The history of Old Fort Niagara spans more than 300 years. During the colonial wars in North America a fort at the mouth of the Niagara River was vital, for it controlled access to the Great Lakes and the westward route to the heartland of the continent. With the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, however, the strategic value of Fort Niagara diminished. It nonetheless remained an active military post well into the 20th century.
This paperweight celebrates Old Fort Niagara. It measures just over 3 inches across the bottom and stands about 1.75 inches tall at the center of the domed glass. The bottom has a protective foam covering to keep it from scratching whatever it's sitting on. The foam has been slightly trimmed back at the edges.
Please excuse the quality of my photos. It's hard to photograph through the glass without distortion appearing, but the picture of the fort is not distorted at all. The picture of the fort is very slightly off center to the left. I don't know if you can tell though by looking at my photo because I had to tilt the piece to keep a large glare from appearing.
As to age, I purchased it at an estate sale, so I don't know the original purchase date. I researched online to try to find another one that may give a date, but there's not another one of these out there anywhere. There are quite a few paperweights of other subjects that have the same shape, glass thickness, and overall appearance as this one and they are described as early 1920s to 1930s. I'm not promising that this one is from that time frame, but it is quite old.
Buyer to pay USPS First Class Mail Parcel delivery charges of $7.95. (Sorry, but it's a paper weight so is a heavy item. Shipping is from Arizona.
SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT SHIPPING CHARGES: Twice yearly, and again in November for the holiday season (so three times per year) the postal service increases shipping charges. This is what they call their "Delivering For America" plan in which they hope to become profitable. It's a 10 year plan that started in 2021, so we've got years to go with multiple price increases on shipping charges each year. I try to absorb the new charges and haven't increased my shipping charges in three years. This year unfortunately, I have to if I want to stay in business. I'll try to keep it reasonable and even absorb some of the increases when possible.
I do combine shipping on multiple items purchased as long as all items will safely fit into a single box or envelope. However, my web host is not set up to calculate multiple item shipping costs. At checkout, you will be charged full shipping price on each item purchased and I will refund the appropriate amount of overpayment. If you are uncomfortable with that, you can send me an email with your zip code and stating which items you'll be purchasing and I'll calculate the correct combined shipping charges and send you a custom invoice.
INTERNATIONAL PURCHASED: Sorry, I do not ship to locations outside of the United States.
All items in my listings come from either estate or garage sales. I do not know if they come from homes where smoking or pets were present. Unless otherwise stated, all items are sold in the same condition as when I obtained them.
