According to Sibylle Jargstorf (Paperweights), Baccarat started making this type of weight in 1880. She advances the theory that Baccarat issued these weights in response to the reptile weights shown by Pantin at the 1878 Paris Exhibition. Some Baccarat rock weights contain reptiles or flowers, but almost all contain just rock motifs.  Often these weights have incompatibility cracks throughout the weight, causing a glittery appearance which is part of the appeal. 

Large Size: Just over 3" diameter by 2 1/8" high. Circa 1880.  The bottom has been ground concave.  Unsigned. 
Fair Condition: As shown in the pictures, this paperweight has quite a bit of surface wear and some small nicks.  There is also minor wear at the base.  In contrast to most rock weights, the base on this paperweight does not have any surface fractures.  The glass on the bottom is intact and the internal fractures shown on the bottom are well contained inside the weight.  There is plenty of glass and the paperweight can be refinished if desired. 
Unsigned, but I guarantee this to be an authentic Baccarat antique paperweight. 

$99 postage paid in the US.

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Because some of the canes lack complexity, some collectors would classify this as early Clichy while others would call it 2nd period (late) Clichy.  There is considerable research on the topic but the conclusions are not yet final.  The blue and white canes in the inner ring and the pink canes in the outer ring are definitely found in classic period (1845-1860) Clichy paperweights, as is the moss cane. 

Clichy was founded at Billancourt near Paris in 1837.  Shortly after that it moved to Clichy-la-Garenne, which gave the factory its best known name.  They stayed in operation until about the 1870s.

Size: Just over 2 3/4" diameter by 2 1/16" high. Circa 1845-60.  The bottom has been ground concave. 
Excellent Condition:  No chips or cracks.  There are some minor striations in the glass inside the paperweight.  .
Unsigned, but I guarantee this to be an authentic antique Clichy paperweight. 

$695 postage paid in the US. 

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Although many people collect scramble paperweights for their own merit, scrambles are also valuable tools for learning to identify the different colors and canes used by each factory. 

Large Size:  3 1/3" diameter by just over 2" high.  circa 1840-1880.  This paperweight has a wide basal rim and is ground concave with a remnant of the pontil mark. 
Very good condition.   Original finish with a somewhat rough surface and minor scratches.      SOLD

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I cannot be sure when or where this paperweight was made.  Most likely it was made in Millville, New Jersey in the first half of the 19th century.  This type of construction has been associated with factories such as Whitall Tatum that operated in the early 1900s in the Millville area of Southern New Jersey.  Frit refers to the powdered glass used to make the design.  The design is set up in a metal die and then picked up with a gather of a ground color.  This weight has the typical Millville two piece construction, as shown in the side view (click on picture to see this). 

According to Newell's Old Glass Paperweights of Southern New Jersey, frit weights were made as early as 1863.  Newell identifies this style as a true folk art. 

Magnum Size:  3 1/4" diameter by 2 1/8" high.  Unsigned.  circa 1900-1940. 
Excellent condition with some very minor surface wear.  No chips or cracks.   The pontil is unfinished.    SOLD

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The hand painted floral sprays are outstanding.  A wonderful paperweight.

Albert Graeser was a well known producer of photographic paperweights working in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the 1890-1900 period.  He used a process patented by William H. Maxwell in 1882.  For more information on this style of paperweight see the article "Fraternally Yours" by William Price, Jr. in the 2001 Annual Bulletin of the Paperweight Collectors Association.  This style of paperweight is also described on page 413 of American Glass by George and Helen McKearin. 

Magnum Size:  3 1/2" diameter by 2 1/2" high.  Unsigned, but similar signed examples are known to exist.  c1890. 
Excellent condition with one 1/2" scratch on the side (barely visible in the side view at the 8 pm position).  The reproduction of the square is incomplete. 

$145 postage paid in the US. 

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Von Brackel discusses this style in his book describes it as consisting of flower motifs shaped, without a lamp, from glass slices, thin glass rod pieces or bits.  He shows examples from Silesia (Bohemia), Thuringia (Germany), and the Bavarian Forest. 

Size: 2 3/4" diameter by 2 1/8" high.  Excellent condition.  No chips or cracks or moon shaped impact marks. 
Circa 1890-1925.
The bottom is ground flat.

You can read about paperweights from Germany and Bohemia in the book by von Brackel Paperweights: Historicism - Art Nouveau - Art Deco - 1842 to today and in the book by Marek Kordasiewicz Glass Paperweights: The Heritage of the 19th Century Riesengebirge and Isergebirge Glassworks. 

$135 postage paid in the US.

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It is hard to be sure exactly where the paperweight was made.  The paperweight matches the style and construction of similar paperweights shown in the von Brackel book which identifies them as probably French (Meisenthal) or Alsac-Lorraine.  Other similar styles were made in Germany and regions of Bohemia.  See pages 201 to 205 in von Brackel's book and also figure 468 for a close match.  He places a value of over $460 to $550 on this paperweight, but my price is much lower.  Other sources have identified this paperweight as possibly made by Val St. Lambert in Belgium, or even from Millville in Southern New Jersey.  The Museum of American Glass in Millville, NJ has an example with a hand written label on the base "brought from Belgium."

This style of paperweight is called a stem paperweight.  Some refer to it as a wig stand, but in reality it is too short to be used for that purpose. 

Size: 2 7/8 diameter by 5 9/16" high.  Excellent condition.  No chips or cracks or moon shaped impact marks.  There are a couple of very minor surface abrasions near the top.
Circa 1870-1920.

You can read about paperweights of this type from France, Germany and Bohemia in the book by von Brackel Paperweights: Historicism - Art Nouveau - Art Deco - 1842 to today and in the book by Marek Kordasiewicz Glass Paperweights: The Heritage of the 19th Century Riesengebirge and Isergebirge Glassworks.     SOLD

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Size:  2 3/4" diameter by 1 7/8" high.   c.1869.  The bottom has been ground concave with only a tiny remnant of the the pontil mark remaining.  Unsigned. 
Condition:  This weight has been professionally restored and is in outstanding condition.  The restorer also left traces of age and wear on the base.  Otherwise the surface is perfect.  As is often the case with NEGC weights, the flower got messed up a bit, but this is still a great paperweight.    Several petals of the flower are missing their tips.  Because of the transparency of the flower, the details are hard to see but the picture is accurate.  There are tiny bubbles in the design.

New England Glass Company (NEGC) operated in Cambridge, Massachusetts from 1818 to 1888.  You can read about paperweights from the New England Glass Company in the book by Hawley, The Art of the Paperweight  - The Boston & Sandwich and New England Glass Companies.   SOLD

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This paperweight dates from the Dupont period of Baccarat production.  Popular lore attributes this paperweight to a Mr. Dupont, who supposedly was the last worker at Baccarat to know the secrets of paperweight making.  These paperweights were sold at a Baccarat retail shop in Paris.  Very little is known about the exact period or maker, but there is enough similarity in the millefiori canes to suggest that Mr. Dupont had access to the original molds or some of the original millefiori canes from the classic period.  No collector or scholar ever met Mr. Dupont although at least one visited the Baccarat factory and asked to meet with him.  The weights stopped appearing in the shop in 1934. 

You can read more about the Baccarat paperweights and the Dupont connection in the book The Encyclopedia of Glass Paperweights by Paul Hollister.  or the book World Paperweights by Robert Hall.  Hall puts a value of $400/$500 on a similar, although larger paperweight.

Size: 2 7/16" diameter by 1 1/2" high.  Bottom is ground flat. Made by Baccarat in France in about 1910.
Condition: Very good condition with a few tiny pinpricks and scratches.  The bottom shows appropriate wear. SOLD

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This type of construction has been associated with factories such as Whitall Tatum that operated in the early 1900s in the Millville area of Southern New Jersey.  Frit refers to the powdered glass used to make the design.  The design is set up in a metal die and then picked up with a gather of a ground color.  This weight has the white ground typical of Millville weights as well as the typical Millville two piece construction.  You can see the two step construction in the side view (click on picture to see this). 

Note, some collectors have come to believe that this style with the open circle on the bottom was made at Corning rather than Millville.  Either way, it dates from around the end of the 19th century.

According to Newell's Old Glass Paperweights of Southern New Jersey, frit weights were made as early as 1863.  Newell identifies this style as a true folk art.

Magnum Size:  Just under 3 1/2" diameter by 2 1/3" high.  Unsigned.  c1870-1910. 
Excellent condition with some very minor surface wear.  No chips or cracks.   One top facet.     SOLD

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Size: Just over 2 7/8" diameter by 2 1/8" high.  Bottom is ground concave. Unsigned but I guarantee that this was made by Baccarat in France.  I believe it was made late in the classic period but it is also possible that it is later. 
Condition: Excellent condition with a few faint scratches.  There is plenty of glass and the profile is probably original.  The bottom shows appropriate wear.

$495 postage paid in the US.

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When I bought this paperweight, I thought it was American, possibly New England Glass Company from the 1860s, but I still don't know who made it.  The millefiori canes remind me of early Whitefriars type canes from the 1920s era (Walsh-Walsh, Arculus, Richardson, or other makers).  The canes are placed close to the bottom as is the case with Whitefriars paperweights.   There is also a possibility that this weight dates from as late as the beginning of the Whitefriars revival in 1951 as the canes also resemble those found in the 1951 Triplex weight.  It has the low profile of an English weight.

Although many people collect scramble paperweights for their own merit, scrambles are also valuable tools for learning to identify the different colors and canes used by each factory. 

Size: 3" diameter by 1 5/8" high.
Good Condition:  The paperweight has quite a bit of scratching on the dome and a few small nicks around the side.  No moons or impact marks or cracks.  The bottom is ground concave.  Unsigned. 

$175 postage paid in the US.

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Size: 2 3/16" diameter by 1 7/16" high. c.1860-1900.
Condition:  Excellent condition with scratches only on the base. No chips and no
cracks. The bottom is ground flat. Unsigned.

You can read about paperweights from Bohemia in the book by von Brackel, Paperweights: Historicism - Art Nouveau - Art Deco - 1842 to Today or in the book by Hall, World Paperweights. In both of these books paperweights of this type are priced at approximately $300-400, but my price is much lower.   SOLD

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Although many people collect scramble paperweights for their own merit, scrambles are also valuable tools for learning to identify the different colors and canes used by each factory. 

Size: 2 5/8" diameter by 1 5/8" high.  Circa 1850-60.  The bottom is ground concave.
Fair Condition:  The dome of this paperweight is in great condition with the exception of one small area (about 1/2 inch square which has two chips and a circular impact mark (see bottom detailed picture for a closeup).  The paperweight also has a fracture at the base which goes 3/4 of the way around the base (again, look at the bottom detailed picture for a portion of the fracture).  It displays beautifully, but is being sold for a bargain price because of the damage. 
Unsigned, but I guarantee this to be an authentic NEGC antique paperweight. 

New England Glass Company (NEGC) operated in Cambridge, Massachusetts from 1818 to 1888.  You can read about paperweights from the New England Glass Company in the book by Hawley, The Art of the Paperweight  - The Boston & Sandwich and New England Glass Companies.         SOLD

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Size: Each is just over 1 1/2"  diameter by 1 3/4" long (excluding the screw).  With the screw they range from 2 3/4" to 3" long. 
Very good condition although there is some surface wear on each knob.  The bottom knob in the picture has one small chip.  See the closeup for a picture of the chip. 
Circa 1860-1900.  I have characterized these as Bohemian, but it is also possible that they are from an unidentified French maker.

I am selling these as a group.  If you would like to purchase one or two separately, let me know and I will give you individual pricing.

$650 postage paid in the US.

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This paperweight is similar to the examples shown on pages 151 to 159 in von Brackel's book.  He places a value of over $200 on paperweights of this type, but my price is much lower.

Von Brackel discusses this style in his book.  He describes it as consisting of flower motifs shaped, without a lamp, from glass slices, thin glass rod pieces or bits.  He shows examples from Silesia (Bohemia), Thuringia (Germany), and the Bavarian Forest. 

See references above.   The region is associated with the Bohemian glass region in past history because of its proximity to the German / Czech border. 

Large Size: Just under 3" diameter by 2 1/2" high.  Excellent condition.  No chips or cracks or moon shaped impact marks. 
Circa 1890-1925. 
The bottom is unfinished with remnants of the pontil mark.

$135 postage paid in the US.

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The maker of this paperweight is unknown, except that it is believed to originate in the region along the Czech - German border, hence the label Bohemian.  Some writers mistakenly identified this type of paperweight as Chinese because of the flat profile, but it is not.  The glass is good quality crystal and and the bottom finish is consistent other Bohemian paperweights.

Size: 2 5/8" diameter by 1 1/3" high.  c.1880-1910.
Very good condition with no chips or cracks.  Very minor surface and bottom wear consistent with its age.  Bottom is ground flat.  The design is a little off center.    SOLD

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Although many people collect scramble paperweights for their own merit, scrambles are also valuable tools for learning to identify the different colors and canes used by each factory. 

Size:  Approximately 2 3/8" diameter by 1 3/4" high.  The bottom has been ground flat and then ground concave in the center.  Circa 1880 - 1930.
Very Good condition.  There is minor wear on the dome and scratches on the dome plus considerable wear on the base. 

$95 postage paid in the US.

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