A small 19th century "Dump" or "End of Day" paperweight decorated internally with a single flower.
Height:9cm
Dump/End of Day glass paperweights were made in England by various factories from the early 19th century all the way until the early 20th century.
In the early 19th century demand for glass bottles grew enormously. At that time, all glass that was made at a factory was taxed, regardless of whether it was used or sold. If remainder glass from a day was returned to the furnace as a part of another batch it was literally taxed twice. To avoid wasting this remainder glass, factories began making thousands of these weights. They were likely given the name "dump glass" as the glass used to make them would otherwise have been dumped at the end of the day.