P.G.P.P. or Pressed GlassPresidential Paperweights

by Stanley B. Kruger

One of the late, great William Drew Gaskill’s favoritetopics was Patriotic Paperweights, the subject of hisfascinating PowerPoint presentation during WheatonVillage’s Paperweight Weekend 2002. A sub-set ofPatriotic Paperweights would be PresidentialPaperweights and an even further sub-set, and thesubject of this paper, could be termed Pressed GlassPresidential Paperweights. For purposes of this article,we will also include in this sub-category molded piecesnot necessarily pressed into shape. Very little ismentioned in the paperweight literature about thisgenre of weight, mostly because these are thought to beof lesser quality, and therefore of lesser interest, thansimilar-themed weights with encased décor, such assulphides and millefiori.

All examples of Pressed Glass PresidentialPaperweights, hereafter P.G.P.P., in this article datefrom the final quarter of the 19th Century and arethus true antiques, being well over 100 years old.Even though most (if not all) were made in very largenumbers, they seldom appear in the marketplace, andwhen they do, they usually sell for low figures,because so many of them were made and perhapsbecause of the stigma attached to pressed glass itemsas opposed to encased weights. Exceptions to thisrule do occur, though infrequently. (A further causemay be that more than a hundred years after the fact,some of these P.G.P.P. may not be recognizable asimportant historical figures.)

Two volumes, one short, one lengthy, not usuallyconsidered part of the paperweight literature providemost of the references to the P.G.P.P. illustrated herein.Bessie M. Lindsey’s 541 page American HistoricalGlass, self-published in two volumes in 1948 and1950, re-published in a single volume by Charles E.Tuttle Company, Inc. of Rutland, VT in 1967, and Stan

Vice President

OPEN

TreasurerDON FORMIGLI

455 Stonybrook DriveLevittown, PA 19055

(215) 945-5253

PresidentSTANLEY B. KRUGER5 Johnson LaneVoorhees, NJ 08043(856) 751-7720stanleyk2@comcast.net

SecretarySUSAN SUTTON708 Old Westtown RoadWest Chester, PA 19382(610) 692-7204

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Volume 13 Number 2 www.dvpaperweights.org March, 2006

Fig. 2: Gillinder Washington, sculpted sides, frosted.Fig. 1: Gillinder Washington, straight sides, frosted and dated 1776 1876.

Gores’s 1876 CentennialCollectibles and Price Guide,The Haber Printing Company,Fond du Lac, WI, 1974, arethe major sources ofinformation and will be citedoften throughout this article.

The first P.G.P.P. discussedhere, pictured and describedin both Lindsey and Gores, is,of course, that of the firstpresident, GeorgeWashington (1732-1799), thelegendary “Father of OurCountry”. See Figures 1 and2. This weight was producedfor the PhiladelphiaCentennial in 1876 byGillinder & Sons, the image based on the Frenchsculptor Houdon’s bust of Washington. A total of 24different glass companies produced items for theCentennial Exhibition. These included names easilyrecognized: Boston and Sandwich, New England GlassCompany, Mount Washington Glass Works, UnionGlass Works, Whitall Tatum and Company, DorflingerGlass Co., etc., but only one of these actually built aglass factory on the grounds of the Exhibition,Gillinder, and this was five years after the death ofWilliam T., the founder. Gillinder’s Washingtonpaperweight came in several versions, with flat sides,as in Figure 1, and sculpted (fluted lengthwise) sides,as in Figure 2, both frosted, with bust frosted, with bustand background frosted, slightly concave or relativelyflat top, etc. but all versions are 3 1/8” wide and 1”thick. (According to Lindsey, pages 270 and 271, thereis an earlier P.G.P.P. ofWashington, dating from the1850s, but we have not runacross it yet.)

All the other P.G.P.P.illustrated herein are ofassassinated presidents, for,tragically, the last third of the19th Century saw threeC o m m a n d e r s - i n - C h i e fremoved from office in thatfashion. The first of thesethree, and the most famous, isAbraham Lincoln (1809-1865). See Figures 3 and 4.Here we show two examplesof the same molded, frosted

crystal Lincoln paperweight,featuring a mature rightprofile of the assassinatedpresident. This weight isattributed to the LibbeyGlass Company and wasmade for the ChicagoColumbian Exposition of1893. Both weightsillustrated here are 3” wideand 4 1/2” long but, as wesee in Figure 4, differ inthickness, the weight on theleft being 3/4” thick, on theright, 1 1/8” thick. Anotherdifference: the thickerweight is a pale rose color,not clear glass. This is theonly P.G.P.P. pictured in the

usual paperweight literature, in Hollister’s GlassPaperweights of the New-York Historical Society, Page192.

Contrast these Libbey Lincolns with the magnificent _left intaglio view of Lincoln in Figure 5, produced byGillinder & Sons in their glass factory on the groundsof Fairmount Park for the 1876 PhiladelphiaCentennial. The Libbey Lincolns were producedalmost thirty years after John Wilkes Booth (1838-1865) cried “Sic semper tyrannus” ( “Thus always totyrants”) while taking the life of our 16th President atFord’s Theater in Washington, D.C. on the night ofApril 14, 1865. On the other hand, the GillinderLincoln is “of the era”, designed only ten years afterLincoln’s death and must, therefore, have had a greatdeal more emotional impact on all concerned,

including the designer of thepiece. This Lincolnmeasures 4 7/8” long, 3 3/8”wide and 1 1/8” thick. Thesides of this piece aresculpted (fluted lengthwise)and frosted; the portrait, too,is frosted, and this is theonly version of the weight ofwhich we are aware.(Gillinder made otherintaglio emblems of theCentennial, such asMemorial Hall and theWomen’s Pavilion, two keybuildings, IndependenceHall and Alfred T. Goshorn,Director-General of the

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Fig. 3: Two Libbey Lincolns, 1893, frosted right profile.

Fig. 4: End view, two Libbey Lincolns, same as above.

Exhibition, in a similarweight though to slightlylarger dimensions.) ThisGillinder Lincoln isuncommon; the weightpictured here is but the thirdwe have seen in ten years. Assuch, it still commands aprice in the several hundredsof dollars. On the same Page192 quoted above, there is adescription, but not a picture,of this weight, perhapsbecause the New YorkHistorical Society’s specimenwas “broken and has beenmended”, according toHollister.

A word about Booth: A professional and extremelypopular stage actor of the day, he was a Confederatesympathizer who was dissatisfied about the outcome ofthe Civil War. Just four days before the assassination,on April 10, Confederate General Robert E. Lee hadsurrendered, on behalf of the Army of NorthernVirginia, to Union General U.S. Grant at AppomattoxCourt House, Virginia, effectively ending the WarBetween the States. Booth, then, wasted little time inexpressing his unhappiness over this outcome.

A third Lincoln P.G.PP., also by Gillinder & Sons forthe Philadelphia Centennial, is seen in Figure 6. Insize, treatment and variety of versions, it is quitesimilar to the Gillinder Washington first discussedabove. Lindsey calls this Lincoln “a crystal medallionpaperweight” and consideredit “Probably another 1876item.” All three differentLincoln P.G.P.P. picturedherein are also pictured anddescribed in Lindsey onpages 288 and 289 of herexcellent (and often veryhumorous) catalog ofAmerican historical glass.

So much has been written andis known about both GeorgeWashington and AbrahamLincoln that we did not dwellhere on their historicalsignificance. That will not bethe case with our next twoexamples of P.G.P.P., the first

that of James AbramGarfield (1831-1881). SeeFigure 7. Indeed, Garfield isremembered as one of thefour “lost Presidents”(Hayes, Garfield, Arthur andHarrison) who served ratheruneventfully after the CivilWar. The last of the logcabin Presidents, Garfieldwas born, the fifth of fivechildren, on a poor farm onthe outskirts of Cleveland,in Cuyahoga County, Ohioon November 19, 1831,perhaps the poorest manever to become President.Fatherless at two, hesupported himself as a part-

time teacher at the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute(later Hiram College), a carpenter, a janitor and evendrove canal boat teams, somehow earning enoughmoney for a college education, and graduating fromWilliams College in Massachusetts in 1856. Upongraduation, he returned to the Institute as a classicsprofessor and within one year was made its president.He married in 1858 and in 1859 was elected to theOhio Senate as a Republican.

In 1862, when Union military victories had been few,Garfield successfully led a brigade at Middle Creek,Kentucky against Confederate troops. At 31 hebecame a brigadier general and two years later a majorgeneral of volunteers. Meanwhile, in 1862, Ohioanselected him to Congress. President Lincoln persuaded

him to resign hiscommission, for it waseasier to find major generalsthan to obtain effectiveRepublicans for Congress.Garfield repeatedly won re-election for 18 years andbecame the leadingRepublican in the House ofRepresentatives. At the1880 RepublicanConvention, Garfield failedto win the Presidentialnomination for his friendJohn Sherman, and it lookedlike the ticket would boildown to a fight betweenformer President Ulysses S.Grant and the more

3(continued on page 8)

Fig. 5: Gillinder Lincoln, 1876, frosted 3/4 left profile, fluted sides.

Fig. 6: Gillinder Lincoln, 1876, frosted right profile, sculpted side.

Review of EventsWinter Meeting, January 21, 2006

DVPCA’s Winter Meeting convened on Saturday,January 21, 2006 on a mild winter day at Williamson’s Restaurant in Horsham. PA. The word “mild” in theprevious sentence does not go far enough. Thetemperature hit 62 degrees that afternoon, the recordhigh for a January 21st in the Philadelphia area, setback in 1959. For only the second time in recentmemory, all 43 members, guests, dealers and speakerswho had registered for this meeting showed up, and itwas a lively crowd, indeed. By 10 AM, the officialopening of the Paperweight Fair, aficionados werepartaking of Danish, fruit, coffee and tea as theyconversed during the Social Hour and examined themany exhibits. Foremost among the exhibits was thedazzling display of paperweights by Guest DealerWilliam Pitt, set out on 16 feet of tables at the rear ofthe room. Additionally, there were displays of weights,books, and related objects for sale by Diane Atkerson,Andrew Scott, Frank Gardner, Ken Brown and StanleyKruger; four crimp rose weights and a torso sculptureby Boyd England; a vivid display of full size andminiature weights and glassjewelry by Guest Artist LewisC. Wilson; a display ofenticing Today’s RafflePrizes; two weights beingsilently auctioned; a samplingof other local PCAnewsletters from as far awayas New Zealand; an entiretable of Free for the Takingmaps, recreational brochuresand antiques newsletters;Volumes 1,2 and 3 ofDVPCA’s Memories PhotoAlbums; selected items fromDVPCA’s PaperweightLending Library; and the lastDVPCA T-shirt (available for$8.00).

At 11 AM, President Stan Kruger called the meeting toorder, promptly as usual. There was no contest as towho had come the greatest distance to attend, he said;Guest Artist Lewis C. Wilson, from Albuquerque, NewMexico, was the hands-down winner. Stan also saidthat for the first time in almost ten years, he wouldpresent a program, with Andy Dohan, on the origin andcurrent status of Paperweight Fest 2006 at WheatonVillage, Millville, NJ, May 18-21, 2006. Launchinginto the program, Stan began by stating that WheatonVillage has held a paperweight event during even-numbered years since 1974, alternating with PCA, Inc.Conventions in the odd-numbered years. For a longwhile, these events, called Paperweight Weekend, werehighly successful but starting around 2000 a decline inattendance and a corresponding decline in profitabilitywere seen. So that these events went from being theVillage’s major fundraiser to a serious loss,particularly the event in 2004, which went off in a newdirection and was called “Small Glass WorksWeekend”.

Last March, Gay Taylor, Curator of the Museum ofAmerican Glass, emailed Stan, saying that SusanGogan, President of Wheaton Village wanted todiscuss the paperweight event to be held at Wheaton in2006. Stan and Toby met with Susan, Gay, CathyNolan, VP for Marketing, and Marcy Howard Peterson,Manager of the Arthur Gorham Paperweight Shop andthe Craft Gallery, on April 12, 2005 and were presentedwith a proposal that DVPCA partner with WheatonVillage to co-produce a new revitalized event, focusedon paperweights, in May 2006. WV staff suggestedseveral titles for the event and offered severalsuggestions as to the role DVPCA would play, and it

was decided then to call thisevent “Paperweight Fest2006”, thereby implying anew fun and joyfulexperience rather than atime frame. This proposalwas discussed at lengthduring DVPCA’s SpringMeeting on April 16, 2005and the membershipoverwhelmingly approvedthe collaboration.Following the PCA, Inc.Convention the next month,Andy Dohan came up with aseven-page Memocontaining 35 topics andnumerous artists for theevent, many of which had

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(L-R) Toby Kruger, David & Betsy Nitshe, Nancy Kenna, KayReid, Andrew Scott, Sumner Reid, 1/21/06.

never before appeared at a Wheaton Villagepaperweight event.

Andy then spoke about the artists, whom he hadcontacted first during research for his book, TheDictionary of Paperweight Signature Canes:Identification and Dating. “Artists are different fromcollectors”, he said. They are generous with their timebut don’t necessarily follow through with paperwork ormeeting (or even remembering) deadlines and dates.Finally, for this new paperweight event at the Village,Andy obtained some commitments and cajoled andpersuaded even more. The many podium speakertopics are not now covered inthe standard paperweightliterature. The program forPaperweight Fest 2006 willbe very full and attendeeswill be very busy.Registration for the four dayevent is a bargain; if you actnow, it will cost around $200(not including hotel).Scheduled to appear: LorenStump, speaking on anddemonstrating production ofmurrine, picture canes morecomplex than millefiori;Chris and Lissa Juedemann,also speaking on anddemonstrating murrine; Johnand Craig Deacons, Scottish

master weight makers; Beth Tomasello, on thesimilarities and differences between marbles andpaperweights; Boyd England on The Ultimate CrimpRose; Ken Brown on Antique Baccarat Flowers; DaleMurschell will speak on Paperweight-Like Whimseys;Bill Price will talk about paperweights that move;Peter McDougall will speak on “39 Years ofWeighting” and will show work from his new studio;Christine Stankard Kressley will talk about theworkings of The Stankard Studio; and many more. Inaddition, William Drew Gaskill’s entire paperweightcollection, some 1700 pieces, will be on displayexactly as they were displayed in his home; Gay

Taylor’s new book onweights will be available.Copying a popular feature oflast year’s PCA, Inc.Convention, at lunchtimethere will be Box Lunch andLearn sessions with at least12 paperweight makers, andattendees can choose whichsessions to attend.

President Stan thencontinued with the history ofthe organization of Fest.Boyd England will be incharge of those DVPCAmembers who volunteeredlast April to assist withoperations. There will be

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Guest Artist Lewis C. Wilson, Bill Payne, 1/21/06

GEORGE KAMM PAPERWEIGHTS

George Kamm, Proprietor

FOR AN INTERESTING ARRAY OF PAPERWEIGHTS

VISIT www.artglass-pottery.com

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Antique & Contemporary Paperweights

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631 Susquehanna Street Forest City, PA 18421Tel. (717) 785-3621 Email: fgardner@nep.net

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9697 La Mora Circle - Fountain Valley, CA 92708(800) 795-1486 or (714) 964-2599

FAX (714) 378-9908gwmcclanahan@earthlink.net

1848 SL Dated Mushroom

informal activities on May17, Wednesday before Festofficially begins, such asMake Your Own(paperweight, bead, vessel,sock darner or otherwhimsey) opportunities byappointment at the GlassStudio, registration at theA.G. Paperweight Shop from1 – 5 PM, and the DVPCAHospitality Suite will be openfrom 7 – 9 PM that evening.Stan cautioned that if theturnout for Fest is low and theVillage loses money, therewill not be anotherpaperweight event there,which will be a great loss forthe collecting community.

Continuing with other aspects of the Fest program: EdPoore, speaking from the podium on Post-1970Pairpoint Millefiori, Chris Buzzini, one of the BoxLunch and Learn speakers; other makers will comefrom all over the States and overseas. Attendees willreceive at registration a “goodie bag” containingnumerous giveaways, including a copy of DaleMurschell’s book “Glasshouse Whimseys”. Therewill be a live auction Saturday afternoon during whichshadow boxes of canes and/or lampwork decor donatedby the various artists will be auctioned, along withitems from the Glass Studio demonstrations duringFest. There will be a GREAT $8500 Paperweightraffle; first prize is a Stankard orb with retail value of$5500, second prize is a $2000 Gordon Smith MorningGlory weight, third prize is Melissa Ayotte’s HarmonyBouquet Stone weight. Tickets are $10 each, three for$25. Early registration discount is 10%; a “Friend ofWheaton Village” who registers by March 1 will payjust $202.50 for the entire Fest. Day rates are availableat $125. Wheaton Village will follow its owncompensation schedule, so that podium speakers willreceive some benefit but volunteer workers will not (asfar as we know now). Exhibitors’ cost is $475, downfrom $800 two years ago. Finally, if you are not amember of PCA, Inc. nor a “Friend of WheatonVillage” and want to receive Fest registrationmaterials, sign up and Stan will submit your names tothe Village. There will be a sales booth manned byDVPCA members at Fest and anyone can submitweights for sale, subject to a 15% commission. Themorning program ended at 11:40 AM at which timeStan urged attendees to view the many displays and

“Buy, buy, buy!”

The meeting re-convened afterlunch with announcements:You can sign up for DebbieTarsitano’s online newsletterat her website www.debbietarsitano.com. DVPCAElection of officers will beheld in October 2006, whenPresident Stan will complete10 years in that office. Atthis announcement, cries of“Ten more years!” echoedthrough the room. Stanappointed Andy Dohan asChair of the NominatingCommittee to develop aslate of four officer

candidates for two year terms as President, VicePresident, Secretary and Treasurer. Stan againemphasized how important it was that PaperweightFest 2006 be successful. As the last order of business,Today’s Raffle Prize winners were selected for the 16prizes. Rosemary Kozak won three (but she bought themost tickets), followed by Pat Reilly who won two andeven guest Betsy Nitshe won a prize.

At 1:15 PM, Stan introduced Guest Speaker/GlassArtist Lewis C. Wilson, of Crystal Myths, Inc., Albuquerque, NM. Lewis said he’d learned glassworking from a book 33 years ago, then apprenticed atWalt Disney World and learned more glass techniques.He left the military in 1974, never shaved again (justtrimmed his full beard occasionally), and worked atBusch gardens as a juggler, knife thrower and fire eaterfor a princely $15/hour. He did this for two years. In1974, he also founded Crystal Myths, Inc. and begandoing art shows, some 200 between 1975 and 1980. In1981, he moved to Albuquerque and began a line ofAmerican Indian dancer sculptures in glass. He alsobegan making beads, teaching over 1200 students abeginner’s class in bead making. In 1994, he madeinstructional videos and DVDs on bead making; thereare now 24 vides/DVDs in the series. He organized hisfirst bead show in Tucson, AZ in 1996 so that he andothers would have a venue in which to show and sell.Later, with Chris Buzzini’s help, he learned to makepaperweights. His weights have themes of itemsaround his home, “critters and garden gnomes”. Hisdaughter Jennifer makes most of the inclusions.

Lewis told of a glass art show in Albuquerque in 1996,a show whose attendance was compromised by a

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Don Formigli, Guest Dealer William Pitt, 1/21/06.

nearby visit of President BillClinton. Because of the tightsecurity, few were able toattend Lewis’s exhibit ofsculptures. At the end of thedisastrous glass show,however, the Presidentstopped by and bought someof Lewis’s pieces, includingthe famous glass hatpin thatClinton eventually gave toMonica Lewinsky. Clinton’scredit card receipt, with nocredit card number on it, wassubpoenaed by the Senateinvestigating committee. Aphoto of Clinton buying thehatpin from Lewis wasunearthed and published,leading to Lewis and his wife appearing on MexicanTV!

Lewis says he has a 60% failure rate of marbles, beadsand weights. “My garden grows broken things.”Recently Gordon Smith moved to within 180 miles ofLewis in Albuquerque and wants to make a videohimself, so he generously advises Lewis. In fact,Lewis and Jennifer were just at Gordon’s studio withinthe last week. Gordon told Lewis: “The glass told meto help you!” Lewis then showed and narrated portionsof his 22nd DVD, entitled “Making Paperweights”,and gave a copy of the DVD to DVPCA’s LendingLibrary. He noted that it took him three weeks toneaten up his studio before he could make the video!He uses a vacuum system inside the kiln, rather than ona tripod, to regulate thetemperature more preciselyand has fewer breakageproblems. After forming,through the use of watersoaked cherry wood blocks,the weights are annealed fortwo days. Following thevideo, there was a Questionand Answer period.Responding to one query,Lewis admitted that he is apromoter, mostly of beadshows in Tucson. He put onhis top hat and displayed hiswalking cane. With theseaccessories, coupled with hislarge frame and massive fullbeard, Lewis makes a striking

and formidable appearance,one sure to evoke commentand interest. In fact, there isa building in Hilliards, PAdedicated to him, the LewisC. Wilson MemorialBuilding, even though he isstill among the living! Lastmonth, December 2005, hewas in Japan for anInternational FlameworkingConference and wonderedwhy so many Japanesewomen repeatedly pokedhim in the stomach. Laterhe was told that to them heresembled Santa Claus andit was a gesture of good luckto poke Santa’s tummy! To

see examples of Lewis’s other products…he hadbrought only paperweights and glass jewelry fordisplay today…he suggested that one could seepictures of his American Indian Dancer sculptures,beads and other works on his website,www.crystalmyths.com. His dancer sculptures aremade in both clear and colored glass, though he notedthat clear is easier to work than colored. Paradoxically,his website site became confused with “crystal meth”when that drug became popular years ago. Lewis iscontinually experimenting with his weights,incorporating Gordon Smith’s advice and he looksforward to seeing DVPCA members again atPaperweight Fest 2006. He concluded at 2:10 PM toappreciative applause.

DVPCA’s Spring Meeting islater this year than usual, onApril 29, 2006, whenGateson Recko, of UniverseMarbles will be the PMspeaker. The MorningProgram will be a “MyFavorite Floral Weight”contest, with paperweightprizes to the top entries. Theformal meeting concluded at2:15 PM and the roomcleared by about 3 PM.

Respectfully submitted, Sue Sutton, Secretary

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Barbara Brackin, Rosemary Kozak, Pat Reilly, 1/21/06.

Anne Brown, Diane Atkerson, Ken Brown, Clarence Brunner,1/21/06.

moderate James G. Blaine.Garfield surprised everyone,however, by earning an ever-increasing number of votes inthe convention balloting.Finally, on the 36th (!) ballot,Garfield became the “darkhorse” nominee. By a marginof only 10,000 popular votes,the smallest ever in aPresidential election,Garfield defeated theDemocratic nominee,General Winfield ScottHancock, a Union generalwho had made his mark atGettysburg, and wasinaugurated on March 4,1881.

Although Garfield made a good start on his term asPresident, attacking political corruption, supportingeducation for black Southerners and calling forAfrican-American suffrage, he is most remembered forhis assassination. On July 2, 1881, in a Washington,D.C. railroad station, he was shot down by CharlesJulius Guiteau, an emotionally disturbed attorney whohad failed to gain an appointment in Garfield’sadministration. Mortally wounded, Garfield lay in theWhite House for weeks. Alexander Graham Bell,inventor of the telephone, tried unsuccessfully to findthe bullet with an induction-balance electrical devicehe had designed. On September 6, Garfield was takento the New Jersey seashore. For a few days he seemedto be recuperating, but on September 19, 1881, he diedfrom an infection and internal hemorrhage. He wastwo months shy of his 50th birthday.

Lindsey pictures this weight, 3” in diameter, 1 3/4”tall, on Page 304 but describes the bust as beingfrosted, which it is not in this example (making itextremely difficult to photograph properly). Themaker of this weight is unknown.

For our last entry, we note that images of our 25thPresident, William McKinley (1843-1901), appear ontrays, plates, plaques, cups, tumblers, cup-plates,statuettes, memorial platters, etc. (as do the images ofthe other Presidents discussed in this writing), butnowhere in the usual paperweight literature and noteven in Lindsey can we find pictured a McKinleyP.G.P.P. However, that does not deter us fromidentifying the intaglio portrait in Figure 8 asMcKinley and attributing manufacture to the Libbey

8

(Continued from page 3)

Glass Company, possibly forthe Buffalo Pan-AmericanExposition of 1901 or the1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.Everything about thisweight replicates the LibbeyLincolns produced for the1893 Columbian Exposition,dimensions (4 1/2” long, 3”wide, 1” thick), the frostedportrait, the otherwise clearglass, and when youcompare this 3/4 rightprofile with McKinleyimages on the other artifactslisted, the portrait’s identityis confirmed.

Born in Niles, Ohio onJanuary 29, 1843, William McKinley planned as ayoung man to become a Methodist minister. He brieflyattended Allegheny College and was teaching in acountry school when the Civil War broke out. On June23, 1861, he enlisted in the Union Army as a private inthe 23rd Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He sawcombat in several battles in western Virginia andelsewhere and was promoted frequently by his superiorofficer, Rutherford B. Hayes, another future U.S.President, who became a lifelong mentor and friend.McKinley eventually mustered out as a Brevet Majorof the same regiment in September 1865. Followingthe war, he attended law school in Albany, New York,was admitted to the bar in 1867 and returned to hisnative state where he began his law practice in Canton,Ohio. He served in Congress as a Republican almostcontinuously from March 1877 to March 1891,becoming the leading Republican tariff expert.However, he was not successful in his bid for re-election in 1890, instead winning the governorship ofOhio in 1891 and serving two terms as Ohio’sGovernor from January 1892 until January 1896.

At the 1896 Republican Convention, in time ofdepression, Cleveland businessman Marcus Hannaensured McKinley’s nomination as “the advance agentof prosperity” while the Democrats, advocating thefree and unlimited coinage of silver and gold, whichwould have mildly inflated the currency, nominatedWilliam Jennings Bryan. McKinley won election bythe largest popular majority in 25 years. WhenMcKinley took office in March 1897, the depression of1893 had almost run its course and with it the extremeagitation over silver. Deferring action on the moneyquestion, McKinley called the Congress into special

Fig 7: Garfield P.G.P.P., circa 1881, clear right profile.

9

session to enact the highesttariff in history. Notprosperity but foreign policydominated McKinley’sAdministration. After thebattleship Maine blew up inHavana (Cuba) harbor inFebruary 1898, McKinleybowed to public pressure andthree Congressionalresolutions and led thecountry into the Spanish-American War. In the 100-day war, the United Statesdestroyed the Spanish fleetoutside Santiago harbor inCuba, seized Manila in thePhilippines, and occupiedPuerto Rico. Detecting animperialistic sentiment in the American people,McKinley annexed the Philippines, Guam and PuertoRico and took supervisory control over Cuba.

In 1900, McKinley campaigned for, and won, a secondterm, again against Bryan who inveighed againstimperialism while McKinley quietly stood for “the fulldinner pail”. Sadly this second term was cut short onSeptember 6, 1891. While standing in a receiving lineat the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York,McKinley was shot by Leon Czolgosz, a Republicanturned anarchist. He died of blood poisoning from hisinfected wounds on September 14. He was 58 yearsold.

As Lindsey points out, American glassware applaudsmost generously military men and presidents. Ofcourse, these two classes merge, since many presidentshad military records, too. Of the eighteen presidentswhose commemoratives Lindsey encountered (through1944), twelve were army men, including all fourpictured in these P.G.P.P. Perhaps it is more thancoincidence that three of these four either governedduring wartime, as Lincoln and McKinley did, orgained the fame in wartime that propelled them into theWhite House, as did Washington during theRevolutionary War. That fact certainly led to themartyrdom of Lincoln and McKinley, war and itsaftermath arousing the most vivid and fanatic ofemotions, both for and against the administrationprocessing the conflict.

The late William Drew Gaskill often commented thatafter speaking on a particular paperweight genre, hecould no longer afford to buy the weights under

discussion, whereaspreviously they had beenrelatively inexpensive. Wecertainly hope that is not thecase with the genrediscussed herein for we haveyet to locate and acquire thefollowing examples ofP.G.P.P., all of which arepictured and described inLindsey: the 1850sWashington mentionedearlier, round, frostedportrait, 3 1/2” wide, 3/4”thick; U.S. Grant, Presidentduring the 1876 Centennial,round, left profile, with“U.S.” on the left and“Grant” on the right, 2 3/4”

diameter; and, expanding our category beyondPresidents, W.S. Hancock, the Democratic presidentialcandidate defeated by Garfield in the 1880 election,round, bust in civilian clothes, 3 1/4” diameter, 7/8”thick; and Daniel Webster, famed orator and Secretaryof State under three Presidents, Harrison, Tyler andFillmore, hexagonal, right profile frosted, 3” diameter,1 1/2” thick.

Photo Credits:Figures 1, 2 and 6: Collection of Marshall J. DeitschAll other Figures: Author’s collection

Fig. 9: William McKinley, c. 1901, frosted 3/4 right profile.

Toby Kruger, Guest Artist Lewis C. Wilson, President StanKruger, 1/21/06.

CALENDAR:ADVANCE MEETING DATES AND GUESTS

April 25, 2006: Last day to enter initial bids in LarrySelman’s Spring ’06 Auction.

May 18-21, 2006: Paperweight Fest 2006, WheatonVillage. Four days of seminars, Glass Studiodemonstrations, Lunch and learns with glass artists,Wine and Cheese Reception and Exhibitors Fair, liveand silent auctions, etc., all focused on paperweightsand paperweight techniques. Not to be Missed!

July 22 & 23, 2006 – 14th Anniversary CelebrationWeekend: Saturday: AM: Beth Tomasello returns todiscuss “Paperweights vs. Marbles (and Vice Versa)”.PM: Our own Ken Brown narrates a slide showentitled “Antique Baccarat Flowers”. Impromptu‘Stump the Dummies” ID Clinic. Guest Dealer:William Pitt. Garden Party/Catered Cookout tofollow at the home of Treasurer Don Formigli.Sunday: We convene at Wheaton Village, Millville, NJfor a tour of the Memorial Exhibit of William DrewGaskill’s Paperweight Collection, guided by GayLeCleire Taylor, Director/Curator.

October 7 & 8, 2006: Northeast Marble meet,Radisson Hotel, Marlborough, MA. ContactDVPCA advertiser Bert Cohen atmarblebert@aol.com for more information.

October 14, 2006 Fall Elections Meeting: AM:TBD. PM: Bergstrom-Mahler Museum CuratorJami Severstad presents a slide show featuringsome of the Museum’s rare paperweight holdings.Guest Dealer: Roger Jacobsen.

November 11, 2006: Leo Kaplan’s annual GreatAmerican Paperweight Artist Show, 1-5 PM,NYC.January 27, 2007 Winter MeetingApril 14, 2007 Spring MeetingJuly 14 & 15, 2007 – 15th Anniversary Weekend

ALL MEETINGS AT WILLIAMSON RESTAURANT,HORSHAM, PA..... SAVE THE DATES!!!

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Spring Meeting AnnouncementApril 29, 2006

At Williamson Restaurant,500 Blair Mill Road(Route 611/Easton Road at Blair Mill Road), Horsham, PALocated two traffic lights north of PA Turnpike Exit343 (Old Exit 27/Doylestown/Willow Grove)Telephone (215) 675-5454

lecture, “Universe Marbles – Worlds Beyond”,will include examples of both early andcurrent work accompanied by a videopresentation of his process in the studio.

10:00 AM Paperweight Fair with Guest Dealer Dan & Therese McNamara.

11:00 AM “My Favorite Floral Weight”Contest. Attendees are requested to bring in their favorite weight containing a floral image, rose,pansy, poinsettia, what have you,as realistic a depiction as possible (no abstract interpretations, please). These will be laid out on a partitioned table and assigned numbers for later judging.

11:30 PM Attendees will record, individually,their top two choices from the entries. The written ballots will be tabulated and prizes will be awarded to the top two.

12:00 PM LUNCH

1:00 PM Business Meeting:Announcements, Raffle Prize winners, Silent Auction Results,Report on the status ofPaperweight Fest 2006, Reports from the floor.

1:30 PM Guest Artist Gateson Recko, ofUniverse Marbles, is a Philadelphia native nowliving in Swedesboro, NJ. He has beenworking in glass since the early 1990s. Hestarted his journey into the medium of glassthrough traditional furnace work but over timetransitioned to flame worked glass. In 2002,Gateson began the body of work entitled“Universe Marbles”. These spheres, rangingin size from 1/2” to over 3” in diameter, haveallowed him to create his own uniquelanguage. Gaining inspiration from the worldsof science and astronomy, Gateson findslimitless variations for his creations. His

THE SCRAMBLE:

THANK YOU…As usual, members have been extremely generous,donating to the club weights, literature and glass items ofall kinds. In fact, so many donations have come inrecently that I doubt I have recorded all of themaccurately. So please forgive any credit omissions here.We thank Diane Atkerson for two glass candies, JoeFreeze for a magnum weight containing a sailing shipimage, Anonymous for a Gentile ring holder, the Kornitsfor a box of unrecorded items, Jim Perna for a magnifier,pen, letter opener set and the Krugers for a crystal dishand an overall-faceted glass globe.

A SERIOUS SUBJECT…In the Wall Street Journal for February 25 – 26, 2006,Jeffery Zaslow’s article discusses a serious subject,entitled “Who’s Going to Want Grandma’s Hoard ofAntique Gnomes?” Zaslow describes the dilemma of a51 year old Ohioan with a collection of 5000 pencils,some dating to the 1800s; an elderly Arizona womanwith a collection of antique gnomes; a 72 year oldIllinois man who collects miniature guns; a resident (78)of Palo Alto, CA who owns 900 antique slide rules; a 64year old Philadelphia Daily News columnist who hascollected the last editions of 79 newspapers that closeddown since 1963; and a man in Tulsa, OK who hasamassed 35,000 (!) used instant lottery tickets. Thedilemma? Who will want their prized collections afterthey are gone and what will become of them? In everycase listed, the children and grandchildren of thecollectors want nothing to do with their parents’ andgrandparents’ collections. The 45 year old son of thelady with gnomes would be happy to inherit one of thegiant cabinets she stores them in but not the gnomesthemselves. Indeed, when an English collector ofantique sewing machines died recently, his family soldthem to a junk dealer for $200. The machines, somedating to the 1860s, were worth about $65,000.

Zaslow claims that collecting things, once a huge part ofgrowing up, is no longer a childhood interest. When wasthe last time you saw a child or grandchild paste a stampinto a collecting book or slip a coin into a plastic sleeve?These days baseball cards and comic books are collectedby adults! In 2000, of the estimated 37 millionAmericans who identified themselves as collectors, only11% were under the age of 36. Most were over 50. Ifnew generations of collectors don’t materialize, the valueof all collectibles, even antiques, will plummet. That iswhy marble clubs send free marbles to schools, togenerate interest. The U.S. Mint has a website with

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LUNCHEON RESERVATIONS – APRIL 29, 2006Choices @ $16.00 each:

Number Attending

Boneless Breast of Chicken Maryland w/Bacon

Baked Orange Roughy, Lemon Butter

MEMBERSHIP DUES FOR 2006 ARE WAY PAST DUE!!!

Single $25

Household $25

Business $25

Four Ads $20

NOTE: YOU MUST BE A MEMBER TO ADVERTISE!

NAME(S)

EMAIL

Please mail this slip will ALL your selections and check to:DVPCA, c/o Don Formigli, Treasurer455 Stonybrook Drive, Levittown, PA 19055

NO LATER THAN APRIL 22, 2006!!!

cartoons and computer games to entertain kids about thethrills of coin collecting; children are showingconsiderable interest in the state quarters program. TheWest Chester, PA founder of the 700-member NationalToothpick Holder Collectors’ Society gives awaytoothpick holders to young people. Few get hooked,however.

Harry Rinker, the well-known 64 year old collectiblesresearcher says: “Old-timers thought the next generationwould love their stuff the way they did. Well, guesswhat? It’s not happening.” He advises: Enjoy yourcollections, die with them and have no expectationsabout anything after that.

QUESTION: Does any of the above apply to the worldof paperweight collecting?

NEWS FLASH...Jim Lefever, President of PCA, Inc. just announced thatPCA's 2007 Convention will take place in Providence,RI on APRIL18-21, 2007. A trip to the Sandwich GlassMuseum is planned.

ISSUE CONTENTS:

• Lead Article: P.G.P.P. – Pressed Glass Presidential Paperweights

• Review of Events: Winter Meeting, January 21, 2006 THE SCRAMBLE/CALENDAR

• Past Due Dues Bill for 2006• Announcement: Spring Meeting, April 29, 2006• Dated Reservations Tear-Off Slip

SPECIAL NOTE: Have you paid your 2006 Dues?

L . H . S E L M A N L T D .123 Locust Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Offering quality paperweights for the past 37 years!Webs i t e : TheG lassGa l l e r y . com800.538.0766 | 800.427.1177

Sign up for our Spring and Fall Auction & Price Guides

PAPERWEIGHTS PROFESSIONALLY RESTOREDBY KNOWLEDGEABLE CONSERVATOR!

George N. Kulles13441 W. Little Creek Drive • Homer Glen, IL 60491

Tel: (708) 301-0996 • Inquiries Invited!

HARVEY & DORIS ROBINSONFine Glass Paperweights

Mail: P.O. Box 235, Waban, MA 02468Website: www.robinsonpaperweights.comTel: (617) 928-5432 • Fax: (617) 928-1264

Toll Free: (800) 472-9003 • E-Mail: robinsonpaperweights@juno.com

WILLIAM PITTVisit my new website for the largest on-line selection

of contemporary & antique paperwweights at competitive prices.

www.wpitt.com Email: wipitt@aol.com16 Sconticut Neck Road #312 • Fairhaven, MA 02719

508-993-9434

Paperweight restoration and faceting. Repair of antique andcontemporary cut and art glass. Glass engraving.

Custom work. 30 years experience.

Ed Poore’s Crystal WorkshopBox 475 • Sagamore, MA 02561 • 508-888-1621

Fax: 508-888-9298 crystal.workshop@verizon.net

Address Service Requested5 Johnson LaneVoorhees, NJ 08043-4123

GREAT AMERICAN MARBLE CO.featuring the works of

over 80 Contemporary Art Glass Marble Makers.Contact: Bertram M. Cohen

169 Marlborough Street • Boston, MA 02116-1830Tel: 617-247-4754 • Fax: 617-247-9093

www.marblebert.com Email: marblebert@marblebert.com

FOR SALE: Fine selection of French & American Weightsincluding Charles Kaziun and other contemporary artists. Many

Books for sale. We purchase one or collections of weights.Dan McNamara • TERI ANTIQUES

P.O. Box 130-163 Hanover Street Station • Boston, MA 02113Tel: 617-846-9465 • Email: theresemcnamara@msn.com