Posted 10 years ago
mcheconi
(42 items)
I know this glass paperweight since I was a small kid. It used to rest at my father's office and had a picture of my mother holding me and my brother in her arms, glued to its bottom. I was probably one and a half years old and my brother was about six months old.
This piece was always around, followed our family through the years, moving from place to place. I can remember looking at it many times while I grew up, taking care to avoid breaking it while holding it.
My father passed away last year and my mother decided to move to a smaller place. I was helping her with the move this week and found the paperweight again. The picture was gone, there were only pieces of it still glued to the glass. I started to peel the glue and found the letters in relief under the dry, brittle glue dots...and they read Guinness Stout! The piece is in pristine condition, not a single scratch. There's still some glue inside some letters that I could not peel off.
I couldn't find anything on this item, no pictures or info anywhere. Any Guinness expert out there? Does the "Guinness Stout" mark can help to date this object?
amazing :)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry to hear about your father, I really like the embossing !
Thank you BladeRunner!
interesting object.....condolences on your loss.
Does this "Magnify" the image that was placed for bottom? I know you said photo was long gone, but wondering if original base photo was advertisement
Anyway...neat paperweight, and family pass along
Hi kerry10456, thank you for your kindness. Yes, it magnifies the images placed in its bottom. The picture wasn't an ad, it was a family picture so I don't know where the paperweight came from originally. I could not find anything like this on the web, so I can't date it accurately. It is older than me for sure and probably from the 50's or earlier. The company did not define a unified design for the trademark "Guinness" until 1960 (https://www.guinness-storehouse.com/content/pdf/factsheets/factsheet_pdf_8.pdf), when a typeface was defined to be used in all forms of communication (http://www.business2000.ie/pdf/pdf_2/guinness_2nd_ed.pdf). I am sure that it wasn't made in Brazil, since Guinness wasn't sold here in the 50's, 60's, 70's or even 80's and the word "stout" isn't used associated with Guinness even today. I guess this is all we will be able to find out about this item. I uploaded a new pic with the lettering detail showing that it doesn't follow any known typeface style, what indicates it was probably issued before 1960.
I have one just like it but it does not say Guinness on it. I also use mine to magnify a picture under it.
I purchased a reproduction of this piece and I display a photo of my childhood home beneath it. I love it! The repro has no markings on it.