Since their launch in 1981, nearly two hundred models of Royal Crown Derby paperweights have been created, achieving enduring popularity and quickly becoming collector's items.
Typically decorated in the distinctive 'Imari' palette of colours (rich blue, iron-red and gold), the Derby paperweights take the form of animals of all kinds.
Each one is carefully researched and then designed with imagination and consideration. The paperweight's rich colours and clever designs make them enchanting ornaments.
How it all began
The birth of the Royal Crown Derby series of paperweights can be traced to a special event held at Chatsworth House in 1981, when the firm introduced the first six paperweights - an Owl, a Duck, a Quail, a Penguin, a Wren and a Rabbit.
The idea for the paperweight range can be attributed to Jo Ledger, a talented and experienced designer and art director. Ledger believed that Derby should diversify its product range, but still maintain the distinctive Derby character. Ledger saw that there was an excellent opportunity to develop a range of paperweights that was useful, aesthetically attractive, novel in character and unique to Royal Crown Derby.
When considering what form the paperweights would take Ledger looked at popular historical and contemporary wares in England and Europe and came to the conclusion that animal sculptures, which were always appealing to customers, and for which there was a Derby tradition, made a fine theme for the new range.
In addition to Derby's history of making ceramic animals, another important tradition to be absorbed in to the paperweight range was the 'Imari' patterns, developed in Derby factories from the late eighteenth century and based on Japanese porcelain.
By the end of the 1970s the concept of the new paperweight range was fully formed. The hallmarks of the series, a stylish animal theme and richness of decoration, were to be couple with the continuing use of Imari-inspired patterns, but in new and interesting ways. The paperweights were to be usable and the animals were to capture essential characteristics of the chosen species, rather than being an exact likeness.
In late 1980 the first six models went in to production, in time for the Chatsworth House launch in 1981. Although the event marked the official birth of the new series, they were given no more than half a page of coverage towards the back of the brochure designed to publicize the event. At the time no one could have guessed that the product range would become so popular all around the world.
When the paperweights were first launched they were filled with sand at the factory. However, this increased transport costs and infringed health and safety legislation, so it is left to the individual if they wish to add their own sand.
How a paperweight is made
The first stage in the development of a paperweight is design. A clay model is created, which then provides the basis for the plaster of paris mould used to cast the paperweights. The decorative artwork is also created and it is then developed into a lithograph used to decorate the paperweight.
Each paperweight is produced from a liquid slip generated from a finely balanced mixture of 25% china clay, 25% china stone, both from Cornwall and 50% bone ash imported from Holland, which is then blended with water.
Liquid slip is poured into each mould through a small hole in the top of the Plaster of Paris box, which is then left for several minutes so casting can take place. The walls of the boxes gradually absorb the water from the slip and a skin of clay, which gradually thickens and as time passes forms around the edge of the mould to create the bodies of the paperweights. The models are of course hollow and the small holes found at the base of each paperweight make it possible at this stage to pour out the excess slip. The excess slip is poured out and after a short drying period each box mould is carefully taken apart to expose the body of the paperweight. At this stage the models are still soft, so they must be treated very delicately.
Fettling, an expert job, involves the removal of any seam lines, which result from the casting process; this is carried out before the first firing.
The first firing takes twenty-four hours in total. Eleven and a half hours building up to the required temperature of 12500 Celsius, two and a half hours at this temperature, then a ten-hour gradual cooling process. On removal from the kilns the bodies have white, hard and translucent qualities of Derby bone china. The paperweights have a matt surface texture and are referred to as 'biscuit' and remain like this until they are glazed. The paperweight bodies are approximately nine tenths the size of the original clay bodies placed in the kiln. The heat of the kiln causes the paperweights to lose moisture, which in turn produces the dramatic shrinkage noticeable in the fired items.
The paperweights are then passed on to the glazing shop. They are placed on moving spikes and sprayed with a solution of water and dissolved frit (ground up glass) made to a precise recipe. The paperweights are then fired again in a glost kiln at a temperature of 11000 Celsius for about an hour in a firing process of approximately twelve hours in all. The firing process causes vitrification to take place and the glaze fuses with the china bodies of the paperweights. When they emerge from the glost kilns they have a clear, glassy and polished appearance and after further quality checks they are ready for decorating.
The first stage in the decoration process of a paperweight involves applying a lithograph transfer. The transfer sheets are soaked in warm water so the lithograph can easily be removed. With a skilful hand & eye the transfer's are then applied one by one on to the china bodies. The fit and disposition of the transfers have to be exactly right.
The paperweights are then fired again which causes the in-glaze colours to sink into the clear layer of glaze and produce a characteristic rich, even hue.
After the in-glaze colours have been fired the paperweights return to the decorating shop to have the on-glaze transfers applied in exactly the same way as before. This time the decorator lays them down over the in-glaze colours according to the design specification. This is followed by a fourth firing at approximately 8000 Celsius.
When the paperweights emerge from the enamelling kilns they are passed to the gilding section of the decorating shop. Highly skilled gilders apply gold lines to complete the join areas between different sections on the paperweight.
The paperweight is then fired for a fifth and final time at 8050 Celsius and when they emerge from the kiln they are passed to the burnishers whose job it is to buff the gold area to develop the rich and lustrous shine characteristics of the completed paperweights.
Finally the completed paperweights are subjected to rigorous quality checks. Paperweights that meet the strict criteria are fitted with a simulated gold stopper, which signifies premier quality, and they are then forwarded to the warehouse for despatch. Paperweights with major flaws are rejected altogether and those even with the smallest of defects are relegated to a second division, fitted with a silver stopper instead of a gold one and then passed to the factory shop, where they are sold as seconds. The factory shop is the only outlet where seconds with silver stoppers are sold.
What do the marks on the base mean?
A number of marks can be found on the base of each paperweight.
Beneath the Royal Crown Derby logo are Roman numerals that denote the year of production.
XLIV = 1981
L = 1987
LXIII = 2000
LXXI = 2008
A small inglaze letter in pale blue or green indicates the identity of the decorator who applied the in-glaze lithographs.
A lower case letter in Derby iron-red indicates the identity of the decorator who applied the on-glaze transfers.
A lower-case letter in gold signifies the identity of a gilder.
Source: 'Royal Crown Derby Paperweights - A Collector's Guide' by Ian Cox. Merrell Holberton Publishers. 1997