Behind the art: Paperweights have pride of place at SAMA-Ligonier Valley
Dec. 11—Glass paperweights are often found among the kitschy collections in flea markets and thrift stores, but they're also having a moment in the contemporary art world.
"They've actually become quite the thing again," said Kristin Miller, site coordinator at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Ligonier Valley. "In the Southwest especially, paperweights are being created and are really a cool thing again in the glass world."
SAMA-Ligonier Valley is ahead of the trend, having housed an extensive paperweight collection since its founding in 1997.
The Walter Carlyle Shaw Paperweight Collection comprises 169 paperweights, spanning 150 years and produced by major glass-makers in the United States and across Europe, including the renowned glass center of Murano, Italy, near Venice.
The pieces are displayed in a custom-designed, cherry-wood wall in the site's main gallery, encased on irregularly placed shelves with glass on two sides to permit viewing from various perspectives.
Born in 1881, Shaw worked for various retail companies prior to buying 12 G.C. Murphy stores in 1911 with his friend, John C. Mack. Together, they ended up owning and operating 548 stores prior to the chain's demise.
A resident of McKeesport, Shaw enjoyed visiting his various stores and often ended up stopping at antique stores along the way to search out new items for his paperweight collection.
At times, Miller said, he was accompanied by his daughter, Elizabeth Shaw Gamble.
"If they were in a little store or a shop, he would say, 'OK, while I'm having this meeting, you can pick out a paperweight,'" she said. "And that's how they grew the collection."
Gamble inherited the collection when her father died in 1962 at age 81. She donated it to the SAMA system in 1992.
An early supporter of the Ligonier site, Gamble provided seed money for the log cabin facility along Route 711 south of the borough. She died in 2012.
"As this site materialized, Betty wanted it to house the collection and to share it with the people," Miller said. "She wanted it to stay permanently in Ligonier."
The paperweights exhibit a variety of dimensions, designs, colors and styles, including one that is the stopper for a slim, rose-hued decanter. Some contain decals with the images of historical figures such as presidents George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.
Artist Paul Stankard is among contemporary glass-makers represented in the collection.
Paperweights first appeared in Europe in the mid-1840s, according to the Corning Museum of Glass. Venetian glass-maker Pietro Bigaglia created and exhibited the first signed and dated weights at the Vienna Industrial Exposition in 1845.
Paperweights also were showcased in the Great Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations, in 1851 at the Crystal Palace in London, after which their popularity spread across Europe and the United States.
"We're having a glass exhibition this summer, and we'll highlight our wonderful paperweights again," Miller said. "They're a true treasure of Ligonier."
Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .
