Rare Harold J. Hacker Snake Paperweight

Rare Harold J. Hacker Snake Paperweight.   circa 1966 - 1980.  This wonderful Harold Hacker lampwork snake paperweight.  The long brown snake with two white eyes and a long slender tongue has a yellow stripe down its back.  It blends perfectly with the copper colored frit ground.  It is engraved "HJH" on the base.  A very similar example is shown on page 172 of Melvin's book American Glass Paperweights and their Makers (Revised 1970).  A desirable example of Hacker's work.

Please Note:  The stand shown in the pictures is not included with the paperweight.  It is shown for illustration only.

Note on white glare:  Please ignore the white areas, they are glare from the light.

Harold James Hacker (1906 - 1989) was born in Weston, West Virginia and, at the age of thirteen, took a job at the Weston Glass Plant.  Later he worked at the West Virginia Specialty Glass Company and learned some of the rudiments of blowing glass.  In 1936 he moved to California and worked at the Technical Glass Company in Los Angeles.  After service in the armed services during world war II, he obtained a concession at the Knott's Berry Farm making miniature glass objects, built on a hobby of lampworking that started back in West Virginia.  In 1966 Hacker and a friend from West Virginia, A. F. Carpenter, started experimenting with glass paperweights at a small studio near Hacker's home in Buena Park, CA.  In the beginning they made more traditional lampwork floral arrangements and millefiori paperweights, but then focused on lampwork snakes, reptiles, turtles, and other animals.  Their output was low and, even with two helpers, never exceeded 200 paperweights a year.  All were signed with variations of Hacker's signature, "Hacker", "Harold Hacker", "Harold J Hacker", or just the initials "HJH".  It is not possible to specifically identify which lampwork animals were made by A. F. Carpenter, but it is believed that Carpenter was the better lampwork artist and Hacker did some of the simpler designs.  Hacker also did the encasement.  Their work was considered good enough to earn an entry in  Dunlop's Dictionary of Glass Paperweights.  Both men are included in Jean Melvin's book American Glass Paperweights and their Makers (revised edition 1970) and Hacker has a page in Larry Selman's All About Paperweights.  Harold Hacker wrote an article "The Art of Paperweights" for the 1968 Annual Bulletin of the Paperweight Collectors' Association. 

Size:  2 3/4" diameter by 1 1/16" high.  The base is ground flat.  Note the low profile.
Condition:  Very good condition.  There are some scuff marks on the widest part of the paperweight.  No other chips, cracks, or scratches found on inspection.
Signature:  Engraved "HJH" on the base.

Allan's Paperweights is owned by Allan Port.
If you have any questions, please click the "paperweights" link under seller information and then contact seller.  

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