c. 1849 American Sulphide Paperweight, 2.75 inches in diameter, with a White Bust Portrait of General Zachary Taylor in Military Uniform within Clear Glass, Labeled "Taylor" on the Base, Attributed to the New England Glass Company, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Extremely Fine.
This quality eye-catching clear glass sulphide paperweight measuring 2.75 inches in diameter, encloses a molded white Cameo Bust Portrait of General Zachary Taylor, shown in crisp detail in his military uniform with epaulettes and a double-breasted coat. The flat polished base bears an old paper label inscribed "Taylor" in period ink. A closely comparable “Taylor” sulphide of nearly identical size, now in the Chrysler Museum of Art, carries an old paper label crediting the New England Glass Company of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is illustrated in T. H. Marsh's reference work "The American Story Recorded in Glass."

General Zachary Taylor, nicknamed "Old Rough and Ready," rose to national fame commanding American forces in the Mexican-American War; his election as the twelfth President of the United States in 1848 and his sudden death in office in July 1850, only sixteen months into his term, made him a popular subject for commemorative glass of the period, of which this paperweight is one historic example. A c. 1849 date ties this piece directly to Zachary Taylor's Presidential Campaign or his brief 1849-1850 Presidency (he died in office in July 1850). Provenance Ex: Collection of Rex Stark.
Sulphide paperweights, made by encasing a fired ceramic or porcelain cameo medallion within clear glass, were produced by several American and European glasshouses in the second quarter of the nineteenth century, with portraits of American statesmen and military heroes a popular subject for the domestic market.

Sulphide portrait glassware is blown, cut, and molded glassware usually made from lead crystal that encases an image. In the glass industry, a sulphide is a glass object that contains an image encased in the glass that appears as white porcelain. These images can also appear to be silver. Inserting the object, or cameo, into the glass was the most difficult part of the production process. There could be no air bubbles between the cameo and the glass.