Old ED (or Possibly his father Henry) RITHNER "Messenger of Love" Paperweight

Description

A PIECE OF AMERICAN GLASS HISTORY
HENRY
Rithner immigrated to West Virginia in 1888 and began working for various glass factories.
In 1908 HENRY established his own glass factory
ED RITHNER
was born in 1890 and began working in glass before 1910.
From before 1910 until 1939 he worked for several glass factories including the one owned by his father Henry.
In 1939 he left the Crescent Glass Company (West Virginia) and began creating off-hand glass items including paperweights.
This "Messenger of Love" frit "motto" weight is one of his classic designs.
Jean Melvin, writing in her book "American Glass Paperweights and Their Makers" lists this weight as one of the Frit (Powered Glass) weights made by Ed and the design is pictured in one of the color plates in that book.
The design features a White Bird carrying an envelope and the words "MESSENGER OF LOVE" floating above a crimped fused chip cushion.
A Church, a tree, and a building form a scene below the flying bird.
. This paperweight is quite LARGE at 3-1/8" in diameter and 2-1/2" high.
It is not signed, however attribution is positive.
Condition is NEAR PERFECT AND ORIGINAL with only a tiny bit of extremely light wear to the lower side, unusual for a paperweight that is probably at least 75 years old.
The few tiny depressions on the surface are not chips or damage; they are tiny open bubbles at the surface that occurred during the making.
They are essentially invisible except under magnification and are typical of paperweights made in this region and era.
The base rim shows wear confirming that the weight is very old and may have been made well BEFORE 1939, possibly by HENRY as early as 1908.
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