Paperweights

Originally made in France around 1845/1850 the very term “PAPERWEIGHTS” covers a multitude of products in many styles and qualities. There are around 20,000 paperweight enthusiasts dotted around the world who specialize in collecting prime examples of the art and happily spend their time producing newsletters and meeting at regional and national conventions.

Paperweight collectors

If you are a collector and looking for Millefiori. Lampwork, Sulfide, Swirl or Californian paperweights then I’m afraid you’re on the wrong site as we are primarily concerned with advertising and promotional glass and crystal paperweights…although the actual glass and crystal still comes from France; so there is a connection, however tenuous, with the original product.

Examples of advertising paper weights can be seen in the banner at the head of this page. The first two round glass paperweights are quite different in that the Linkman promotional paperweight uses a white enamel background whilst the Monmouthshire council example is in full colour printed on silver aluminium. Yet another style is the coat-of-arms whole dome crystal paperweight which has a gold aluminium background with an edge-to-edge full colour print.

Advertising paperweights

It is said that advertising paper weights, first made in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania using a process patented by William Maxwell, used a disk containing a product description or company name encapsulated within a clear glass domed paperweight...and this may be true but today paperweights form a significant part of the desktop advertising business with the sloping dome crystal paperweight being especially popular and even more so when presented in a prestige gift box.  

Paperweights from SNA

We appear to have come full cycle because the paper weights produced by Stewart Norman Associates for the promotions and incentives market use glass or crystal paperweights designed specifically to accommodate a lithographed full colour aluminium disc. Whilst not necessarily an original work of art in the sense of the first paperweights this version with the appropriate artwork can be exceedingly attractive and makes a handsome corporate gift. In fact many good judges feel that a whole dome crystal paperweight with an encapsulated full colour aluminium disk is a miniature work-of-art. Indeed, the very best examples can happily take their place on any executive desk advertising a company name or product.

Our process is quite simple in that we start with an aluminium or enameled disc and print any design in any colour and then add the disk to the base of the paperweight. The disk is secured by a suede fabric, usually blue, green, red or black, to prevent the paperweight being damaged or marking a piece of expensive furniture. The suede is “high-tac”, initially bonding quickly and easily to the glass or crystal, and progressively becoming more firmly attached to the base of the paperweight.

Promotional paperweights

Often our customers use paperweights and metal coasters with a common design as part of the same promotion although some companies follow a paperweight promotion with a coaster promotion later in the campaign. Either way paperweights are now firmly established as an acceptable promotional advertising product.You can read more at CRYSTAL PAPERWEIGHTS or see further examples at the PHOTO GALLERY.

Click on this button for samples of SNA paperweights.