2010 News Releases
"People, Places and Paperweights"
CONTACT: Janet Peterson,
Marketing and Public Relations Director
TEL: (856) 825-6800, Ext. 108
FAX: (856) 825-2410
MUSEUM OF AMERICAN GLASS AT
WHEATONARTS PRESENTS NEW EXHIBIT
“PEOPLE, PLACES AND PAPERWEIGHTS”
MILLVILLE, NJ – The Museum
of American Glass at WheatonArts presents, “People, Places and Paperweights,” a
new exhibit in the Special Exhibition Gallery continuing through May 30. This exhibition illustrates the
production of sixteen American glass companies and the paperweights made by
individuals associated with the factories.
Paperweights were made by glass
workers at American glass factories as regular company production or by the
glassblowers on their own time as personal items. Many of these individuals
worked their entire careers at the same factory while others left or retired
and opened their own small glass businesses.
In
the 1850s, the New England Glass Company and the Boston and Sandwich Glass
Company were the first American glass companies to produce paperweights as part
of the companies’ production. The two factories hired French glassblowers to
make the first examples. By the 20th century, glass companies had trained
skilled glass workers who made the weights.
Other factories allowed their workers
at the end of the day or when their quota was finished to use the glass to make
paperweights. These weights were given as gifts or sold for extra money. The
most recognized of all these types of paperweights were made by the glass
workers at the Whitall Tatum Company in Millville, New Jersey in the 1880s.
This practice continued into the late 20th century.
The Museum of American Glass houses one of the most comprehensive collections of American glass in the entire world…from the first glass bottles made in America to celebrated works by Dale Chihuly and other contemporary artists who work in glass. Over 7,000 objects are on display including the world’s largest bottle.
The exhibit is included in the price of admission to WheatonArts. Adults $10.00, Senior Adults $7.00 and Students $7.00. Children five and under are free. Open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information about
WheatonArts, call 1-800-998-4552 or 856-825-6800, or visit online at www.wheatonarts.org.
WheatonArts
strives to ensure the accessibility of its exhibitions, events and programs to
all persons with disabilities. Individuals needing special assistance or
accommodations should contact WheatonArts at least two weeks in advance.
Patrons with hearing and speech disabilities may contact WheatonArts through the
Funding
has been made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the
Arts/Department of
State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and the
Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. WheatonArts received funding through a grant
from the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel and Tourism.
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