Boston & Sandwich Company Paperweight
Boston & Sandwich Company Paperweight
Previous
Next
Usage conditions apply
- 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 & Sandwich Company paperweight is decorated with a vase of pink and white Roses against a pink, red, and white swirl latticinio (latticework) ground.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- paperweight
- date made
- 1852-1880
- maker
- Boston & Sandwich Glass Company
- place made
- United States: Massachusetts, Sandwich
- Physical Description
- glass, transparent (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 1 3/4 in x 2 29/32 in; 4.445 cm x 7.366 cm
- ID Number
- CE.60.158
- catalog number
- 60.158
- accession number
- 211475
- Credit Line
- Aaron and Lillie Straus
- See more items in
- Home and Community Life: Ceramics and Glass
- Paperweights
- Art
- Domestic Furnishings
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.
Note: Comment submission is temporarily unavailable while we make improvements to the site. We apologize for the interruption. If you have a question relating to the museum's collections, please first check our Collections FAQ. If you require a personal response, please use our Contact page.
