St. Louis Paperweight
St. Louis Paperweight
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.
- 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.
- A blue, double Clematis is suspended over a ground formed by an overlay of amber-colored glass in this faceted St. Louis paperweight.
- Object Name
- paperweight
- date made
- 1845-1867
- maker
- St. Louis
- place made
- France: Lorraine
- Physical Description
- glass, transparent (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 1 5/8 in x 2 3/32 in; 4.1275 cm x 5.334 cm
- ID Number
- CE.60.111
- catalog number
- 60.111
- accession number
- 211475
- Credit Line
- Aaron and Lillie Straus
- See more items in
- Home and Community Life: Ceramics and Glass
- Paperweights
- Art
- Domestic Furnishings
- Exhibition
- Wonderplace
- Exhibition Location
- National Museum of American History
- 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.
