Allan Port's Brimfield Report- July and September 2001

Allan Port's Brimfield Report- July & September 2001

Brimfield is a large antiques / flea market that takes place in Brimfield, Massachusetts in May, July and September. There are approximately 5,000 dealers there. I have the impression that some dealers have stopped bringing paperweights to Brimfield, preferring to sell on eBay. Yet, you can still find many interesting paperweights in Brimfield. This year I went in July and September.

July, as usual was terrible. I bought only the Millville frit weight shown below. I saw nothing else that even tempted me.

September was much better. I bought eight paperweights. Although none would be called a fine antique, they appealed to me for various reasons. Five of the paperweights are shown below.

I also saw a several notable antique paperweights that tempted me even though I did not buy them:

Miniature Clichy spaced millefiori with three different rose canes. The price was right but the weight needed refinishing

Magnum Bohemian sulphide weight with large stag inside. Over 4 1/2" diameter

Gillinder turtle weight

Another collector that I met had a Kaziun and a Clichy to show for his effort, plus several more modern weights.

In addition to paperweights, we have a collection of copper enamel items. For the first time ever, we were able to acquire three pieces by the enamelist Karl Drerup from two different dealers. One was damaged, but the other two were in great condition.

1 Millville Frit Home Sweet Home Paperweight.. This vintage frit paperweight made in Millville, New Jersey around the end of the 19th century. Three colors are used to make the design, with an additional multicolored path made of larger pieces of frit. An unusual variation because of the path.
You can read about Millville weights in the book Old Glass Paperweights of Southern New Jersey by Clarence Newell. According to this book, frit weights were made as early as 1863. Newell identifies this style as a true folk art.
Size: 3 1/2" diameter by 2" high. c.1900.
Click on the picture to see a larger image.

2 Bohemian Enameled Paperweight.. This unusual paperweight is decorated with enamel on the surface. The banner reads "Bund der Deutschen in Böhmen 1894" (League of Germans in Bohemia 1894). There is also a gold edge decoration visible in the larger picture. Unknown origin. The date is probably accurate.
Special thanks to Wolfgang Jacobmeyer for helping me with this identification.
Size: 2 1/2" diameter by 1 1/4" high. c.1894.
Click on the picture to see a larger image.

3 Diminutive Footed English Dump Paperweight with Double Foil Flower. Possibly made by John Kilner of Wakefield, England. What makes this unusual is its diminutive size. These weights are usually large and were frequently used as doorstops or garden markers. Green dump paperweights were made from the 1830s up to sometime early 20th century. Unknown age, but I feel this dates from the 19th century. Very well executed.
You can read about English Green Glass Dumps or Doorstops in the book Old English Paperweights by Robert Hall.
Size: 2" diameter by 3 1/4" high. c.1850-1900.
Click on the picture to see a larger image.

4 Chinese Carpet Ground Millefiori Paperweight. 1930s Chinese weights are great collectibles with most examples still very affordable. You can usually find many at Brimfield, but this is the first time that I spotted one with a carpet ground setup. The term carpet ground refers to a background or base consisting of only one type of millefiori cane. In this case, only the color setup of the center cane is different.
You can read about Chinese paperweights in the book World Paperweights by Robert Hall.
Size: 2 7/8" diameter by 1 1/4" high. c.1930.
Click on the picture to see a larger image.

5 Pink and White Crimp Rose Paperweight. Unknown origin and age. Crimp roses are difficult to make and are very much sought after by collectors. This particular example has a typewritten paper label on the bottom "UNION GLASS CO SOMERVILLE, MASS." I don't believe that this rose was made by Union Glass as it is different from all other Union Glass paperweights that I have seen. The coloration resembles John Degenhart's work. The bottom is ground flat.
If you know who made this paperweight, please send me an email at aport@paperweights.com
Size: 2 3/4" diameter by 2" high. c.1930.
Click on the picture to see a larger image.

6 Early Perthshire Paperweight. A medium size weight resembling the early PP5 weights because of the translucent ground, but the pattern is 1-1-2-3 which is not a documented PP5 or PP6 pattern. I bought it because it was signed with a P in the outer row, something that I have not seen before.
You can read about Perthshire Paperweights in the book The Complete Guide to Perthshire Paperweights by Mahoney & McLanahan.
Size: approx. 2 1/2" diameter.
Click on the picture to see a larger image.

1	Millville Frit Home Sweet Home Paperweight.. This vintage frit paperweight made in Millville, New Jersey around the end of the 19th century. Three colors are used to make the design, with an additional multicolored path made of larger pieces of frit. An unusual variation because of the path. You can read about Millville weights in the book Old Glass Paperweights of Southern New Jersey by Clarence Newell. According to this book, frit weights were made as early as 1863. Newell identifies this style as a true folk art. Size: 3 1/2" diameter by 2" high. c.1900. Click on the picture to see a larger image.
2	Bohemian Enameled Paperweight.. This unusual paperweight is decorated with enamel on the surface. The banner reads "Bund der Deutschen in Böhmen 1894" (League of Germans in Bohemia 1894). There is also a gold edge decoration visible in the larger picture. Unknown origin. The date is probably accurate. Special thanks to Wolfgang Jacobmeyer for helping me with this identification. Size: 2 1/2" diameter by 1 1/4" high. c.1894. Click on the picture to see a larger image.
3	Diminutive Footed English Dump Paperweight with Double Foil Flower. Possibly made by John Kilner of Wakefield, England. What makes this unusual is its diminutive size. These weights are usually large and were frequently used as doorstops or garden markers. Green dump paperweights were made from the 1830s up to sometime early 20th century. Unknown age, but I feel this dates from the 19th century. Very well executed. You can read about English Green Glass Dumps or Doorstops in the book Old English Paperweights by Robert Hall. Size: 2" diameter by 3 1/4" high. c.1850-1900. Click on the picture to see a larger image.
4	Chinese Carpet Ground Millefiori Paperweight. 1930s Chinese weights are great collectibles with most examples still very affordable. You can usually find many at Brimfield, but this is the first time that I spotted one with a carpet ground setup. The term carpet ground refers to a background or base consisting of only one type of millefiori cane. In this case, only the color setup of the center cane is different. You can read about Chinese paperweights in the book World Paperweights by Robert Hall. Size: 2 7/8" diameter by 1 1/4" high. c.1930. Click on the picture to see a larger image.
5	Pink and White Crimp Rose Paperweight. Unknown origin and age. Crimp roses are difficult to make and are very much sought after by collectors. This particular example has a typewritten paper label on the bottom "UNION GLASS CO SOMERVILLE, MASS." I don't believe that this rose was made by Union Glass as it is different from all other Union Glass paperweights that I have seen. The coloration resembles John Degenhart's work. The bottom is ground flat. If you know who made this paperweight, please send me an email at aport@paperweights.com Size: 2 3/4" diameter by 2" high. c.1930. Click on the picture to see a larger image.
6	Early Perthshire Paperweight. A medium size weight resembling the early PP5 weights because of the translucent ground, but the pattern is 1-1-2-3 which is not a documented PP5 or PP6 pattern. I bought it because it was signed with a P in the outer row, something that I have not seen before. You can read about Perthshire Paperweights in the book The Complete Guide to Perthshire Paperweights by Mahoney & McLanahan. Size: approx. 2 1/2" diameter. Click on the picture to see a larger image.

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Revised 2/26/2002