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Introduction
What is meant by
"Vasart"
What is meant by "Strathearn"
A naming standard
What's your
opinion?
Comparison of Basal Features
UV Testing
This article was prompted by requests and comments from various people. In the main, the questions asked and the observations made were similar to my own when I first began to add examples of Scottish Vasart and Strathearn paperweights to my collection. The problem seems always to centre on the initial difficulty of separating these items purely by visual design elements.
This difficulty of identification is not surprising since the Strathearn company was a direct continuation of the former Vasart company. Although Strathearn weights were eventually produced with higher quality and a more varied design than the Vasart items, the daily production weights were, for many years, of the same "spoke" or "cartwheel" design as had been used at the Vasart works.
It is these "spoke" or "cartwheel" designs that are, in the main, being considered here. Also included are concentric millefiori designs that have a garland row with twists set in line with the circumference. I am not covering alternative weight designs from Strathearn, in particular those from the later years, since they are not in much danger of being confused with Vasart items.
Incidentally, given the "gift weight" nature of these daily production spoke pattern weights, some people may wonder why so much effort is being put into this analysis. Well, for myself, it is simply the fun of doing so. I enjoy investigations into details of design, regardless of the general market value of an item or its apparent quality of workmanship. Also, it seems that anyone who starts a general collection of Scottish weights usually ends up trying to determine the differences between the various examples. It just happens that way!
To make things a little more interesting (perhaps), I have placed enlarged photos and detailed comments for each paperweight in its own separate page. These pages are accessed by image links within the main body or from standard text links included in various sections. In other words, you will need to be active to obtain the full details - you can't just read sequentially and make full sense of it!
If you have access to a copy of the books by Bob Hall, Scottish Paperweights and John Simmonds, Paperweights From Great Britain, 1930-2000, I encourage you to study what they say about Vasart and Strathearn weights.
My comments are not intended to be definitive statements, only opinions based on observation. If this article can assist anyone in their adventure, then it is a success.
I certainly do not intend to cover the full history of the Ysarts here. However, it would be useful to summarise events with a table of paperweight production and often-used collectors' descriptions.
| Glassworks | "Trading Name" |
Approximate Period |
"Collectors' Descriptions" |
| Moncrieff | Monart | 1930 - 1939 | Salvador
Ysart, Paul Ysart, Monart |
| Moncrieff | Monart | 1946 - 1960 | Paul Ysart, Monart |
| Ysart Brothers Glass | Vasart | 1946 - 1955 | Salvador Ysart, Ysart Brothers, Vasart |
| Vasart | Vasart | 1956 - 1964 | Vasart |
| Strathearn | Strathearn | 1964 - 1980 | Strathearn |
The table is very generalised and, as stated, is in relation to paperweight production. As an indication of complications in this sort of tabling, there is evidence of paperweight production by Paul Ysart during the war years, even though Monart Art Glass may well have been temporarily stopped. So, if Paul Ysart had the time and inclination to make weights in that period, what of the other Ysarts? Is it possible that Salvador also continued "unofficial" production of paperweights?
Leaving aside the question of production during the war years, it can be seen from the table that the name "Vasart" can be, and often is, used by collectors and dealers to describe items from both the periods 1946-1955 (when the company name was "Ysart Brothers" but traded as "Vasart") and 1956-1964 (when the company was named "Vasart"). But what is more confusing is the fact that some items, in particular some Inkwells, which have "Vasart" characteristics also have attributes that could date them as 1930s period!
So are we now into the complication of some "Vasart" items needing to be properly referred to as "Monart"? Yes, it would seem so. But this article could become very complex and I could easily end up going round in ever-decreasing circles if I tried to describe things taking account of all the various descriptions used by collectors and dealers. And I haven't even mentioned trying to identify specific pieces by Salvador Ysart - although, as at September 2001, I have produced a separate article covering possible items from Salvador Ysart / Ysart Brothers Glass which may help to unravel some of the difficulties.
Anything produced by the Strathearn company is rightly described as "Strathearn". Simple, isn't it?
No, it's not simple at all! As mentioned in the Introduction, the Strathearn company was a renaming of the old Vasart company (in much the same way as Vasart was a restructuring of the Ysart Brothers company). The production lines simply carried on for some time, with little difference in output. This results in a lot of difficulty when trying to be specific about attributions.
People now seem to be settling on a terminology of "transitional" to describe items that cannot be readily separated as either "Vasart" or "Strathearn".
For my own peace of mind, and for simplicity of this article, I will use
the following naming standard:
"Ysart Brothers" = items likely to
have been made from 1946 to 1955
"Vasart" = items likely to have been
made from 1956 to 1964
"Strathearn" = items likely to have been made
from 1964 to 1980
Although you will see some references later on to "possible 1930s Salvador" items, I do not intend to go into those details in this current investigation. I do, however, intend to produce another article devoted entirely to the possible attributions to Salvador Ysart and hopefully that will sort out a few loose ends - as at September 2001, that article is now available as a discussion of possible items from Salvador Ysart / Ysart Brother Glass.
Here is another look at the photo used at the top of this article, but this time full-size. Which weights do you think are "Vasart" and which are "Strathearn"? And are there any that you think might be "Ysart Brothers"?
(Note that the numbering system for this group of paperweights is upwards (!) through each column, but at least the ordering of columns is normal, being left to right.)
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| Weight 04 Weight 03 Weight 02 Weight 01 |
Weight 08 Weight 07 Weight 06 Weight 05 |
Weight 13 Weight 12 Weight 11 Weight 10 Weight 09 |
Weight 17 Weight 16 Weight 15 Weight 14 |
Weight 21 Weight 20 Weight 19 Weight 18 |
The examination of bases of paperweights is always an important part of identification. Even though, alone, it may not give positive identification, comparing full details of groups of weights with similar basal elements can help enormously.
There follows a series of images showing the weights discussed here, grouped by basal features.
Note that the faceted weight (number 12) is not included in any of these images since it is the only one to have a perfectly smooth, polished base. Flat polishing of the base is a common feature on faceted Strathearn weights. I am personally unaware of any faceted Vasart weights but if they exist it would be interesting to check out the overall features and quality.
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For this group of three weights, the bases are finished in much the same manner. A distinct "button" mark remains in two of them, where the weight has been cracked off the iron. For the third, the "button" has actually been ground down but its outline is still visible. There is evidence of some rough grinding within the central part of the base of each of these weights. The ring towards the outer edges is simply age wear. Click the "Weight number" to check out its details. |
 Weight 2 |
 Weight 3 |
 Weight 7 |
The evidence of the UV testing (see later section), shows that all of these weights fall into a category that is not consistent with the examined labelled Vasart and Strathearn items. It is possible, therefore, that a "Vasart" style weight with a distinct (or ground-down) "button" mark in the base is an early "Ysart Brothers" piece.
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These six weights all have a definite, roughly ground patch to the central part of the base. If you look closely, you can make out additional ground areas in some weights, other than the usual age wear ring. Also, when such a weight is examined carefully, the ground area will usually show that at least two or three passes of the grinding wheel have been used in various directions. Click the "Weight number" to check out its details. |
 Weight 1 |
 Weight 4 |
 Weight 8 |
 Weight 10 |
 Weight 11 |
 Weight 16 |
It is not easy to draw a possible single attribution for weights with this type of base finish. Weight numbers 1 and 11 each have a Vasart label and weight number 10 has a Pirelli label. Weight number 4 does not fluoresce in the same way as the others in this group and could therefore be from the "Ysart Brothers" period. Weights 8 and 16 have canes and general working that might suggest early Vasart but they certainly fluoresce the same as the labelled Vasart and Strathearn weights.
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Here we have a group with Fire Polished bases. Essentially, this means that the finish is achieved through heat and allowing the glass in that area to simply settle out. The process leaves the glass smooth or sometimes rippled but there is no clear evidence of a cracking-off mark or of any grinding. Click the "Weight number" to check out its details. |
 Weight 5 |
 Weight 6 |
 Weight 9 |
 Weight 14 |
 Weight 15 |
 Weight 21 |
These weights have varying sizes of central depressions. Some do show evidence of a "button" mark but in fact they are all quite smooth to the touch and there is no indication of grinding. Weight 14 has a Strathearn label and its base shows very clear "swirling" in the glass, but again the overall feel is quite smooth. Weight 15 has a cane structure and design that could indicate an earlier piece, but its fluorescence is the same as the others in the group.
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Finally, in the base views, we have five weights which I have classed as having a "Rough Base". In fact, these seem to be Fire Polished, like the previous group but the area is much more noticeable as a sizeable depression within a larger, flat or rippled surface. Also there is some evidence of partial grinding or roughness within the central area. Click the "Weight number" to check out its details. |
 Weight 13 |
 Weight 17 |
 Weight 18 |
 Weight 19 |
 Weight 20 |
Weights 13, 18 and 20 all have a cane and design appearance suggestive of earlier period Vasart. The canes and design of weights 17 and 19 look more like Strathearn. They all fluoresce in the same manner.
I would like to finish off this article with a brief look at, and commentary on, UV testing (as already mentioned within the section on basal features). This form of examination has been shown to be very useful in highlighting groups of paperweights. Although the approach cannot give guarantees of a specific maker, or even of a particular area or country, it can help to confirm tentative attributions made by the other, usual methods.
The UV photos below were not produced with the intention of showing exact (or even close) fluorescence colouring. In fact, the photos were produced by a standard digital camera, having no manual control of exposure times. Therefore the results are not truly as seen by the eye. However, they do indicate a couple of important points and these are outlined below the images.
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The left-hand image was produced using Long Wave UV light [365 NM]. (Many people refer to this as a "Black Light Image".) In the photo, the main feature appears to be a purple cast, with one or two weights showing a light yellow tint. In reality, all the weights fluoresce with a green colour but there are subtle differences in the shades of green across the group.
The important point to note is that, generally, there is no clearly discernible group of weights when viewed under the Long Wave UV light.
When we look at the right-hand image, using Short Wave light [254 NM], with all the weights in exactly the same position as before, it is obvious that most have a blue fluorescence. But there is a group of four that do not fluoresce blue. In reality, these four show up as a murky, or dusty, shade of grey.(*) This colouring is much the same as for items from the Moncrieff factory (early Monart) or from the Ysart Brothers company (pre-1956 Vasart). Now that's what I call a good clue to attribution! But please go back and study the details for these four weights (numbers 2, 3, 4 and 7 in the main picture). Perhaps you will see other common themes within these that are not evident in many of the others?
(*) Please note that it was only in June 2007 that an error was seen in this text. It was previously stated that the shortwave UV reaction of the four weights was green. My apologies to all who may have been confuised by this six-year-long innacuracy.
End of this Article