ROSEVILLE REMEMBERED - BY: Cliff McNeil
THE ROSEVILLE POTTERY COMPANY OPENED IT'S DOORS IN 1890 IN ROSEVILLE , OHIO.
THOSE IN THE KNOW, GAVE ROSEVILLE POTTERY LITTLE CHANCE AT SUCCESS. THERE WAS JUST TOO MUCH COMPETITION WHAT WITH A NUMBER OF OTHER POTTERY COMPANIES OPERATING IN ROSEVILLE ALREADY, AND, TO MAKE IT WORSE, THOSE OTHER COMPANIES WERE ALSO PRODUCING WHAT ROSEVILLE INTENDED TO MAKE, UTILITY WARE.
UTILITY WARE WOULD CONSIST OF BUTTER DISHES, CROCKS, PITCHERS, BOWLS AND OTHER SUCH HOUSEHOLD ITEMS.
BUT, SUCCEED THEY DID. THEY EVEN MADE A PROFIT AND BY 1897 HAD DONE SO WELL THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO EXPAND. THEIR EXPANSION INCLUDED PURCHASING ANOTHER LOCAL FACTORY, MIDLAND POTTERY. THEY USED THE MIDLAND FACILITY TO EXPAND PRODUCTION OF THEIR OWN POTTERY AND CONTINUED TO PROSPER.
IN 1898, THEY PURCHASED CLARK STONEWARE COMPANY IN ZANESVILLE, OHIO AND RELOCATED THEIR ENTIRE OPERATIONS FROM BOTH ROSEVILLE PLANTS TO ZANESVILLE. THE NEW LOCATION OF THE ROSEVILLE POTTERY COMPANY WAS ON LINDEN AVE.
ZANESVILLE WAS DELIGHTED! THIS MOVE MEANT GOOD THINGS FOR THEIR TOWN, JOBS! 100 OF THEM. ZANESVILLE WAS ALREADY HOME TO ANOTHER GREAT POTTERY COMPANY, WELLER, AND WAS A HIGHLY PROSPEROUS AND EXCITING COMMUNITY FOR THOSE IN THIS FIELD.
IT WAS FROM WELLER THAT THE ROSEVILLE POTTERY COMPANY GOT THE IDEA OF EXPANDING FROM THEIR UTILITY WARE PRODUCTION INTO A WHOLE NEW FIELD, ART POTTERY.
WELLER HAD FOLLOWED IN THE PATH OF THE VERY SUCCESSFUL ROOKWOOD POTTERY COMPANY AND PRODUCED A LINE OF ART POTTERY THEY CALLED LOUWELSA. IT HAD GENERATED A LOT OF LOCAL INTEREST AND ROSEVILLE WAS QUICK TO PICK UP ON ITS POTENTIAL.
THIS WAS ARTIST SIGNED HAND PAINTED AND BEAUTIFULY GLAZED POTTERY, AND, THE PUBLIC LOVED IT
THEIR FIRST LINE OF ART POTTERY WAS ROZANE. IT GOT IT'S NAME FROM COMBINING ROSEVILLE WITH ZANESVILLE. IT WENT INTO PRODUCTION IN 1900 AND WAS VERY SIMILAR TO WELLER'S LOUWELSA BOTH IN COLOR AND FORM.
IT WAS AN INSTANT SUCCESS. BUT THIS WAS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG. HAVING REALIZED THE POTENTIAL INVOLVED HERE, ROSEVILLE WENT ABOUT HIRING THE BEST ARTISTIC TALENTS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET. SOON THEY HAD DEVELOPED ROZAN MONGOL AND WON A FIRST PRIZE AT THE ST LOUIS LOUISIANA PURCHASE CENTENNIAL EXPOSITION IN 1904 FOR IT'S UNIQUE PATTERN AND GLAZE.
THEN CAME WOODLAND AND FUDJI FOLLOWED BY EGYPTO DELLA ROBBIA AND AZTEC.
WHILE THE ART POTTERY WAS BEING MADE, THEY CONTINUED ON THEIR UTILITY WARE LINE. THIS LINE WAS THEIR BREAD AND BUTTER, SO TO SPEAK, AS THE ART WARE WAS EXTREMELY TIME CONSUMING AND WAS NOT ABLE TO BE MASS PRODUCED LIKE THE UTILITY WARE WAS. SOON THERE WERE TWO ROSEVILLE FACTORIES IN ZANESVILLE. ONE PRODUCED THE ART WARE AND THE OTHER, LOCATED AT THEIR PUTNAM PLANT, PRODUCED THE UTILITY LINE.
THEN THINGS BEGAN TO CHANGE, THE ART NOUVEAU TREND HIT AND WAS FOLLOWED SHORTLY THEREAFTER BY THE ART DECO PERIOD. STYLES HAD CHANGED AND ROSEVILLE HAD TO CHANGE WITH THEM OR BE LEFT BEHIND. THIS HAD AN IMMEDIATE AND DRASTIC INFLUENCE ON ROSEVILLE POTTERY CO. ARTISTS AND TECHNIQUES WERE ABANDONED. AIR BRUSH ARTISTS WERE SOON ON BOARD INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY. THESE NEW STYLES AND GLAZES WERE VERY POPULAR AND WITH THE ASEMBLY LINE METHOD OF AIR BRUSH ARTISTRY, THE DEMAND FOR THE PRODUCT COULD EASILY BE MET.
DURING THIS PERIOD CARNELIAN I&II WERE DEVELOPED ALONG WITH MOSTIQUE DONATELLO AND PAULEO. IN FACT, IT WAS DONATELLO THAT WAS SO SUCCESSFUL THAT IT CARRIED ROSEVILLE TO A NEW STATURE IN THE POTTERY INDUSTRY AND IT LED TO THE PRODUCTION OF PAULEO.
ROSEVILE POTTERY HAD OPENED A SPECIALTY SHOP IN NEW YORK AND SOME PIECES OF PAULEO WERE SOLD FOR AS MUCH AS $500.00!
IN 1917 THE LINDEN AVE PLANT WAS GREATLY EXPANDED AND ALL OF THEIR PRODUCTS, ART WARE AND UTILITY WARE WERE MANUFACTURED AT THAT LOCATION. THEY WERE PROUD OF A NEW TUNNEL KILN WHICH WAS STATE OF THE ART AND OPERATED IN A CONVEYOR BELT METHOD. THE POTTERY WOULD GO THROUGH THE KILN VERY SLOWLY, ENTERING AT ONE END, GOING THROUGH THE HOTTEST PART AND THEN COMING OUT THE OTHER END ALREADY COOLING.
BUSINESS WAS BOOMING, NEW PATTERNS WERE BEING INTRODUCED. DECAL AND TRANSFER LINES WERE BEING HEAVILY PRODUCED AND THEY WERE SELLING WELL.
IN THE 1920'S A NUMBER OF NEW PATTERNS WERE INTRODUCED: PANEL,CORINTHIAN AND NORMANDY FOLLOWED BY DAHLROSE,CREMONA AND THE VERY MODERNISTIC FUTURA. THINGS COULDN'T HAVE BEEN BETTER. THEN, DISASTER, IN OCTOBER OF 1929 THE STOCK MARKET CRASHED AND THE NATION ENTERED INTO THE GREAT DEPRESSION. BUSINESSES FAILED, THE ECONOMY WAS A SHAMBLES AND MANY COMPANIES WOULD NOT RECOVER.
AT ROSEVILLE, ORDERS WERE CUT OR CANCELLED ENTIRELY AND THE PROFITS WERE SUFFERING. TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, THEIR MANAGER DIED. THE PERSON SELECTED TO TAKE HIS PLACE WAS ANNA YOUNG, WIDOW OF GEORGE YOUNG THE COMPANY'S FOUNDER.
THIS TURNED OUT TO BE GOOD FOR THE COMPANY SINCE FAR FROM FAILING SHE TURNED OUT TO BE A GOOD BUSINESSWOMAN .AND SOON PROVED HER METTLE BY INCREASING THEIR ADVERTISING EFFORTS. SHE EVEN OPENED A TEA ROOM/ SALES ROOM ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY INTERSECTING ZANESVILLE. WELLER HAD ALREADY DONE THIS AND SHE FELT THEY NEEDED SOME COMPETITION AND GAVE IT TO THEM.
IT WAS DURING THIS PERIOD THAT ROSEVILLE INCORPORATED THEIR BUSINESS. IT WAS ALSO DURING THIS TIME FRAME THAT ROSEVILLE PRODUCED SOME OF THEIR MOST BEAUTIFUL LINES SUCH AS BLACKBERRY, WISTERIA, FERRELLA, JONQUIL AND LAUREL.
BUT, THESE WERE STILL TROUBLED TIMES AND THE MARKET FOR THESE GOODS WAS SOFT TO SAY THE LEAST. THERE WERE A NUMBER OF POTTERY COMPANIES THAT HAD TO CLOSE THEIR DOORS. IT LOOKED LIKE ROSEVILLE MIGHT VERY WELL BECOME ONE OF THESE CASUALTIES. SOMETHING HAD TO HAPPEN.
SOMETHING DID HAPPEN! ONE OF THEIR SALESMEN WAS LOOKING THROUGH SOME OLD PATTERNS THAT HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY REJECTED FROM PRODUCTION FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER, WHEN HE HAPPENED ACROSS THE PINECONE PATTERN. HE LIKED IT AND THOUGHT HE COULD SELL IT. THE COMPANY DECIDED TO GIVE IT A TRY AND PINECONE WAS PUT INTO PRODUCTION. IT WAS A HUGE SUCCESS. IT WAS ALSO PROBABLY THE FIRST PATTERN TO CARRY ROSEVILLES NOW WELL KNOWN SCRIPT SIGNATURE. IT'S INSTANT ACCEPTANCE AND POPULARITY SAVED THE DAY FOR ROSEVILLE AND IT IS THE PINECONE PATTERN THAT IS CREDITED FOR GETTING THE COMPANY THROUGH THOSE ROUGH TIMES.
DONATELLO AND PINECONE,BY THE WAY, WERE THE TWO MOST POPULAR LINES SOLD BY ROSEVILLE IN THE COMPANY'S HISTORY.
BY THE 1940'S BUSINESS WAS AGAIN BOOMING. BUSHBERRY,PEONY,WATER LILLY, FOXGLOVE AND WHITE ROSE AMONG OTHERS WERE INTRODUCED AND WERE WELL RECEIVED. THIS WAS THEIR "FLOWER PERIOD" SALES WERE GOOD AND THE WAR YEARS WERE A PROSPEROUS TIME FOR ROSEVILLE.
HOWEVER, AS THE WAR ENDED TROUBLED TIMES AGAIN PLAGUED THE COMPANY. PUBLIC INTEREST HAD MOVED AWAY FROM THE TRADITIONAL POTTERY PRODUCED BY ROSEVILLE AND HAD SHIFTED TO PLASTICS AND IMPORTED ITEMS. THE COMPANY'S SALES WERE DROPPING AND THEY KNEW IT WAS TIME FOR A CHANGE.
IN AN EFFORT TO GIVE THE PUBLIC WHAT THEY THOUGHT THEY WANTED, THE TRADITIONAL LINES WERE SCRAPPED AND THEY MOVED TO A MORE HIGH GLAZE MODERN APPEARING DESIGN IN POTTERY. THIS IS THE ERA OF PATTERNS SUCH AS MOCK ORANGE,MING TREE AND WINCRAFT. THE PUBLIC, IT TURNS OUT, DID'NT LIKE THESE AND THEY DID NOT SELL.
IN THE 1950'S ROSEVILLE ACCEPTED THE FACT THAT THEY WERE IN MAJOR TROUBLE AND NEEDED SOMETHING TO BAIL THEM OUT FAST. THEY WENT BACK TO THEIR ROOTS, UTILITY WARE. THEY NEEDED SOMETHING THAT THE PUBLIC WOULD LIKE INSTANTLY, SOMETHING USEFUL AND SALEABLE IN LARGE QUANTITIES. THEY HIT ON A DINNERWARE LINE, OVEN TO TABLE. THEY DESIGNED RAYMOR. A BEAUTIFUL SET OF DINNERWARE IN MODERN COLORS AND CONTOURED LINES THAT THEY WERE SURE WOULD CATCH THE EYE OF THE PUBLIC.
RAYMOR WAS INTRODUCED IN 1952. IT'S PRODUCTION WAS A MAJOR AND COSTLY UNDERTAKING AND A LARGE GAMBLE THEY FELT SURE TO WIN. THEY LOST. THE PUBLIC DID NOT BUY IT AND THIS SPELLED DOOM FOR ROSEVILLE.
IN NOVEMBER OF 1954 THE FINAL CHAPTER OF THE COMPANY'S HISTORY WAS WRITTEN. THE ROSEVILLE POTTERY COMPANY WAS SOLD TO MOSAIC TILE AND ROSEVILLE CLOSED IT'S DOORS FOREVER.
TODAY, ROSEVILLE HAS TAKEN ITS RIGHTFUL PLACE IN THE COLLECTING WORLD. WE CAN STILL FIND THESE BEAUTIFUL EXAMPLES OF THE POTTERS ARTISTRY AND MARVEL AT THEIR DESIGN,FORM AND GLAZES. PRICES CONTINUE TO RISE STEADILY AND ROSEVILLE IS MUCH SOUGHT IN THE COLLECTORS MARKET. IT IS STILL PLEANTIFUL ENOUGH TO ENSURE A GOOD SUPPLY TO SATISFY THE URGE TO COLLECT IT AND PRICES VARY DEPENDING ON PATTERN,COLOR AND AVAILABLITY OF CERTAIN PATTERNS.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS AND OTHER POTTERY VISIT THE MEGA SHOW BOOK STORE. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF WELL WRITTEN, BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED BOOKS ON THIS SUBJECT.
HAPPY COLLECTING, CLIFF
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