Almost everyone of our guesses for the July What Is It identified the object as a desk ink blotter. Our source said it is a paper weight. This particular one has had an outdoor working life. It is six-inch cast-iron engraved weight used to anchor newspapers at a kiosk in New York. Decorative weights like this one are still in use so they are hard to collect. Those with logos of now defunct newspapers are more easily found.
Since these objects could be used as ink blotters, we are going to go ahead and give a year’s subscription to the Mountain States Collector to those who guessed that it was their purpose. Congratulations to our winners.
William McLaren of Anchorage, Alaska adds, “The July What Is It appears to be a Victorian-era paper weight of cast iron with scrolling. It is probably an example of the Eastlake style. Such items were popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s.”
Our other What Is It winners include Jean Helzer, Arvada, Colorado; Cheryl Miller, Ft. Collins, Colorado; and Christine Green of Westminster, Colorado.
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