PotteryA special selection of our most popular well known makers such as Hull, McCoy, Redwing, Camark, Hall, Gonder, Heidi Schoop, PLUS a special selection of signed and dated Art Pottery representing national, regional, and local potters.
Hull:A. E. Hull Pottery was founded in Zanesville, Ohio in 1905 initially producing stoneware. By 1907, Hull Pottery had already expanded by adding a second plant and had grown to employ over 200 workers. By 1920, Hull was producing a wide variety of quality stoneware, planters, and art pottery, incorporating new airbrushed and blended glaze techniques. They also produced items for the bathroom and kitchen which usually had a white semi-porcelain body. After the stock market crash in 1929, much of the production shifted to tiles although other items continued to be produced as well. In the 1930s, Hull capitalized in the growing interest in art pottery and introduced several lines of matte finish, pastel, and floral items in the shape of vases, planters, ewers, and bowls, most in varying sizes. Their most successful items were the Little Red Riding Hood cookie jars which were patented in 1943 and began an entire new production line of figural kitchen and novelty items which continued well into the 1950s. Although best known for their pastel matt-glazed ware, some of the lines were high gloss. Rosella, glossy coral on a pink clay body, was produced for a short time only; and Magnolia, although offered in a matt glaze, was produced in gloss as well. The plant was destroyed in 1950 by a flood which resulted in a devastating fire when the floodwater caused the kilns to explode. The company rebuilt and equipped their new factory with the most modern machinery. However, it was soon apparent that the matt glaze could not be duplicated through the more modern processes, and soon attention was concentrated on high-gloss art ware lines such as Parchment, Pine and Ebb Tide. Figural planters and novelties, piggy banks, and dinnerware were produced in abundance in the late 1950s and 1960s. By the mid-1970s, dinnerware and florist ware were the mainstay of their business. The firm ceased production in 1985.
McCoy: In 1910, Nelson McCoy and his father J. W. McCoy started the Nelson McCoy Sanitary Stoneware Co. in Roseville, Ohio. Ohio provided great natural clay which they mined for themselves and sold to other area potteries, and they began to manufacture decorative stoneware. They were able to take advantage both of the area's natural resources as well as the skilled area workforce in earthenware. McCoy was successful almost from the start, and they made a diverse array of functional items from kitchen and food storage items to foot warmers. In 1925, the Nelson McCoy Sanitary Stoneware Co. began a major expansion in 1925 and built much larger and more modern facilities for design and production. They were consequently able to produce many new types of art pottery for the more affluent, and soon decorative pottery in the form of vases, umbrella stands, pedestals, and jardinières became the majority of their production. McCoy hired designers and artisans to fashion the art pottery and decoration, and they began to experiment with new and blended glazes. Many designs reflected nature in the form of leaves and berries, and coloration was typically earth tone with browns and greens. McCoy did not abandon the mass market during this period, continuing to produce functional pottery in a green glaze in large quantities. During the Depression, McCoy banded together with other area potteries to consolidate marketing and sales for the participants, thus saving money. This organization was called the American Clay Products Co., and it included the Burley, Logan, and Crooksville Pottery Companies among others. This cooperative effort did not work very well, resulting in similar
products and more production than the market could support. In 1933, the company changed its name to the Nelson McCoy Pottery Company. They produced primarily cookie jars from about 1940 until December, 1990 when production ceased and the company went out of business. Early McCoy pottery has a mark which is a circle with a shield inside, and typically a number which reflects the capacity of the specific container in gallons. They also used a clover with a double shield, and an M above it. Most production after about 1938 has the McCoy mark incised or embossed on the bottom.
Weller: Sam Weller first started making pottery in Fultonham, Ohio about 1872 for mostly local farmers in the nearby Ohio towns and villages. Quite distinct from the art pottery wares into which he evolved, Sam Weller started out making everyday items such as jars, jugs, tiles, and other pottery used in daily lives. While the styles were still simple, he nevertheless benefited from the rich local clays in the area as did many other top quality makers of art pottery over the next 60 years. Weller moved to the Zanesville, Ohio area about 1889 and, influenced by other potters in the area, he started making art pottery and a broader diversity of styles-- flower pots, hanging baskets, umbrella stands, and much more. Growth came quickly to the talented Mr. Weller, fueling the growth of Weller pottery into a sizeable manufacturing operation of over 200 employees within the next five years. In 1893, Sam Weller traveled to the World Columbian Exposition where he was further exposed to the new work of other art potteries such as Rook wood, Lonhuda, and others. He was also exposed to new art nouveau styling and the associated incorporation of nature themes into art pottery. Weller envisioned making art pottery which could be more mass produced than producers employing only a handful of talented, high paid artists such as the practice at Rook wood. Weller saw some of these characteristics in Lonhuda pottery and became acquainted with the founder, William Long. Long and Weller joined forces in Zanesville and began joint production, but the partnership was not to last. Weller nevertheless continued making pottery in the style of Lonhuda, and he renamed his line Louwelsa which was an aggregation of 'lou" (his daughter Louise), "wel" (Weller), and "sa" (Sam's initials). Louwelsa was an immediate market success.
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