Posted 13 years ago
Dot
(4 items)
I have had this paperweight in my possession for close to 30 years knowing it had been in our family for a couple generations. No one showed much interest. My family is rooted in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
The paperweight is 4" wide x 2" high. The image is of an eagle holding two scrolls (I think they are scrolls) over 10 yellow stars, an American flag and large five point star. The letters G-A-R are seen between 3 points of the star.
I have been very curious about it. Feel free to offer me your thoughts.
If I were to guess I would say this is a G.A.R. encampment paper weight. It matches the medals I have. I know Jason will be along to confirm this or not. But that is what it looks like to me
Duh, there you say G.A.R. It stand for Grand Army of the Republic. It's a civil war item. Or a reunion G A R item more than likely
That's interesting! What would determine it to be a reunion G A R? The glass has some bubbles from it's original pouring.
You are correct Vesta, it is a Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) souvenir item.
The central item in the paper weight is a GAR National Membership badge.
Here is a link to one of my posts that gives some more information on the GAR and GAR souvenirs:
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/23233-grand-army-of-the-republic-gar-collect?in=user
Scott
The design is floating in the middle of the glass. I'm not sure of the medium used to create it.
The bottom side has a 3/4" dimple in the middle and a slight indented ridge 1/2" in from the outer edge.
Looks to me like it was reverese painted on the inside of the glass and then another piece was of glass was used as a plug to "sandwich" it between the two pieces.
Scott
"reverse" painted
The ridge is only noticeable from the bottom. The paperweight lays perfectly flat. The glass itself is seamless -- no signs of two pieces. Would the glass meld together that well after pouring?
There is no void or any sealing material. It is definitely one solid dome of glass. You are more than welcome to see for yourself. How would we go about doing so.
This helps tremendously! I will now look through records to get an idea of how the piece came into my family. I really appreciate the information.