Posts Tagged ‘ pottery ’

Hull Pottery was founded in 1905 in Crooksville, Ohio by Addis Emmet (A.E.) Hull. Early lines consisted of common utilitarian stoneware, semi-porcelain dinnerware and decorative tile. In the 1920s, Hull began expanding the variety of the company’s product line to art pottery and began using a broader variety of colors and glazing techniques. Hull developed art pottery using primarily floral themes and trendy pastel mattes. Its product line expanded to incude piggy banks, liquor bottles, lamps, and florist ware. The company ceased operations in 1986.

Hull Pottery is a popular collectors item, often imitated. Recognizing genuine pieces of Hull pottery means knowing what marks and finish details to look for. Hull pottery has two sets of markings. Pre-1950 pieces are marked “HULL USA” and “HULL ART USA” and may have a paper label as well. Post-1950 pieces are marked “HULL” in large script or block lettering. Every pattern in the Hull collection is marked with a different item number. If this is missing from the base, the piece is a fake. Become familiar with the colors and finishes used on Hull pottery and check to make sure the size and weight of the piece is accurate to make sure it is authentic…

Shawnee Pottery was started in Zanesville, Ohio, in 1937. It produced various types of household pottery from 1937 through 1961. People who were well known in the Ohio potteries were brought in to design and produce the items that Shawnee became famous for like A. E. Hull, Jr., son of the founder of Hull Pottey and George Rumrill, producer of Red Wing Pottery. After the end of World War II the pottery was unable to compete with the foreign imports that began flooding the nation and finally stopped operations in 1961.

Many copies of Shawnee Pottery were produced in the 1960s and 1970s. Also, Shawnee can be mistaken for McCoy because they are similar. However, most of Shawnee is completely glazed inside and out. There is a raised foot on the bottom that follows the contour of the base. Shawnee markings to look for: The base may just have “USA” inscribed in the clay. These pieces predate World War II. Other Shawnee markings are: “Shawnee” “Shawnee U.S.A.” “USA # ___” “Pat. Smiley” or “Pat. Winnie”.

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Hole-eye piggy banks were made from the 1880s until about 1920. They were one of the earliest piggy banks to be made in large quantities. Most of them were made in Czechoslovakia or Austria and were imported to the United States. Due to their age and composition of the pottery, they are usually fragile, so most of them have some type of damage. They are made of light stoneware and have a colorful glassy drip glaze over the upper half of the piggy bank. This glaze is prone to flaking. These banks are usually unmarked, marked with the country of origin, or may be marked “foreign.” There is no hole in the bottom to retrieve the coins.