New England Glass Company Paperweight
New England Glass Company 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.
- The New England Glass Company in Cambridge, Massachusetts was founded about 1818 by Deming Jarves along with three wealthy businessmen, and probably began producing paperweights by the mid 1850s. In 1888 the business moved to Ohio, under the name Libbey Glass Company.
- An upright Dahlia in blue, orange, and yellow above a white latticinio (latticework) ground decorates this New England Glass Company paperweight.
- Object Name
- paperweight
- date made
- 1852-1880
- maker
- New England Glass Company
- place made
- United States: Massachusetts, Cambridge
- Physical Description
- glass, transparent (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 2 1/8 in x 2 7/8 in; 5.3975 cm x 7.3025 cm
- ID Number
- CE.60.119
- catalog number
- 60.119
- 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.
