Perthshire is a small company in Crieff, Scotland that was devoted to the creation of quality glass paperweights.  They stopped production in January 2002 after more than 30 years of production.  Their paperweights were consistently high in quality and yet remained reasonable in price.

The birth of Scottish paperweight making is credited to the glass making family of Salvador Ysart, who moved to Crieff, Scotland in 1922.  They worked first at John Moncrieff Ltd and made the earliest Scottish paperweights during that period.  In 1946 Salvadore and his sons Augustine and Vincent founded Ysart Brothers Glass and produced glass wares under the Vasart label.  The company name was later changed to Vasart Glass.

Stuart Drysdale was hired manage the business side of the enterprise in 1960.  The company evolved into a new company Strathearn owned by Teachers Whiskey.  In 1967 Drysdale was sent a magazine article on antique paperweights (Woman's Day, July 1965).  The inspired him to try to produce weights comparable to the French antiques.  With this goal in mind, he and several of the glass workers left Strathearn to found Perthshire in 1968.

Peter McDougall was one of the very young glass workers who left Strathearn in 1969.  When Perthshire closed in 2002 he was the head craftsman of  Perthshire.  Peter now has his own studio PMcD Glass Studio and makes paperweights under his own name.  For a selection of Peter's paperweights, see my PMcD page.

There are more Scottish paperweights and related objects on my page of Scottish Paperweights.

For more information, you can read about the Perthshire in three books:

• Glass Paperweights, an Old Craft Revived
• The Art of the Paperweight - Perthshire
• The Complete Guide to Perthshire Paperweights

If you would like to purchase any of these paperweights, e-mail me at: aport@paperweights.com
 

2388	Large Early Perthshire Paneled Millefiori Paperweight.  A large patterned millefiori paperweight with 15 sections of floral millefiori canes over an opaque pink ground.  The central design consists of two rings around a central floral cane.  There are 15 radial twists, which is relatively rare.  This paperweight dates from before 1979 when Perthshire started signing this design with a P cane.  It has a paper label "PERTHSHIRE PAPERWEIGHTS CRIEFF SCOTLAND".  Large Size:  Just over 3" diameter by 2 1/8" high.  Excellent condition.  Circa 1969-1978. $175 postage paid in the US.  Click on the picture to see a larger image.
1295	Perthshire Miniature Dated Closepack Millefiori Paperweight. This paperweight consists a close packed design of interesting millefiori canes over a cobalt blue ground.  Perthshire's traditional "P" signature cane appears in the center of the design.  In addition, it has a special complex commemorative signature cane on the bottom "PCA 2001" and it is signed on the bottom with a paper label "PERTHSHIRE PAPERWEIGHTS CRIEFF SCOTLAND".  Only a limited number of these weights were made.  They were given to the attendees of the 2001 PCA Convention and all of the remaining weights were sold at the convention.  This is one of my favorite Perthshire designs.  Prior to introducing this design, a simple closepack like this was available only as a doorknob.  In 1997, I asked Peter McDougall of Perthshire if he would make one for me as a paperweight.  They liked the result so much that they decided to put it into regular production in two sizes.  This special miniature commemorative weight is a new size that never appeared in their catalog.  Size:  1 5/8" diameter by 1 1/4" high.  Outstanding condition with no scratches, chips or cracks. Sold Click on the picture to see a larger image.
1345	Fancy Cut Perthshire PP163 Paperweight.  Miniature paperweight with four concentric circles of millefiori around a central cane with Perthshire's traditional "P" signature cane.  The ground is cobalt blue.  The weight has star shape with six double points.  It is also signed on the bottom with a paper label "PERTHSHIRE PAPERWEIGHTS CRIEFF SCOTLAND".  Perthshire called this a pressed weight because a mold is used to form the outside ribbing.  The top is flattened.  There are several different molded paperweights made by Perthshire.  This style is more flashy and slightly larger than the less expensive PP75.  Size: 1 15/16" diameter by 1 1/4" high. Outstanding condition with no scratches, chips or cracks.  Shipment will include a Perthshire millefiori sampler box (see below).   Sold Click on the picture to see a larger image.
MFB	Perthshire Millefiori Sampler Box.  Each paperweight on this page ships with a free millefiori sampler box consisting of pieces of Perthshire millefiori in a small plastic box with a plastic magnifier on top.  These boxes are also for sale Size:  1" by 1" by 7/8" high.  Contains approximately 10 pieces of millefiori.  If you want, you can open the box and take the glass pieces out.  Not for sale individually.  One box will be shipped with each Perthshire paperweight.  The picture shows a similar box.  Click on the picture to see a larger image.
BKP3	The Complete Guide to Perthshire Paperweights by Colin & Debby Mahoney & Gary & Marge McClanahan This book is the third and most complete of three books on Perthshire.   It provides a history of Perthshire, a description of the paperweight making process, and a guide to identifying Perthshire paperweights.  A beautiful book with great pictures and ample text describing each of the many paperweights made by Perthshire through 1997.  Chapters are:  Introduction  History  From Sand to Art  Catalog  Identification  Glossary  About the Authors  8 3/4" by 11 3/4".  1997.  184 pages with all pictures in color.  Available in Soft Cover for $30.00 or and a limited printing of Hard Cover copies for $65.00 The other two books on Perthshire are: Glass Paperweights, an Old Craft Revived The Art of the Paperweight - Perthshire Click on the picture to see a color plate from the book.
1386	Early Perthshire Paperweight.  c.1969-1970.  A medium size patterned millefiori paperweight on a translucent turquoise ground.  This weight resembles the early PP5  weights because of the translucent ground, but the pattern is 1-1-2-3 which is not a documented PP5 or PP6 pattern.  Signed with a P in the outer row.  Size:  approx. 2 5/8" diameter by 2" high. Signed in cane. Sold You can read about Perthshire Paperweights in the book The Complete Guide to Perthshire Paperweights by Mahoney & McClanahan. Click on the picture to see a larger image.
2389	Large Early Perthshire Paneled Millefiori Paperweight.  A large patterned millefiori paperweight with 12 sections of floral millefiori canes over an almost opaque black or dark purple ground.  The central design consists of two rings around a central floral cane.  This paperweight dates from before 1979 when Perthshire started signing this design with a P cane.  It has the remant of a paper label "PERTHSHIRE PAPERWEIGHTS CRIEFF SCOTLAND".  A stunning paperweight with dramatic colors.  Large Size:  3" diameter by 2 1/16" high.  Excellent condition..  The ground has one spot with lighter colored glass in it which is visible from the side and the bottom.  The pontil is only partially finished.  Circa 1969-1978.   $165 postage paid in the US.  Click on the picture to see a larger image.

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Revised 9/15/2007