New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2006.

Pelargonium Paperweight

Manufacturer Compagnie des Cristalleries des Saint-Louis (French)

CultureFrench

Datec. 1850

MediumGlass

DimensionsOverall: 1 13/16 in. (4.6 cm)

Credit LineGift of John L. and Elizabeth L. Collins

Object number95.32.20

Not on view

DescriptionThis weight has a very nicely formed flower with five pink heart shaped petals. The center is green with yellow and black dots. Two short dark stripes radiate from the center on each petal. The flower is set on a stem with two green leaves and a small bit of green sepal appears between each petal.

Label Text19th-Century Glass Paperweights No paperweights were made before the mid 19th century, when three developments converged to create an unprecedented flurry of letter writing among the middle classes and hence the need for paperweights: The new paper made from wood pulp (instead of rags) made paper plentiful and cheap; steel pen nibs replaced quills, making writing easier; and improved postal systems greatly reduced the cost of mailing letters. The first glass paperweights were made in 1845 by Pietro Bigaglia of Venice, who looked to the glass millefiori decorated spheres of Renaissance Venice. (Millefiori, which means "a thousand flowers" in Italian, is the technique whereby glass rods with designs running end-to-end are drawn out while hot into thin rods, then cooled and cut into small cross sections showing the design.) The great French factories - Baccarat, Clichy and Saint-Louis - began making paperweights almost immediately, and so successfully that French paperweights became the world standard. French Miniture Glass Paperweights Attributed to the Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat, Clichy, and the Compagnie des Cristalleries des Saint-Louis, ca. 1845-1855 Gifts of John L. and Elizabeth L. Collins 95.32 BACCARAT CLICHY SAINT-LOUIS Late-19th and Early 20th-Century Parisian Glass While the production of blown glass required a factory, the pâte-de-verre technique - where a paste made of ground glass was packed into a mold and fired until the glass fused - could be carried on in a small shop. So, too, could the decoration of glass blanks by such cold working techniques as enameling or cutting. Objects in this case were made by three of the best small workshops then operating in Paris. Edited By: GLY