Need Help with a Glass Paperweight

I just got this paperweight today. It is Italian and was made by KB Glass which is documented on the web. My question is regarding a little white thing that is inside the weight. There appears to be a white label with the hand written numbers 1887 on it. Why is this in the weight? It looks like maybe the inside part was made first and then a paper label was stuck on it to identify it. Then the clear glass was layered over it, but someone forgot to remove the label. Am I close with that explanation? (Hmmm . . . wouldn't the label burn up?) I saw one similar to this one on ebay, but it did not have a white label inside it. The 'weight measures about 3" across. TIA!

 

Original KB Paperweight Italy "Koscherak Brothers"

 

But that still doesn't explain the tag under glass.

 

That's true !
I doubt what ever the tag is , that it's paper.

 

Hi...the "white label" is not paper...it is a date cane..made of glass just like the other canes are. I seriously doubt that the date relates to the age of the paperweight..as many companies inserted date canes --and the date in yours happens to be the date reported to be of KBs founding.

It seems to be a good quality paperweight...and needs more research...

 

A date cane, I remember reading about that on the boards over on the 'bay, but I couldn't remember what it was called. The stuck-on paper label is more contemporary than 1887 so of course, that couldn't be when the paperweight was made. And the condition of the 'weight is too good to be that old. But it's interesting that it has the cane in there. I just can't even speculate why, however. Maybe it was first of this design. I'll have to see if there's a paperweight forum somewhere. Thanks for the info!

 

There is a great paperweight forum on this site...
www.glassmessages.com They are experts...just know that it may take a few days to get a reply..

Also..remember KB is an importer...and your PW could be by any of many makers.
While I have a large PW collection...I am a total dunce when it comes to being able to identify a weight by the canes....but the experts on the site above can !!!

Date canes sometimes are used to commemorate something...and as I said..your cane is date of KB start..so maybe they had it made for them . (total speculation on my part)..

 

If I weren't as optimistic as I am, I'd suspect the date was put in there to snare unwary buyers, hoping to score an old paperweight, but that can't be so. No one would do that,would they?

 

LOL...I did not want to bring that up...but you are correct...it does happen....

 

It's not fake, exactly, but those date canes were put into weights to make them have a bit more validity, if that makes sense. Doesn't really mean a lot - decent weight, floating canes on a spatter base. If it hadn't got the label, I might have thought it was trying to be a Bacchus.

 

Maybe all their weights contain that cane as a signature. If so... unfortunate choice.

 

If you mean KB , KB did not make the weight --only imported it...and I doubt all the artists they sold would insert this cane

 

If that's the case, then that number probably has nothing to do with KB's founding.

Maybe they commissioned a special centennial paperweight.

 

It's probably a meaningless date. A lot of makers did that sort of thing. It gave rise, for example, to the myth that Whitefriars made weights in the mid 19th C.

 

IMHO...commissioned --as maybe too much of a coincidence it being that specific year....

 

That I very much doubt. There's a LOT of weights out there with 1880's canes, including 1887.

 

Here is a short part of n article on Murano/ Italian weights.
You often see Italian weights with date canes. A dated 1845-47 weight by Pietro Bigaglia (1786-1876) can have a five-figure value, but almost all Italian weights with 19th century date canes that you see are fake.


Label: E & R Italy – This is the importer Ebeling and Reuss of Philadelphia, founded in 1886. They imported Italian paperweights probably beginning in the 1950s and ending in the 1990s, including Fratelli Toso and others.

Importer label KB (“An Original Creation by KB Made in Italy”) silver and blue foil sticker is the sticker of the importer, Koscherak Brothers of New York and dates a paperweight to 1960s- 1970s.



If you have additional information about a maker, importer, or dates, please let me know. As always, let me know if you have any questions.

The full article can be foubd here

https://www.westerncoloradopublishing.com/Murano__page_1.html

 

Thank you all! It's been interesting reading the responses that everyone so generously provided. In summary, then, the label gives it a date of 60-70s and was from Koscherak Bros. who were the importers. Maker is still not known, although it is Italian. And the date cane doesn't really date it and its purpose is also unknown (unless it was some attempt to "bump up" its importance). I haven't yet posted to glassmessages mentioned above, but I will, just in case they know who the maker is. If I find out, I'll let you all know.

 

I own this paperweight as well, so there are probably more out there as well. When I bought it, I was told it was from the late '60s. However, 1887 was the year of Queen Victoria's Jubilee. It would make sense if this PW was made in in 1987 to commemorate the 100 year anniversary. I could not find info if KB was still operational in the late '80s. So I guess the mystery continues.

 

FYI--THIS THREAD IS FROM 2015!!!