Object of the Day: A Floral Paperweight by Ed Rithner

Master glass-maker Ed Rithner lived and worked in West Virginia from 1908-1970. His paperweights are coveted collectors’ items and though often always unsigned, they are easily identifiable from his trademark style and brilliant use of color.


This floral paperweight by Ed Rithner is indicative of his late 1940’s style. As is typical of Rithner’s work, the weight features small, intentional bubbles around the central design and the bottom of the weight is frosted with clear marks left behind by the pontil.

An eight petal blue flower surrounds a central bubble and rises above a mottled jewel-tone ground of fine powdered glass. This exceptional example of Rithner’s work is extremely rare and as beautiful as the day it was made.