Glass Paperweights of the New-York Historical Society
by: Paul Hollister
1974, Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., New York, NY
222 pages, $95. hardcover
flyleaf: “This book is a catalogue raisonné of the paperweight collections given to The New-York Historical Society by Mrs. H. Macdonald Sinclair, Mr. Edwin Waitstill Orvis, and Mrs. Insley Blair. Of these the world-renowned Sinclair collection, comprising 439 paperweights and related glass, ranks as one of the great paperweight collections open to public view.
Paperweight expert Paul Hollister, whose Encyclopedia of Glass Paperweights has become the bible for collectors, describes here the cultural climate in which paperweights of the classic period (1845-55) made their appearance. He takes us on a guided tour of The Society’s collections, using as illustrations the 120 superb color plates by H. Landshoff. In the interests of clarity and contrast each color plate shows paperweights of a single type from various factories. The sequence of plates advances from the simplest to the more complex types of paperweight, touching the highlights of the commonest and rarest alike. Never before have so many paperweights been shown in such realistic color detail or described with such dedicated interest.
The book also contains an accurate description of all 549 paperweights belonging to The Society, an explanation of how paperweights are made, a glossary of paperweight terms, and advice to collectors, new or advanced.
Paul Hollister, a native New Yorker and Harvard graduate, is a leading authority on glass paperweights. In addition to The Encyclopedia of Glass Paperweights, published in 1969 and now a classic, he has written extensively on paperweights for Antiques magazine, Collectors Guide, the Bulletin of the National Early American Glass Club, and other specialized publications. The Collector’s Encyclopedia of Antiques, published in 1973 by Crown, has a chapter on paperweights by Mr. Hollister. Mr. Hollister has catalogued and appraised major museum and private paperweight collections, and is in demand as a lecturer on glass. He is also a painter with fourteen one-man shows to his credit, and when he is not writing he may be found painting, unless of course, he is listening to music. He and his wife live in New York City.”
