Glass paperweights, or 'letter weights' as they were called, first appeared in any numbers around 1845. Subsequently, for a period of fifteen years or so, a lady or gentleman might well have a glass paperweight or two on their desk, perhaps as functional objects, perhaps purely as decoration. Most likely these would be representations of colourful flowers - maybe a pansy as a memento from an admirer - or intricate millefiori designs, or combinations of the two, all made from and encapsulated in lead crystal glass (figures 1 and 2). None of these were mass-produced - paperweights have to be handmade even now - and they were not inexpensive at the time. Some have been lost or damaged beyond repair in the intervening years, but the many paperweights that have survived from that period provide some exquisite examples of the skill and artistry of the glass workers who made them.
The first decorative glass balls containing millefiori canes are thought to have been made in Venice in the late 15th century, but the 'modern' paperweight did not appear until the late 1830s in Bohemia and subsequently in Venice. In the early 1840s two well-known Venetian glass workers -Bigaglia and Francini - made a number of paperweights containing randomly scrambled millefiori canes, silhouettes, even dates and signatures (figure 3). These early Venetian paperweights are untidy, often dull, misshapen pieces, but their history and rarity means they command prices of £1,000 to £3,000. The Venetians, however, did not exploit the optical properties of the glass: the dome of a paper-weight is a magnifying lens, which can help give solidity and depth of detail to the design. So it fell to others to realise that potential.
Many of the best antique paperweights were made in France by the Baccarat or Saint Louis factories in the Metz region, or by Clichy in Paris. The latter factory closed long ago, but Baccarat and Saint Louis are still in business, and made many paperweights in the second half of the 20th century. Other high quality but low volume factories in France included Patin and St Mande. Elsewhere, some very high quality antique paperweights were made in England (by George Bacchus & Sons, figure 4); in Bohemia; and in the New England area of the United States.