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18th Annual Wisconsin Pottery Association Show & Sale
studying and promoting collectible pottery.
The Wisconsin Pottery Association (WPA) will hold Pottery Company in 1902, Rhead moved 75 miles
Meetings are held monthly and include speakers
its 18th annual Show and Sale on August 24, 2013. Fifty of west to take a job at the Weller Pottery where he creand informal discussions on pottery. For more
America’s best pottery dealers will be selling a range of ated several important pottery lines including Jap
information, visit the WPA website (http://wisconantique and contemporary art pottery. As always, experts will Birdimal and Rhead Faience. But Rhead’s best early
sinpottery.org) or write the WPA at PO Box 705,
be on hand to identify and evaluate your “mystery” pottery work was done at Roseville where he was hired as art
Madison, Wisconsin 53701-0705.
director in 1904. There he created what is arguably
(limit 2 per admission).
This article takes its lead on Roseville history, line
This year’s Exhibit is Roseville: America’s America’s greatest art pottery line, Della Robbia, and
names, dates and facts from Mark Bassett’s outstanding
Decorative Art Pottery. On display will be supervised the development of many of Roseville best
and well documented books, Introducing Roseville
over 120 examples of Roseville pottery, early lines including Cremo, Crocus, Mongol, Egypto,
Pottery and Understanding Roseville Pottery, available
representing many of the best lines from the Woodland, Olympic, Fudji, Matt Green, Creamware,
from Schiffer Books.
Rozane Royal Light, and Crystalis among others.
company’s 63 year history.
The Pottery Show/Sale, and the Exhibit: Roseville:
In 1892 the Roseville Pottery began pro- Examples of these rare, valuable and beautiful art potAmerica’s Decorative Art Pottery, will be one
ducing utilitarian cooking vessels, flower tery lines will be on display at the 2013 WPA
Roseville Rosecraft, 1921, day only, Saturday, August 24, 2013 at the
pots and spittoons in Roseville, Ohio. exhibit.
After Frederick H. Rhead left Roseville also known at Florane Alliant Energy Center off Rimrock Road near
George F. Young was the company’s secretary, treasurer and general manager. The in 1908, his brother Harry Rhead became art when it appears in this tan John Nolan Drive in Madison, Wisconsin.
firm went out of business after a few years, director until 1918. While Harry did not produce color. The form of this From I-90, take Exit 142-A, Highway 12-18
and Young bought the business and the great art pottery that exemplified his broth- vase foreshadows the art west five miles to Exit
Rimrock
assumed the role of president, as er’s stay at Roseville, his oversight had a crucial deco telescoping and 262,
Gazo Foudji was a well as continuing on as general economic impact on the company by de-empha- saucer-like shapes that Road, then north
Japanese-born artist manager. The Young family owned sizing labor intensive, hand-tooled art ware in were perfected in the o n e - q u a r t e r
who worked at the and managed the company continu- favor of molded ware with raised (embossed) Futura line seven years later. mile.
The
Weller Pottery
Exhibit
and
ously from 1896 until it closed in patterns, which served as templates for hand
before moving to 1954.
painted decoration of the pottery. This technique allowed Show will be open from 9am
Roseville (ca. 1905In addition to continuing its utili- less-skilled artisans to decorate more pieces, which increased until 4pm. Admission will be
1906) and creating tarian products, Young also made the amount of ware produced, and profits, a trend that other $6. Show ads can be used to
the Fudji (pictured) the first decorative art pottery at Zanesville potteries such as Weller were also embracing. secure free parking.
and Fujiyama lines. Roseville. The so-called Vase Harry Rhead designed several popular lines, including the
Roseville Crocus
Assortment line featured brightly Arts and Crafts Mostique, and the classically patterned
planter, ca. 1904.
colored vases with molded floral designs that were given Donatello, which featured embossed cherubs on a tan, green
and white background. The Early Velmoss,
away by A&P Grocery Stores as premiums to customers. In
Roseville Egypto,
Early Carnelian, Antique Matt Green, and
1898 Young purchased a second factory eight miles away in
1905, in the form
Pauleo lines were also introduced during
Zanesville, Ohio in order to expand his art pottery production
of an ancient
Harry Rhead’s tenure at Roseville.
and take advantage of the growing commercial market for art
Roman oil lamp.
Frank Ferrell created the Roseville pottery
ware. The Rookwood Pottery in Cincinnati
that is most familiar and popular to antique
was the pioneering Ohio art pottery maker,
lovers today. A Zanesville native and artist at
and along with various New England
several area potteries, he became Roseville’s
firms, had created and dominated the new
art director in 1919, and continued in that
market. Other Zanesville potteries, most
position until the plant closed in 1953. Ferrell
notably the Weller Pottery and the Owens
designed nearly all of Roseville’s Art Pottery
Pottery, had already started making decoraduring this period, about 90 lines in all. Ferrell
tive art pottery in Zanesville shortly before
sculpted the embossed patterns, designed thouRoseville set up their primary shop there.
sands of shapes, and chose the colors based on
Roseville’s first art lines included
ceramic engineer George Krause’s beautiful
the blended glaze lines now called Majolica
and durable matt glazes.
and Roseville’s version of Rookwood’s
One of Frank Ferrell’s greatest Roseville Creamware window
Standard Glaze line which was called Roseville “Vase Assortment” pieces
Windsor, introduced
Rozane Royal. Ross C. Purdy created were Roseville’s earliest art pottery, creations for Roseville was the Pine Cone box, with an early automobile
facing
off
with
a
cow.
“Tourist”
by
Roseville in 1931.
the glazes and developed the technical beginning around 1896. The vases line. Introduced in the early 1930s in rich
creamware is probably
This fern-decorated
blue,
golden
brown,
and
soft
green
glazes,
processes underlying Roseville’s stanwere sold in bulk to the A&P
Rosevilles most sought after
pattern was made in
dard glaze line. Similar “standard glaze” Grocery chain, where they were given it was the company’s best-selling line, and
and
valuable
creamware
lines.
blue
and rusty brown.
lines were produced by both of away as premiums to customers.` the legend is that it saved the firm from
bankruptcy during the Depression, just as
Roseville’s Zanesville competitors, the
Owens and Weller potteries. Majolica pieces were probably the Donatello pattern was said to have reversed the compaThe
being produced before 1900 at Roseville, while the earliest ny’s fortunes in 1915. Over 150 Pine Cone shapes were creWisteria
Rozane
Royal ated, the largest number of forms in any Roseville line. A
line, first
vase is dated common misconception among beginning collectors is that
produced in
Roseville lines were produced for one year only; in fact, the
1900.
1933, is
I
n company continued making a line, and even adding new
highly
1900, George forms to it, until sales declined. The Pine Cone line is a good
valued among
Young hired example of this. Pine Cone forms can be found unmarked
collectors
Austrian-born (they probably had the silver or gold paper label used in the
today.
John J. Herold, a early 1930s), with an impressed mark, and, most commonly,
s e l f - t a u g h t with the raised script mark that was used after 1937. New
c r a f t s m a n Pine Cone forms were continually being added to the line. In
Roseville Early Utility pitchers.
Roseville Creamware
who
used 1953, Ferrell revisited the line and introduced 51 new shapes,
Introduced around 1900 and popular for t e c h n i c a l all with raised script numbers in the 400s. It was named Pine
“Good Night” candle
decades thereafter, Roseville made dozens trade papers, Cone Modern.
holder. Roseville began
of different pitchers. Some Roseville
making decaled
Following World War II, Roseville encountered
careful obsercollectors specialize in pitchers alone!
Creamware utility ware
vation
and competition from cheaper art ware made overseas, as well as
by 1910 and
experimentation to standardize Roseville’s earthenware bod- a burgeoning California commercial pottery industry.
continued making it at
ies, glazes and production process. Herold was also respon- Despite efforts to modernize its style, and even enter the dinleast through the 1920s
sible for creating the Azurean line, a sort of blue standard nerware market with Raymore dinnerware, Roseville closed
if not longer..
glaze, and Modern Art, a line that brought the European art its doors in 1954, ending an important period in Zanesville,
and beginning a new era as one of America’s foremost colnouveau style to Roseville.
A sleek blue Pine Cone "400
Roseville’s most important early artist was the lectible potteries.
series" pitcher from 1953,
This will be the Wisconsin Pottery Association’s
Englishman Frederick H. Rhead who came from a family of
and the smaller, older model
potters in Staffordshire, England. Only 22 when he emigrat- 18th all-Pottery Show/Sale and Exhibit. The WPA is a nondesigned in the 1930s.
ed to Wheeling, West Virginia to take a job with the Avon profit organization formed in 1992 by collectors interested in