Museum complex

PAPERWEIGHT

Russia
The beginning of XX Century
Inscription on cover: "VOLGA-KAMA COMMERCIAL BANK»
Brass, steel, wood, felt; casting
7,8 x 17,5 x 6,0 cm
Receipt: from the Moscow-Leningrad historical and household expedition, 1959
Showcase 8

A paperweight with the inscription: "VOLGA-KAMA COMMERCIAL BANK" is an artifact of business culture of St.Petersburg of XIX–XX Centuries. In this city was located headquarters of one of the largest commercial banks of pre-revolutionary Russia, established in 1870 at the initiative of V.Kokorev (1817–1889), a Russian entrepreneur and philanthropist.
Objects of office equipment always were a part of the business culture of the time. Paperweight (presse-papiers in French), one of the items of the writing set designed for work with documents, it was used to soak ink on paper. The device was made in shape of a wooden semicircular bar to which was attached blotting paper and a flat lid with a handle. This design of paperweight in the second half of the XIX Century was determined by use of blotting paper in stationery, which allowed quicker absorbing of liquids. Paperweight has replaced the sandbox, traditionally used with the inkpot for the same purpose to soak ink on paper.

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