This is another interestinf vintage Scottish paperweights designed by the glass maestro William Manson. He was responsible for the global recognition of Scotland as a leading nation within the world of glass, and his work can be found in prestigious collections around the world.
SHORT BIOGRAPHY: William Manson (1951 - 2025) was apprenticed to Paul Ysart at Caithness Glass towards the end of the 1960’s. When Paul left Caithness in 1971 to set up his studio at Harland, William joined him in the new business. After Harland closed in 1974, he returned to Caithness where he stayed until setting up William Manson Paperweights Studio in 1997. Sadly William Manson Snr passed away in 2025. His work is continued by his son William and family from there studio in Stirling. They continue his legacy with the production of stunning limited edition paperweights.
It is marked on the base: Caithness Scotland with the weight title: Thistle. It is No. 23 - out of a small limited edition of 100. The edition actually closed at only 76 weights issued. It dates to 1992. It is classified as CT-902. It had an opening price when first on sale of £175 - so always a much sought after special Manson weight. This one has a little Manson signature cane: WM.
This is a harder to find Manson paperweight - as it came from such a short edition. The base is a clear topaz -amber colour. Onto this has been places a large sprig of heather. The stem and leaves are convered in twinkling aventurine - it looks like them might have been made from a foil - but they are glittering glass. Then we have three raised lampwork thistle heads - with lots of little spikes carefully applied.
It is perhaps not the prettiest weight ever made by Manson - but is remains a very rare one. It is listed at a fair price. This takes into account the pretty design, its fine condition and the very small edition size. It has no chips or cracks, there is a little fine scratch on the base, as photographed. This is not seen display and it has occurred some time ago when it was picked up and laid down. You really need to turn it to face a raking light to see it. I have taken this into consideration with my pricing.
Dimensions: The diameter is 3 inches. The height is 2 inches. I have taken lots of images for your inspection. This one was a little tricky to photograph as the darker topaz colour resulted in lots of reflections on the crown to the weight. I hope that you get a good idea of what it looks like - it is the twinkle that was hard to capture.
The paperweight will be sent to you with Royal Mail Tracked Delivery to keep it safe in transit. This will be applied to your order at the checkout.