St. Louis Paperweight

Description (Brief):

In the 1700s, paperweights made from textured stone or bronze were part of the writer’s tool kit, which also included a quill pen and stand, inkpot, and blotter. By the mid-1800s, decorative paperweights produced by glassmakers in Europe and the United States became highly desired collectibles.

Description (Brief)

Decorative glass paperweights reflected the 19th-century taste for intricate, over-the-top designs. Until the spread of textiles colorized with synthetic dyes, ceramics and glass were among the few objects that added brilliant color to a 19th-century Victorian interior. The popularity of these paperweights in the 1800s testifies to the sustained cultural interest in hand craftsmanship during an age of rapid industrialization.

Description (Brief)

The French firm, Verrerie de Clichy, began operation after merging with another local glassworks in 1837. The height of paperweight production at the firm was 1846 to 1857. Glass production at Saint Louis was authorized by Louis XV in 1767. By 1782 the firm was creating high quality glass crystal, progressing into pressed glass in the 1800s. St. Louis produced paperweights from 1845 to about 1867.

Description (Brief)

Concentric millefiori surround a central camel silhouette in this St. Louis paperweight. An “SL 1848” signature and date cane can barely be made out on the left side of this image. Millefiore paperweights, first manufactured in Venice, consist of sections from rods of colored glass encased in a clear, colorless sphere. By the mid-nineteenth century, glass factories elsewhere in Europe were emulating the millefiore style.

Date Made: 1848

Maker: St. Louis

Location: Currently not on view

Place Made: France: Lorraine

See more items in: Home and Community Life: Ceramics and Glass, Paperweights, Art, Domestic Furnishings

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Credit Line: Mrs. Florence E. Bushee

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: CE.67.238Catalog Number: 67.238Accession Number: 213138

Object Name: paperweight

Physical Description: glass (overall material)Measurements: overall: 2 1/8 in x 2 15/16 in; 5.3975 cm x 7.493 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ad-6845-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1404567

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