Paperweights were invented to prevent papers from flying away due to air currents in offices before air conditioning. The first companies producing paperweights were in France, followed by the US and UK. There are different styles of paperweights, including lampwork, millefiori, portrait or advertisement, commemorative, and California. While most paperweights are made of glass, some are made of hard materials or plastic. Collectors value early paperweights, especially those without flaws. Today, paperweights are mainly decorative and come in various styles.
Paperweights are an outgrowth of buildings that used to house a lot of offices, long before air conditioning was available, and even long before some of the larger high-rise buildings started having windows that wouldn’t open. If you wanted to refresh your office, whether on the ground floor or on several floors, you opened a window. This could mean that strong air currents could blow the sheets away, or at least onto the floor. To contrast the action of these air currents, in the mid-nineteenth century, several companies began to produce the paperweight: a heavy glass object, often hemispherical, which prevented the paper from flying away when exposed to air currents.
The first companies producing types of paperweights were located in France. The US and UK soon followed suit by setting up other companies to make the perfect paperweight. These early plays, especially when they are free from flaws, are often of great value. Some early paperweights can sell for several hundred thousand US dollars (USD), and there are many collectors of the various styles.
There are several distinct styles of paperweights. These are:
Lampwork: Paperweights built around central objects, such as flowers, animals, or fruit.
Millefiori: A glass-making technique that produces different patterns on the glass, often resembling small flowers
Portrait or Advertisement: The paperweight is built around someone’s picture or around an advertisement for a company
Commemorative: Weights are built around a plaque commemorating an event or achievement
California: Weights can be painted different colors, and colors can be decorated with tools to show different styles.
While most paperweights collected today are made of glass, you can find ones made of hard materials, such as marble, and there are many made of plastic. These are usually of less value, unless they are one of a kind and made by artisans. In modern times, some of these artisans have elevated the form of paperweight making to an art. In particular, Paul Joseph Stankard’s lampwork paperweights are so incredibly lifelike that many believed anything encased in the weights was real. Stankard’s weights are in the collections of many of the world’s most famous museums.
If you are not a collector and if you have air conditioning, the main reason to buy a paperweight today is because it appeals. There are many to choose from, especially the lampwork style or the commemorative style. They’re definitely pretty to look at, even if their function is largely redundant now. Many feel that a desk wouldn’t be official without the requisite attractive paperweight.
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