Boston and Sandwhich Glass Company 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.
- 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.
- Deming Jarves found the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company in Sandwich, Massachusetts in 1825, after leaving the New England Glass Company. The wares of these two companies can be easily confused as they shared owners, employees and managers.
- This Boston and Sandwich Glass Company paperweight encases a twelve-petal red and white Poinsettia with a green and white center Rose. It was made by glassworker Nicolas Lutz.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- paperweight
- date made
- ca 1852-1880
- maker
- Boston & Sandwich Glass Company
- Physical Description
- glass, transparent (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 1 7/8 in x 3 in; 4.7625 cm x 7.62 cm
- place made
- United States: Massachusetts, Sandwich
- ID Number
- CE*60.109
- catalog number
- 60.109
- accession number
- 211475
- subject
- Paperweights
- Art
- Domestic Furnishings
- See more items in
- Home and Community Life: Ceramics and Glass
- Paperweights
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
- Credit Line
- Aaron and Lillie Straus
Visitor Comments