Early Whimsy or Folk Art Paperweights

There are times when Glasshouse Whimsies are also considered in other areas of collecting. For some years, Wheaton Village in Millville NJ has been very active in presenting customs and crafts that are considered American Folk Art or South Jersey Folk Art.     Where this folk art crosses paths with glasshouse whimsies is in the early paperweights made in the South Jersey area. Some of the earliest American paperweights can be traced to South Jersey and mainly to Millville at the Whitall Tatum Glass Factory. The glassworkers there were mostly immigrants from Europe. The earliest migration of these European glass workers, familiar with paperweight-making, was to New England  about 1840.    These workers made paperweights, on their own time, in the image of the European paperweights. The methods were either millefiori or the lampwork technique. By 1860 there were immigrant workers in South Jersey making paperweights exclusively from hot glass taken directly from the tank instead of using the lampwork method. These examples reflected a completely new approach to making and designing a paperweight. The design may have been a rose or a lily-like flower. There was a style now termed “umbrella” paperweights, paperweights with a “devil’s fire” motif, still others referred to as “frit” paperweights and also controlled bubble paperweights, all of which had their beginnings in South Jersey. They were made in the Millville area until the 1920’s and were not made as any production effort. Gradually, glass artists in other parts of the country began making some of these folk art type paperweights. Only a few of these later artists have been able to equal the craftsmanship of the earlier  immigrants.

       

The rose is probably the most famous of these early folk art paperweights. Commonly referred to as the “Millville Rose”, all paperweight collectors recognize the name. The flower was to look like a rose with a few green leaves underneath. It was formed by pushing the color petals into the clear glass with a custom made crimp. Workers seldom shared their rose crimp.   If your crimp made a good looking rose, then you kept it to yourself! The early roses are usually of ruby red, while a few are pink, opal white or opalescent yellow. There are only a very few blue rose paperweights. Many glass artists have tried their hand at making a rose paperweight, and there was even an influx of rose paperweights from China in the 1930’s. The China weights can be distinguished because the rose appears to take up the entire sphere of glass unlike the domestic examples.

 

The umbrella paperweight was originally made to imitate the wild tiger lily of South Jersey. As various glass workers tried their hand at making the lily paperweight, they would make their own variations by adding color chips and making more or less pull downs which led to the paperweight looking more like an umbrella. Hence the term umbrella paperweight. A favorite of the early makers was the ink bottle or perfume bottle. They would make a small paperweight in the stopper to match the large example in the base.

The Frit type paperweights are made with powdered glass. The powdered glass is laid out in a design, which is picked up on the hot glass, and then surrounded with more clear hot glass. Of all the old South Jersey paperweights, the frit type are the most recognizable as folk art. The frit paperweights express the virtues of a simple life. There can be quite a variation of quality of frit paperweights, because there were many workers who tried their hand at making a frit paperweight. This type of paperweight was first made about 1863. Some of the frit paperweights have a solid color below the frit message and others have multi color chips. You can find many designs of frit paperweights including friendship (clasped hands), rocked in the cradle of the deep (clipper ship), hope (anchor and wreath), remember mother, remember the Maine, remember me, home sweet home (house), no place like home (house), rock of ages (cross), and a hunter with a hunting dog or just a dog to name a few. Some of the rarer frit paperweights are made with two or three colors.   Later examples contain a denser material as the frit, which allows the design or letters to stand out more, but are easily identifiable as being made after the 1920’s.

The controlled bubble type paperweights probably were not made until after 1900. They were a specialty made by the workers at the Durand Fancy Glass Shop in the 1920’s. The controlled bubble paperweights have a series of small air bubbles, which appear to be equal distant from each other. The bubbles usually form circles near the outside of the paperweight. Some examples have a colored core inside the bubbles. This air bubble motif has been duplicated by many glass artists over the years, making it very difficult to identify the early examples of the Durand days.

 

Another motif of the early folk art period is the Devil’s Fire. A natural phenomena found in the woods of South Jersey stimulated the imagination of glass workers for the creation of the Devil’s Fire motif. In the swamps of Southern New Jersey, there often appear to be moving flames which have been referred to as fox fire or devil’s fire. The swamps generate methane gas, which will burn with a bluish flame. There can also be a fluorescent glow in rotting wood or wild mushrooms of the South Jersey woods which is also referred to as fox fire or devil’s fire. The glass workers observed these deep woods lights and tried to portray them in glass. They developed a type of motif known as Fox Fire or Devil’s Fire, which generally has a spiky multi colored appearance.  The Devil’s Fire can be found in the normally formed paperweights, mantel ornaments, and ink bottles. The stopper of the bottles usually includes the same motif. The Devil’s Fire paperweights were made mostly in South Jersey and are considered part of the local folk art.

 

All of the paperweights mentioned in this article are considered to be glasshouse whimsies and were made as non-production or off-hours items during the time period of 1850 to 1930. After 1930, there have been efforts to make these same old folk art style paperweights for sale in small one pot operations. Some names that come to mind are John St. Clair, John Degenhart, Peter Gentile, Francis Whittemore, and Charles Kaziun.       These and others were all excellent craftsmen and some of them were able to make fine examples of the early folk art paperweights, but what they made was for sale and the artists weren’t involved in any kind of commercial production where they worked. They solely made what they wanted to make, but the paperweights are actually whimsical. These paperweights are still lovely for any collection, I just wanted to point out the difference in their origin.

 

Some of the early folk art paperweights can be quite costly in today’s market. The Millville Rose can be ($500-2000) and the umbrella type ($350-1000). The Devil’s fire can also be a little costly ($100-1000), but the controlled bubble and some frit paperweights can still be purchased for less than $200.   Obviously, the price depends on whether it is an original and the quality of the workmanship. As mentioned above, the frit type paperweights have the best connection to a simple life and are the most individualized. They are the best example of early folk art in glass paperweights.

 

A recent Schiffer book titled TIFFIN GLASS 1940-1980: Figurals, Paperweights, Pressed Ware by Hemminger/Goshe/Pina shows the Devil’s Fire motif in small mantle ornaments that are called “Tree Paperweights”. They are made very much in the format of some of the early South Jersey Devil’s Fire mantle ornaments.     I would suppose that a glass worker from South Jersey migrated to Tiffin Ohio and made some Devil’s Fire type mantel ornaments. After time and the passing of the original glass worker, the name “Tree Paperweight” was attached to the Devil’s Fire motif by those unfamiliar with the South Jersey Folk Art.     Realistically, some examples of the Devil’s Fire motif do look a little like a tree.

 

Another somewhat folksy and whimsical item occasionally made by glass workers is the pencil/pen/or toothpick holder. It includes a normal paperweight adorned with a cup or vase on the top. This style actually has its origin in mid nineteenth century France at the St. Louis Glass Works where they were made as shot glasses, vases, or wafer trays. The top attachment of the French examples contains much color and workmanship. The domestic examples are not tall enough to be a vase or small enough to be a shot glass or broad enough to be a wafer tray and they have very little workmanship. The bowls are usually made of clear glass with a pedal or roll over lip. They seem to work best as a pen or pencil holder while the smaller examples are probably toothpick holders. Their domestic origin may be West Virginia or Ohio as much as South Jersey. I have an example which was made in Cumberland Maryland that has a 3 ½” deep clear vase at the top. The vase attached to the top is not necessarily difficult to make after making the paperweight.     These paperweight pen or pencil holders are rather rare and probably should be included in the folk art category as well as the whimsey category.

 

More recently, a new type of South Jersey paperweight has become popular, made by Paul Stankard (Mantua, NJ). These are quite different than the old folk art paperweights. Paul has been making a botanical type paperweight using the lampwork technique for about 30 years.  They are usually larger and in a rectangular cube form. Paul works with flowers, trees, animals and even people. Again, Paul’s weights are whimsical but they are not glasshouse whimsies nor are they folk art.