American Glass Paperweights and Their Makers
by: Jean S. Melvin
1967, Thomas Nelson & Sons, NY, NY
192 pages, $50. hardcover 1st edition in slipcase
flyleaf: “Paperweights, with their beauty, utility, and individuality, are sought after throughout the country. Much misinformation, however is circulated about their age and their sources. In AMERICAN GLASS PAPERWEIGHTS AND THEIR MAKERS, Jean Melvin provides a wealth of information for the collector. In interviews with the major craftsmen of this century, she has determined the precise attribution of hundreds of twentieth-century weights.
The unique qualities of each weight-maker are identified and portrayed in the photographs and descriptions of their work. The proper names given by the makers and the dates of production will aid all those who collect.
Stressing the art of weight production, the author describes the techniques of the craftsmen she observed. Understanding the difficulties and intricacies of weightmaking will help the novice collector to appreciate the characteristics of fine weights more fully.
Profusely illustrated with 112 weights in color as well as more than 100 black-and-white photographs and line drawings, AMERICAN GLASS PAPER-WEIGHTS AND THEIR MAKERS is an exhaustive guide to the artists and their art.”
American Glass Paperweights and Their Makers—Revised Edition by: Jean S. Melvin
1970, Thomas Nelson & Sons, Camden, NJ, 288 pages, $50. hardcover
flyleaf: “The first edition of American Glass Paperweights and Their Makers, which appeared in 1967, was Jean Melvin’s open sesame to much new information in the field. She continued her careful research not only to refine the text of the first edition, but to expand its scope considerably. The result is a definitive work which all paperweight collectors will wish to own. Over 200 weights are now shown in color and over 150 black and white photographs, drawings, and patent papers augment the text as well. With the addition of thirteen entirely new chapters on noted twentieth-century weightmakers and an extremely useful glossary, this edition now qualifies as a complete guide for the artists themselves, experienced collectors, and novices in the unique art of weight production.
Continuing her successful technique of personally interviewing the artisans, Mrs. Melvin gathered the fine details of weightmaking: the exact attribution of weights, the dates and places of production, and the quantities produced. Collectors will also appreciate the author’s precise descriptions of the weights and of the intricate techniques that were used to create them. To her original list of weightmakers Mrs. Melvin has added Lester Cunningham, O. C. Hamon, Robert Hamon, Kent F. Ipsen, the Kreutz family, Dominick Labino, Otto Macho, Tom Mosser, Joseph Barker, William Breeden, A. F. Carpenter, Harold Hacker, and William Iorio—experts who preserve the traditional art of paperweights and those who are exploring the emerging possibilities of glass.
Mrs. Melvin’s scope has indeed been broadened, and collectors everywhere may now reap the benefits of her knowledge and long-standing interest in American glass paperweights. This edition, published posthumously, will remain a tribute to her years of research in the field.”
