William T. Gillinder - who originally worked in the Birmingham/Stourbridge area in England - emigrated to America in 1854. In 1861 he founded his own company in Philadelphia and it is reported that during the 1860s he made many types of paperweights, incorporating what he had learned in England. Gillinder weights - reminiscent of Bacchus in their use of pastel colouring and crimp and ruffle canes - seldom appear on the market, due to the limited number made before William Gillinder’s early death in 1871.

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