Topic: Old american paperweights

[Krecik]

Good morning ,

  I recently purchased 2 old American paperweights. How do you tell who made them and how old they are.   Both have similarities to paperweights I have seen described as  New England Glass and Somerville Glass?  The Weight on the left was a local Attic find wrapped in a 1916 newspaper.


Thanks ,

John

[paperweights]

Great find.  They are definitely by Union Glass in Somerville, MA.  The reason they resemble NEGC is that Nicholas Lutz worked at both factories and it is believed that he either made the Union Glass poinsettias or taught the Union workers.

[Krecik]

Good morning ,

 Thanks.  I have just seen the exact same design with out the personalization attributed to NEGC.  I wasn't sure. Did NEGC make any personalized weights?   I live in Western ma. and purchased the paperweight on the left from a local Ebay seller.  It was found during an estate clean out in Holyoke Ma. in a box wrapped in a 1916 newspaper in an attic. It had probably been there since 1916. It is in near perfect condition with only very light scratches to the base.   The seller does estate clean outs and rarely finds paperweights. When  he does find them they are often chipped , he thought they had no value  if there was any damage so he threw them out.  I told him to give me a call next time before he throws any glass out.


Thanks ,

John 

[paperweights]

To the best of my knowledge, NEGC did not make personalized weights.  These weights are usually considerably larger than the typical 3" NEGC poinsettia.  The dates are all 20th century dates.  And people have researched the names on them and they are usually people who can be identified with some effort.  Several authors have identified the actual makers of most by analyzing the style of the lettering, including the grandson of one of the makers.  They are not to be thrown away.  They used to be available at auctions and estate sales for less than $50 each, but such a price would be a bargain today.  It is especially nice if you can find several related paperweights for members of a family or a husband and wife.

At the very first American Antiques Roadshow, Alan Kaplan put a value $1,000 on a paperweight with flags and a date and bearing the name of the Mayor of Somerville.  That single episode caused a lot of collectors (including me) to take a second look at these paperweights and start collecting them.  At least two collectors have over 100 Union weights in their collections.

You can sometimes find them without a date and name, but they still are crude compared to the skill of NEGC.

[Krecik]

Good morning .

  Thanks. The seller didn't think it had a value as a paperweight. He assumed I had purchased it as an Oil collectable based on the Socony personalization.  Being in Massachusetts I am surprised I do not see them at tag seals or flea markets.  Although I would prefer they didn't have the personalization they are very nice weights.


Thanks ,

John