Pottery has been around for thousands of years, holding items as basic as water or as ceremonial as someone’s ashes. As pottery brands come and go, we often forget about some of them in place of the newer brands on the market. If you’re interested in the world of vintage pottery brands, see if you can recognize all twelve of these brands, all of which are defunct.
12. Haeger (1871-2016)
Our first vintage pottery brand is Haeger Pottery, which began in 1852 as a brickyard in Dundee, Illinois. David Haeger became part owner in 1871, eventually owning the whole company within the year. It wasn’t until 1934 though that Haeger Potteries’ included a working ceramic factory to create souvenir pottery, with many being created by Royal Arden Hickman under the brand name “Royal Haeger.” The company ran until 2016 after 145 years in business, making Haeger pottery a collectible in recent years.
11. McCoy Pottery (1910-1991)
Our eleventh vintage pottery brand is perhaps the most collected in the United States. McCoy was produced in the U.S. in the early 20th century, starting in 1848 by J.W. McCoy Stoneware. They later changed the company name to the Nelson McCoy Sanitary Stoneware Company in 1910, which is when most of their pottery was sold until 1991 when declining profits forced them to shut down.
10. Van Briggle Pottery (1899-2012)
Before its demise, Van Briggle Art Pottery was the oldest continuously operating art pottery company in the United States. Established in 1901 by Artus and Anne Van Briggle, Artus in particular had a significant impact on the Art Nouveau movement in the U.S. Van Briggle’s designs and matte glazes received high honors from several prestigious sources including the Paris Salon, the Saint Louis Exposition, and the American Arts and Crafts Exhibition in Boston before closing in 2012.
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9. Roseville Pottery (1892-1953)
Our next vintage pottery brand was one of three major art potteries located in Ohio at the turn of the 20th century. Roseville Pottery Company was a prominent American pottery manufacturer in both the 19th and 20th centuries. The company started with simple household pieces but later moved onto the Arts and Crafts-inspired designs which proved much more popular. These pieces are now sought out by collectors, as the Roseville company produced its final designs in 1953.
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8. Grueby Pottery (1894-1920)
Also known as the Grueby Faience Company, the pottery manufacturer was founded in 1894 by William Henry Grueby and was known for distinctive American art pottery vases and tiles during the Arts and Crafts Movement. Drawing from both the matte glazes on French pottery and the refined simplicity of Japanese ceramics, Grueby created a signature image for his pottery. Grueby’s work won several medals at expositions until the company closed for good in 1920.
7. Teco Pottery (1881-1929)
The American Terracotta Tile and Ceramic Company, more colloquially known as Teco pottery, started in 1881 in Illinois as the Spring Valley Tile Works company. In 1889 the company became the first American architectural terracotta manufacturer and consisted of drain tile, brick, chimney tops, finials, urns, and other materials. After experimenting with clays and glazes, William Day Gates created Teco Pottery, holding a similar green hue to the famous Grueby green. The company ran until 1929 due to a stock market crash.
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6. Paul Revere Pottery (1908-1943)
One of the few women-run American art pottery companies during the Progressive Era in Boston was Paul Revere Pottery, emerging as a subgroup of the Saturday Evening Girls Club. Many of the girls were young immigrants, and it wasn’t until 1908 that the pottery business began to take root. The company flourished for several decades getting both national and international recognition in magazines, journals, and newsletters until finally closing near the end of WWII.
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5. Hull Pottery (1905-1986)
Our fifth vintage pottery brand started in 1905 in Crooksville, Ohio under Addis Emmet Hull. The Hull Pottery Company originally produced utilitarian stoneware, semi-porcelain dinnerware, and decorative tile. Known for producing quality ceramics the company lasted over seven decades until the mid-1980s when Hull was hit with multiple union strikes prompting them to close in 1986.
4. Newcomb Pottery (1895-1940)
Newcomb Pottery, our fourth vintage brand, was also known as Newcomb College Pottery. The American Arts & Crafts pottery was operational from 1895 to 1940 when the Arts & Crafts style became less popular. Hinted at in the name, the company grew out of the pottery program at H.Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, which used to be a women’s college. Newcomb’s pottery design was a contemporary of Rookwood, Teco, and Grueby.
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3. Rookwood Pottery (1880-1967)
Our third vintage brand, briefly mentioned beforehand, is Rookwood Pottery. Rookwood is an American ceramics company founded in 1880 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company was most popular between 1890 and the 1929 Crash, making mostly decorative American art pottery in several styles and types of pieces. Rookwood finally closed its doors in 1967 but was revived in 2004 and still appears now and then with a collaborative piece.
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2. Fulper Pottery (1899-1935)
Fulper Pottery was incorporated in 1899 but was well-established for years before that date. Their first art pottery line was Vasecraft in 1909 before joining forces with ceramics engineer Martin Stangl in 1910. Stangl was the genius behind many of the art pottery forms and glazes for Fulper Pottery, and acquired the company in 1929. The production of art pottery decreased from that time until about 1935 when Stangl shifted the company to dinnerware, leaving behind the legacy of Fulper’s art pottery.
1. Weller Pottery (1872-1948)
Last on our list is Weller Pottery, created by Samuel Weller in 1872 in Fultonham, Ohio. Starting the business with only a small cabin and one beehive kiln, Weller produced intricate flower pots, bowls, crocks, and vases. Fast forward only a few decades to 1905, and Weller Pottery was the largest pottery company in the country. Weller created art pottery until about 1920, switching to commercial lines until finally closing its doors in 1948.
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