American Art Pottery In 1904

( Article orginally From August 1963 )

Collectors of art pottery popular at the turn of the century are well acquainted with the products at Rookwood, Weller, and Dedham, and some Midwestern collectors search for examples of Pauline pottery. Examination of a catalogue of the art exhibits at the Universal Exposition at St. Louis in 1904 suggests a wider field of collecting for the student of such ceramics.

The Applied Arts division in the Art Palace at the 1904 Exposition included pottery (mostly vases and other ornamental pieces) made by the following American firms specializing in art pottery:

Gates Potteries, Terra Cotta, Ill. Trademark "Teco."

Van Briggle Pottery, Colorado Springs, Colo., established in 1901 by Artus van Briggle, and still in production.

Poillon Pottery, Woodbridge, N. J. Mark: joined "P"s, one upside down.

Newcomb Pottery, New Orleans, La., established in 1896. Pieces frequently bear the monogram of the designer.

Grueby Faience Co., Boston, Mass., established in 1897. Marks include the name "Grueby."

Moravian Pottery and Tile Works, Doylestown, Pa., established ca. 1890 by Henry R. Mercer. The mark was the word MORAVIAN.

Merrimac Ceramic Co., Newburyport, Mass., established in 1897. The mark was the word MERRIMAC.

Among the studio potters, not connected with factories, who exhibited several pieces were: Marshal Fry, New York; Henrietta Ord Jones, St. Louis; Anna B. Leonard, New York; Lucy Fairfield Perkins, New York; Mrs. Adelaide Alsop Robineau, Syracuse, N. Y.; L. C. Tiffany, New York, (three pieces of Favrile pottery); and Charles Volkmar, New York.

In a special category were pieces submitted by the New York State School of Clay-working and Ceramics, at Alfred, New York, including several works designed by Charles F. Binns, then director of the school, and descendant of the English family that controlled the Worcester factory in the nineteenth century.

Examples from the studio potters would be quite rare today, but good examples from the factories listed should be still extant in numbers large enough to make the collector's search rewarding.