VICTORIAN ENGLISH GREEN GLASS SULPHIDE PAPERWEIGHT / DUMP BUST OF GLADSTONE

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VICTORIAN ENGLISH GREEN GLASS SULPHIDE PAPERWEIGHT / DUMP BUST OF GLADSTONE :
$349.82

This huge antique dump/paperweight is a lovely example of the rich green glass English paperweights produced in the mid to late 1800s. Green bottle glass paperweights were produced in various parts of England but very particularly in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Wakefield was a major centre for the production of bottle glass. Most of the green glass weights are unmarked, but, unusually, J Tower and J Kilner did mark theirs.This one has no signature, but was probably made about 1875. It is both very rare and very unusual as it contains a large sulphide flat back head of the great Victorian Prime Minister, William E Gladstone (1809-1898) who was four times Prime Minister of Great Britain. It is truly a serious collector\'s piece.Rare weights of this type feature in the excellent and definitive book, \"English Bottle Glass Dumps. A Collector\'s guide to Victorian Paperweights and Doorstops\" by Mary Scotnicki and Gregory Warren Wilson (pub 2010). Chapter 7 of this book deals with \"Dumps with Sulphide Inclusions\" and page 49, features a large dump of this shape containing a sulphide of Benjamn Disraeli, Gladstone\'s political opponent, and another large dump of a different shape containing another, different image of Gladstone. This important weight measures 18cms (7\") in height with a circumference around the widest part of 35.5cms (14\"). It has a base diameter of 7.5cms (3\"). It is very heavy indeed: it weighs 2.287Kilos before packing, far too heavy to be sent via the British \'small package\' system (see Postage below).ConditionThis dump is in a good collectible state with a typical snapped pontil in the base, showing plenty of wear at an acceptable level for its age. The glass is a rich dark green colour. There are bubbles in the glass, as one would expect and a small crease in the surface (possibly a \'straw\' mark, dating from the manufacture of the weight, but no damage or polishing. There is a small thin elongated air bubble within the base area, about an inch long, but this also happened at the point of manufacture.
In addition, there is an inclusion within the body of the weight, at the back of the sulphide, a dark coloured patch. The book by Scotnicki and Wilson explains (page 56) that this blackening, which is typical of some of these sulphide weights, is probably the result of pre-heating the sulphide before its inclusion. These features can be seen in the photographs. It always has to be borne in mind that these dumps were used on a daily basis and that structural damage might have occurred as a result. In this case, the piece is in very good condition.Postage

Postal charges, as quoted, are based on the weight of the dump, boxed and fully packed. I always, as a matter of policy, use a ‘signed for’ and ‘tracked’ postal option and insure for the full value. I use good new packaging for which I make no charge. However, this weight is very heavy and although this is no problem in the UK, for an overseas buyer I will need to use my very reliable courier who delivers throughout the world rather than the Royal Mail. The package will measure 46 x 30 x 32cms which is too large for the limits placed by the Royal Mail on their least expensive \'small packets\' tariff of an overall dimension of 90cms. I aim to keep the postage as low as possible commensurate with the demands of safety and security and I never attempt to make extra profit by overcharging for postage. I always return any postage inadvertently overcharged, as will be clear from my response. I am happy to accept Paypal and will accept personal cheques, but because of the expense, complexities and delays in the UK in the processing of foreign currency cheques I have reluctantly had to stipulate ‘Sterling only’ for this piece. Very sorry!Please feel free to ask any questions.