Pinchbeck Paperweights
Pinchbeck is an alloy of Copper and Zinc that looks like gold when used in paperweights. PINCHBECK paperweights were made in England and France about the year 1850, and they were so called because each of them has at least a particle of the pinchbeck alloy in it somewhere.
All weights of this class require close study in order to appreciate their features, and to understand the reasons for the very substantial value which the best of them have come to have in the market for art objects.
All weights of this class require close study in order to appreciate their features, and to understand the reasons for the very substantial value which the best of them have come to have in the market for art objects.
_The only glass in a pinchbeck weight is the thick flat glass over the top that envelops the picture. This glass extends beyond the base. Sometimes this protruding rim has been polished down to repair a nick that time has inflicted on its composition.
The pinchbeck weight is usually found to have a pewter base, although some are mounted upon a circular base of marble. It is supposed the latter may have been made in France, since we know the French weight makers used marble bases for their various products, including the snow weights. When marble bases are used, it will be found that these are firmly glued to the body of the weight. Pewter bases, on the other hand, are screwed to the glass, as can readily be seen in those cases where a portion of the pewter has been broken away from the glass.
The pinchbeck weight is usually found to have a pewter base, although some are mounted upon a circular base of marble. It is supposed the latter may have been made in France, since we know the French weight makers used marble bases for their various products, including the snow weights. When marble bases are used, it will be found that these are firmly glued to the body of the weight. Pewter bases, on the other hand, are screwed to the glass, as can readily be seen in those cases where a portion of the pewter has been broken away from the glass.
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The construction of pinchbeck weights was by no means an easy task, but required much skill and patience. The workman began by molding or sculpturing the pictorial subject which was to be enshrined in the glass. Then a cast had to be made in order to form the mold. The next step was to place over the mold a sheet of the pinchbeck gold; and this had to be burnished into the mold until the full design and all the delicate details had been worked out. Then it was lifted from the mold, and the reverse or finished side had to be subjected to such tooling and chasing as was required by the individual subject. It took a great deal of care and clever craftsmanship to avoid breaking or puncturing the thin sheet of metal, and to keep from stretching or distorting it in any way. Inexpertness at any stage of fabricating the weight could easily ruin a design or bungle the construction.
The construction of pinchbeck weights was by no means an easy task, but required much skill and patience. The workman began by molding or sculpturing the pictorial subject which was to be enshrined in the glass. Then a cast had to be made in order to form the mold. The next step was to place over the mold a sheet of the pinchbeck gold; and this had to be burnished into the mold until the full design and all the delicate details had been worked out. Then it was lifted from the mold, and the reverse or finished side had to be subjected to such tooling and chasing as was required by the individual subject. It took a great deal of care and clever craftsmanship to avoid breaking or puncturing the thin sheet of metal, and to keep from stretching or distorting it in any way. Inexpertness at any stage of fabricating the weight could easily ruin a design or bungle the construction.
