L.H. Selman Ltd. is proud to announce its Summer 2016 63rd Fine Art Glass Paperweight Auction with 333 pieces, both antique and modern, including several paperweight-related objects. The auction is fully online, hosted on our website, and the catalog can be now viewed at http://www.theglassgallery.com/auction-catalog/. You can also see all auction lots in person at our gallery in Chicago, 410 S. Michigan Ave., #207, from now through Thursday July 30, 9am to 5pm. We would love to see you in person! If you prefer to place bids by phone, just give us a call at 1-800-538-0766. Initial bids will start on Tuesday, July 5, and end Midnight PST, on Monday, July 18, followed by the start of competitive bidding. If you see something to your liking, do not hesitate to place an initial bid; you never know what surprising reserves will be revealed or what exciting competitive bidding will follow that can bring home the piece of your dreams!

For your browsing pleasure, please enjoy this auction overview but remember how much more is featured. We recommend that you give the catalog careful examination.  Following is a breakdown of the categories we’ll be featuring:

Coded Message

Secret orders, hidden messages and mysterious meanings are always the subject of curiosity and investigation. And the paperweight definitely claims its share of intrigue within those realms. Starting with the surviving antique paperweights of the classical era (circa 1845-1875), certain pieces were designed with a surreptitious purpose, in addition to aesthetically dazzling the viewer-collector or providing a luminous crown for a stack of valuable papers. Many legends have been told and recorded to explain the appearance of certain subjects, patterns and designs featuring covert meanings within the paperweights (i.e. pansies, salamanders, posies/nosegays, wedding bouquets (see lot 9), and revolutionary colors (see lot 5), date canes, silhouettes, etc.).

Paul Jokelson, a Frenchman who came to be known as “Mister Paperweight,” was the seminal paperweight collector and aficionado whose single-handed influence and efforts reignited the interest in production of paperweights after World War II. This resulted in the creation of the modern era of the paperweight as we know it. In one of his many publications, Jokelson illustrates and mentions a gold foil pansy, possibly of Saint Louis origins, with the French words “À moi” (see “The Great Sulphide Show”, page 21, figure 50). The English translation simply means “of me”. What strange words: a seemingly senseless fragment! With a closer look at the design and a bit of Jokelson-style reflection, we discover that the pansy image is not only decorative but in this case doubles as a furtive allusion to its French name, “pensée”. “Pensée” is the phonetic equivalent of “pensez”, which in English means, “to think”. The composite message that Jokelson deciphered simply means, “pensez à moi”, or, “think of me”. Fascinatingly enough, our lot #1 in the auction is an antique Saint Louis paperweight with an extremely rare central sulphide of a pansy ornamented by a banner with the words “À moi”. You can see this in the close up image of  lot #1.

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A similar example appears on page 35 of Paperweights: Flowers Which Clothe the Meadows by Paul Hollister and Dwight P. Lanmon. That paperweight’s description, on page 145 of the book, makes no mention of the meaning of the words “À moi”.  Apparently the message had been lost, until now! We only know of three appearances of this sulphide: one in the Hollister book, one in a private collection and our lot #1. They are all dated “1848” with a Saint Louis date cane. Perhaps more examples exist in private collections throughout the world, but we find it remarkable that one has finally appeared on the market and affords us the opportunity to share this secret message, possibly a clandestine valentine, with you.

Spring collections

Let us return from our convoluted reasoning to more graspable themes. It has indeed been a lovely spring with the weather breaking world records. The strawberries were abundant, a rare Pantin even making an appearance.

The pansies cheerful, including the Clichy variety.

All visited by colorful butterflies.

“Under the Sea”

Now that spring is over in our neck of the woods, we turn our focus to summer getaways to the beach. California, New Zealand and other costal artists are especially inspiring fantastic escapades with their sea-life designs. Hoping to see you all out there!

In the Sky

Perhaps underwater explorations are not your preferred adventure, but you still appreciate the colors and exotic scenes all the same. Please turn your attention to the creatures of the sky from Rick Ayotte, Jim D’Onofrio, Saint Louis, Orient & Flume and Perthshire. A bird-watching delight awaits.

Small Proportions

We know our miniatures’ catalog photographs are the same size as the photos of the other paperweights, but the miniature paperweights, nearly 2” in diameter, are actually the closest in scale to reality in the catalog. When you look at the images of the miniatures, you can imagine them cradled in your palm, just as they appear in real life. Can you envision them gleaming on your tabletop already?

Giants

Conversely, imagine paperweights that are even bigger than the standard magnum size of 3 1/4” in diameter. The Auction #63 selection has far more lots with large diameters than usual; eight of the paperweights measure 5” or more and fifteen nearly 4” or more. One of them even weighs 19 lbs., certainly adding a dramatic accent and weight to any collection.

Sculptures and vessels

In addition to the variety in weight and size, this auction offers you the opportunity to add another dimension to your collection. You will find Venetian bottles, a rare Clichy plaque, a Stankard botanical sculpture, cubes by Buzzini and D’Onofrio, sculptures by James Shaw, Jody Fine, Saint Louis, Orient & Flume and Perthshire, as well as a large fruit basket from a limited edition, inkwells, perfume bottles, various vessels, pedestal roses and small jewelry.

Hear ye, hear ye marble collectors!

We invite you to branch out into the world of collectible marbles, which is very fitting since marble artists and collectors have close ties to the paperweight community and vice versa. In this auction, we want to draw your attention to four very stylish marbles (lots 314-317) by Harry Boyer, James Daschbach, Jesse Taj and Kevin Leopold.

Here are more beautiful antiques – amazing millefiori designs that feature extremely complex patterns, canes and silhouettes. Here are beautiful flowers, some seen only in dreams and some that appear as real as if filmed in a documentary. We can provide you with other examples of the beauty of reality and whimsies of fantasy, so do not hesitate to make contact with us and share your passion either by phone, email or through bidding in the auction. Good luck and happy bidding!

Excerpts and references are from the The Dictionary of Glass Paperweights by Paul H. Dunlop, Cameo Incrustation: The Great Sulphide Show by Paul Jokelson and Dena K. Tarshis and Paperweights: Flowers Which Clothe the Meadows by Paul Hollister and Dwight P. Lanmon.