Shawnee Tales
Mar 2014
by Lin Romberg
Doug actually sent me a blank newsletter header page to remind me it was time for the newsletter - short month and it really flew by.
Not sure how many of our readers are on Facebook but this past month I discovered there is a Shawnee Pottery group there - I had signed up for the Cookie Jar Group but had no idea there was one for Shawnee collectors. You might want to check it out. On the Cookie Jar postings one of the collectors posted a gold blue Winnie cookie jar he found for $80 and lo and behold it was a blueberry Winnie - then the following month he finds the gold range Smiley shakers with the pink poppy decal - I think for $7 - this is the kind of luck we all hope for!!!!!
Some of this collector's other jars
Same collector found a Blueberry Winnie lid on a Dutch boy bottom - the lid is going to be listed on Ebay Saturday March 1 - has minor blemishes but figure one of our readers may be interested.
Another reader is on the road - working plus antiquing - he has a sign posted that generates some interesting leads.
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He has been having fun hitting a lot of the shops and antique markets in the Florida area as well as enjoying the nice weather. A few of his finds.
Note the Potters Wheel bookend by Rumrill - just as difficult to find as Shawnee's and the same mold.
By the way I really do sympathize with all of you suffering the record cold and snow this winter. Arizona has had one of the warmest Februarys ever which has brought record numbers of winter visitors escaping the harsh winter back East. I left Iowa as a kid so cannot even imagine what some of you are dealing with.
Another reader had a tremendous find this past month - amazing. Often collectors don't focus on some of the more unusual pieces, the piece screams Shawnee but few of us would be keeping an eye out for this. A reminder to study the patents shown in Pam Curran's book - Doug and I have tossed around if this is definitely Shawnee or a strong maybe?
Shown with several pieces for comparison. This could be a treasure.
"Did anyone else see the Shawnee rabbit creamer on eBay a few days ago? I'm guessing no one else put two and two together as I had no competition in bidding :)
It arrived today and all seems exactly right. Some design differences from the patent (mostly ears), but.... Twenty years of collecting tells me this is right. The seller was from Ohio; I've asked for more info on how they came across it.
Next to other pieces for comparison. Bottom is unmarked. It does have a hairline, but when will a person see another?"
"Yes, it was listed under Shawnee oddly enough (curious to see what the seller says about how they obtained it). I paid about $10. But then again...not really surprising.....How many people get into the weeds enough to know about the child's feeding set patents? The April 2006 newsletter has some info on the little pig pitcher Doug found. That one is also unmarked.
Feel free to put a pic or two in the next newsletter - I'm glad to have something unique to share since I always enjoy when others do :)
Thanks again for keeping this going. I started collecting as a teenager with my parents back in the early 90's (ah, the paper newsletter days) and have managed to keep Shawnee a part of my life since then. Now my kids (ages 3 & 6) declare all pottery "Shawnee!".
Readers, this is why we do this monthly, to share with others - we really appreciate those of you who do. I hope more of you will.
See Doug's Corner, below, for a picture of the child set Smiley creamer.
Doug's Corner
There is a real challenge in trying to determine the origin of an undocumented piece of pottery. This rabbit creamer seems to be one of them. Speaking with a past Shawnee Pottery employee could be helpful, but if someone worked at Shawnee in it's early years and they were twenty years old they would be in their mid-nineties if still with us. A wealth of unwritten knowledge not committed to paper. The patent documents are useful clues, some can be found in Pam Curran's Shawnee collectors book (pictures shown below).
I'll share some of my rambling thoughts while trying to sort this out for myself.
The patents were ideas that weren't necessarily produced. The pig child set includes a pig creamer that we know was made, but not put into mass production. The dish known to be made isn't the dish shown in the patent. So the patents aren't written in stone, or should I say pottery.
To the best on my knowledge none of the rabbit child set pieces have been found by a really dedicated Shawnee collector. We would have heard about it - right. Maybe, maybe not, or is this the one? The creamer in question sure doesn't match this patent picture, which really doesn't matter.
Size and bottom can be a clue. Below is a variety of size comparisons with the child's pig creamer and some of it's Shawnee family.
I don't see anything conclusive here. So what about the color similarities? I don't remember when (not recently) or where on the site we visited the Morton Pottery Rooster pie bird. Very similar to Shawnee colors. Maybe a past Shawnee employee working at Morton taking some of their Shawnee experience. Everyone in the Pottery industry wasn't happy with their current employer, so moved on to stay in the pottery business in an environment that better suited them.
Picture from Shawnee Pottery the Full Encyclopedia by Pam Curran
Bottom line, I don't know. It looks good, could be, but without documention or a testimonial from a past Shawnee employee that handled it, it isn't for sure.
Now that you know how I feel, let us know how you feel. Use the Poll to have your say. If you need more than a little circle, please email me - contact Doug
This is the first time I've tried this poll element, we'll see how it goes.
Ebay item # 12184043953
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