paperweights: North American (others)

Paperweights made by North American makers who do not have separate pages on my website.

PW2716. Joe St Clair, Elwood, Indiana – Magnum Crimp Rose. Joe made these as his high end weights, earning his crimp roses a permanent spot on the list of weights a crimp collector absolutely must have. This is a beautiful made pink crimp rose from the old master himself.  It is interesting that the St Clair family are descendants of glass makers from Alsace-Lorraine, France, home of the famous Saint Louis glassworks. This style is classically American from the heartland of Indiana – as American as apple pie and baseball. This weight is in excellent, like new, condition. The hot stamp on the base reads “JOE ST CLAIR.” No collection of American paperweights is complete without one of these. Joe was born in 1909 and passed away in 1987. He made his last weights in 1984. 3 1/2 inch diameter; 3 7/16 inches tall; two pounds and two ounces.  $325

PW1593. Steve Lundberg Signed 1989 Museum Piece.  A delicate spider lily with red-spotted yellow lampworked petals over six green lampworked leaves. Steve Lundberg passed away in 2008. Signed pieces like this are hard to find. The weight is signed: “Steven Lundberg, Lundberg Studios 1989 011708” along the side of the base. 2 3/4 inches in diameter; 2 3/4 inches tall; one pound and one ounce. The condition is PERFECT AS NEW.  $250

PW3020. Crimp Rose Magnum Museum Piece by Prestige Glass. This is the last paperweight made by Prestige, or at least it’s from the last batch.  Well-formed crimp rose with petals that range from off-white to deep pink, with assorted degrees of translucency. The thin, translucent leaves add a green hue from many angles. Hot stamp on base reads: PRESTIGE LAST BATCH 0413 (Which I assume to be April 2013). Condition is just about like new with ever-so-slight shelfwear. 3 1/8 inches tall; 3 5/16 inch diameter; one pound and eleven ounces. $150

PW3118. Yellow Crimp Rose High Dome Museum Piece by Joe Rice 1992. Nicely formed, very bright yellow rose with translucent green leaves. Hot stamp on base reads: JOE RICE 1992. Mr Rice was heir to Joe St Clair. Condition is perfect on the dome with a little shelfwear. 3 7/16 inches tall; 3 3/16 inch diameter; one pound and twelve ounces. $150 

PW1589. Ron Hansen (1910-1987), Mackinaw City, Michigan, USA, 1967. The book American Glass Paperweights and Their Makers, published in 1967, devotes a full chapter to Ron Hansen. This is a beautiful as well as historically significant paperweight from one of the masters of The American Paperweight Renaissance. Bird on a branch. I have handled about a half dozen of these over the years, and this is the best. The iconic book from the 1960s, One Hundred of the most important Paperweights, by paperweight legend Paul Jokelson, includes one of Ron Hansen’s Bird on a Branch weights as #100. The bird in this one is similar to the one in the book. So if you want one of the 100 most important paperweights of all time as viewed from the 1960s by the preeminent paperweight expert, this is for you. The others in the book will cost quite a bit more – they are Clichy, Pantin, Baccarat, Mount Washington, and so on. This one got me thinking a little – it was made the year I graduated from high school. It was The Summer of Love. You have to love this little yellow-bellied bluebird. Translucent medium blue ground. Remarkably few bubbles for a Hansen. Signed to the base: “Ronald E. Hansen 1967”. It has been reported that he signed only his best weights with his full name like this. Condition is excellent/like new. 2 3/8 inch diameter; 1 3/4 inches tall; eight ounces.  $550

click for North American others, page 2