How Paperweights were made by hand.
For the better appreciation of paperweights it is well to know something of the materials of which they were made, the tools and processes which entered into their construction, and the interesting niche which they occupy in the history of the glass industry.
The basic material of glass is lead or lime mixed with sand. The best glass is made by combining 40 to 60 parts of lead with 100 parts of pure sand. It seems almost incredible that these common substances, none of them transparent, can be fused to produce the marvelous quality and beauty of glass.
Glass, unlike many other familiar materials, never loses any of its original substance and weight, and is therefore an excellent medium for preserving artistic expression.
Lead glass, often called flint glass, was invented in England in 1560. By 1676 it was used extensively in France, where it was called crystal, just as in America today. The word crystal is derived from a Greek word meaning "clear ice. Transparent quartz was called rock crystal because of an ancient belief that it was permanent ice which had been formed from water by intense cold.
The basic material of glass is lead or lime mixed with sand. The best glass is made by combining 40 to 60 parts of lead with 100 parts of pure sand. It seems almost incredible that these common substances, none of them transparent, can be fused to produce the marvelous quality and beauty of glass.
Glass, unlike many other familiar materials, never loses any of its original substance and weight, and is therefore an excellent medium for preserving artistic expression.
Lead glass, often called flint glass, was invented in England in 1560. By 1676 it was used extensively in France, where it was called crystal, just as in America today. The word crystal is derived from a Greek word meaning "clear ice. Transparent quartz was called rock crystal because of an ancient belief that it was permanent ice which had been formed from water by intense cold.
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This is an example of a "Contolled bubble" paperweight. It was probably made by Hamon glass in the 1960's. If you click the link above Our Antique Shop will open in a new window where you can see more pictures of this item and details about the size and weight of this paperweight.
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Crystal is heavy, takes a brilliant finish, and constitutes the foundation of all old paperweights and cut glass. It comes out of the furnace red hot, like iron; and the "metal", as the molten glass is called, begins to change in its degree of ductility immediately.
In the molten stage it is extremely tough and elastic, and readily lends itself to ladling, pouring, casting, and stirring. In the viscous state, it can be blown or rolled, and it remains plastic, ordinarily, for about three-quarters of an hour.
It is generally transparent, but may be translucent or opaque. Generally speaking, high silica content in glass tends to make it hard, while high lead content tends to produce softness and luster. Glass has no grain, and, if a crack is desired, it can be pierced by a diamond cutter or a hot poker; otherwise it shatters under a sharp blow.
All the raw materials placed in the melting pot are called "the batch." The presence of too much iron or manganese in the sand impairs the clearness of the glass. Matallic oxodes introduced into "the batch" can be used to produce various colors, although the result will depend upon the nature of the mixture and may be modified both by temperature and the gases in the melting furnace. Copper oxide, for example, will produce green in a lead glass, and turquoise in a highly alkaline glass.
In the molten stage it is extremely tough and elastic, and readily lends itself to ladling, pouring, casting, and stirring. In the viscous state, it can be blown or rolled, and it remains plastic, ordinarily, for about three-quarters of an hour.
It is generally transparent, but may be translucent or opaque. Generally speaking, high silica content in glass tends to make it hard, while high lead content tends to produce softness and luster. Glass has no grain, and, if a crack is desired, it can be pierced by a diamond cutter or a hot poker; otherwise it shatters under a sharp blow.
All the raw materials placed in the melting pot are called "the batch." The presence of too much iron or manganese in the sand impairs the clearness of the glass. Matallic oxodes introduced into "the batch" can be used to produce various colors, although the result will depend upon the nature of the mixture and may be modified both by temperature and the gases in the melting furnace. Copper oxide, for example, will produce green in a lead glass, and turquoise in a highly alkaline glass.
