilding but can't find any now to show)
http://www.french-treasures.net/Art-Glass_183/French-Opaline-Glass-Napoleonic-Dental-Spittoon-Cuspidor-1810_2544.html
- however, the 'official' type business of the stationers (printers of money etc) and the 'governmental' looking style of my weight is what made me think perhaps 1860s (and probably 1870s).
m
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I'm waiting for the camera to charge.
Looking at mine, the only way I can describe it from looking at the base is it looks as though:
a)
- it is made of dark brown 'slag' or 'marbled' opaque glass
- then cased in black glass
- and then the pontil mark has been ground off completely smoothly with something circular leaving a completely concentric circular type mark
- then over that the base of it has been ground extremely and completely smoothly (doesn't feel anything other than completely smooth and flat) taking off the black casing and leaving the interior brown 'slag' or 'marble' type glass showing and leaving the circular marks around the pontil mark showing to the eye but nearly imperceptible to the touch.
Either that or
b)
it's made of lignum vitae and cased with black enamel and I don't think that can be possible.
The base of it looks like dark brown wood with woodgrain.
It kind of looks like the base of this piece , but this one has been achieved by a lithyalin glaze over the hyalith and I couldn't believe someone would go to the lengths of doing that over a paperweight base?
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/8993617_early-bohemian-hyalith-glass
That's what it looks like to me. I don't think it's pottery as it is too heavy for that I think. In all honesty I think option 1 looks most likely, as that's all I can think of. Perhaps it's some form of hyalith glass?
m
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I'm wavering now
Bear in mind the photograph of the nick is vastly enlarged as I took it through a strong magnifying glass. However it appears to show some form of gritty interior (possibly ceramic of some sort?). Yet the weight feels too heavy and too cold to be pottery and the base is really too smooth (although it might not look like it in the photos) to be what I suppose would be unglazed pottery.
You can see from the base pictures that it makes it look like wood.
I think it has got to be glass looking at the glazed edge around the base as that looks the same as the edge on the black hyalith bowl. The bowl has a polished smooth base and dates to around 1820/30 period.
The photo titled 'base as it looks to the eye' is because it really looks that dark in everyday light. The ones where you can see the odd coloured grain are taken under a direct light and near it.
Here are the pictures.
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more pics.
Very keen to hear any opinions on this although I appreciate not being able to actually touch it and see it in person makes it difficult.
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these are taken in daylight
Two of the nick, from each angle - there is some form of white 'frit' on the edge of the nick which is the part that looks highlighted or very pale.
These pics are taken under a strong magnifying glass so are massively enlarged and the best in focus I can do.
one of the base showing the edge wear and where it meets the black glaze.
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This link shows the family history of Waterlow & Sons (Waterlow Bros & Layton being the label found on the sold similar paperweight).
One of the sons involved in Waterlow Bros & Layton went to Paris c.1880 (only mentioning this because I had originally thought my weight might be French)
http://www.jaggers-heritage.com/resources/The%20Waterlow%20family%20illus.pdf
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https://www.cmog.org/artwork/argus-or-thumbprint-paperweight?search=collection%3A481d8e5d716b5e9343a89f076da0a3ed&page=183
Item from the Corning classified as a Paperweight c.1850-1880
8.5cm diameter - similar shape different execution.
Mine is 10.7cm diameter or 4 1/8" and weighs over 1/2 kg or nearly 1 1/4lb
There have been two others for sale in the same shape as ours and the malachite one: one black with gilded perimeter (but not gilded knop) and the other malachite (but much more patterned than the one linked to) - both say they are pottery/ceramic.
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If they are clay, then *possibly* the black ones might be English Jackfield ware.
The clay was very dark for Jackfield ware and the glaze black glossy. However, I'm not sure on dates i.e. whether it was still being produced in the mid to late 1800s.
Also the bases don't look like the paperweight bases to be honest. But it's the closest clay production I can find.
http://www.antiques-atlas.com/antique/enameled_jackfield_pottery_pitcher_with_lid/as449a165
https://nmscarcheologylab.wordpress.com/page/6/
http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/509538.1
http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/results?SearchTerms=jackfield
This piece is being sold as c.1880s (no idea about any dating on any of these later pieces but it appears that if they are glossy black glaze they are 'commonly' referred to as 'Jackfield' (?)
it does have numbers enamelled on the base.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Antique-Victorian-Jackfield-Pottery-Milk-Cream-Jug-with-Twisted-Handle-c-1880s-/391464404144?hash=item5b2518c4b0:g:ZF0AAOSwixtXQvyq
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https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=KEYMY4_ytuUC&pg=PA107&lpg=PA107&dq=clichy+opale+double+rose&source=bl&ots=pUsOneIP1i&sig=NAgybCsC7SoS-viaMZPElUMYqbU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiNyt3bo63NAhWkLcAKHWnQCvoQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=clichy%20opale%20double%20rose&f=false
sorry for the long link
See page 270 of La Cristallerie de Clichy
This shows a coupe baguier c 1850 in black glass with gilded bands
See above that also a black glass set with two jars a centre pot and on a 'desk set' type raised black glass tray. The set dated 1850-1860.
Our paperweights would fit in very nicely with all of those items. I should think c.1850 is probably a good date for them.
I think it is entirely possible they are French. But I still do not know what mine is made from. I am erring towards some sort of glass. I wonder if it is remotely possible that it might be polished obsidian or something?
On the other hand - on page 272 it shows a Clichy flacon - it calls it 'lithyaline' glass and says it is
opaque crystal marbling imitation hard stone.
So I wonder is my weight a marble type glass which makes it look like very dark wood grain on the base and then cased in black?
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Just adding this link because of previous discussion on whether the height of the handle would preclude it being a linen smoother.
This is a linen smooth from the Corning Museum with a shorter handle and a pontil mark on the top of the handle. It is described thus:
'PRIMARY DESCRIPTION
Linen Smoother. Bottle glass, "black"; free-blown; heavy solid double-domed circular pad with large ball knob; pontil mark on top of knob; smooth flat base, very much worn from usage.'
and
'1800-1825 Willington Glass Works '
http://www.cmog.org/artwork/linen-smoother
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Official catalogue of the great industrial exhibition 1853 (Dublin)
https://archive.org/stream/officialcatalogu00exhi#page/6/mode/2up
there is a reference to paper weights under a section which appears to be discussing glass items displayed by Gregg and Son:
'page 1037 Gregg and Son -'... Three pairs of smaller mantle piece lustres and drops. French paper weights'
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I think you mean paragraph 1037 on page 81
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Again in the Official catalogue of the Great Industrial Exhibition Dublin 1853:
see also page 126 para 1801
where there is mention of a display of
' four paper weights'
Exhibited by G. W. Wheatley & Co
https://archive.org/stream/officialcatalogu00exhi#page/126/mode/2up/search/paper-weight
Is it possible that when contemporary to the time reports were talking about letter weights,they were actually talking about the metal weights for weighing scales, that weighed the letters/post?
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The thirteen initial entries in the G W Wheatley & Co section (para 1801 c) which include the "Four paper weights" are followed by a statement:
All the above carved in sandal wood, and beautifully inlaid, from Bombay.
So they are decorative wooden paper weights.
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oops apologies.
I was looking for something else and saw it :-[
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aah, but I've just remembered what my motive was :)
The fact that in 1853 they were referred to as 'paper weights' ... not letter weights.
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Just adding here that I'm pretty sure my paperweight is Obsidian glass now.
I've started another thread for the black paperweight on it's own.
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Kev
I found this reference to 'mille fiori presse-papiers' in the reports of the juries from the Great Exhibition 1851.
Does 'presse-papiers' translate directly as paper weight?
Click here (https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=dvjNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA521&dq=james+powell+whitefriars+glass+great+exhibition&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiQh9yRrbXXAhUGDxoKHU2lAB44KBDoAQg4MAQ#v=onepage&q=presse-papiers&f=false)
You may need to scroll down for page 528 right hand side
It also mentions hundreds of thousands being sold.
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Yes, presse-papiers = paperweights
I have amended your link entry for a search on "presse-papiers" rather than "maes" - but even with that, it seems to now want to start at page 521.
It is an interesting entry and I immediately wondered if the jurors had foreseen the modern influences of mass production from China! But the main reference seems to be to a generic "mille fiori style of work" of which paperweights were a part and were an adaption of the "style of work".