by Lin Romberg
Apr 2015
Shawnee Tales
Spring is here so the flea markets and sales begin - hope everyone is ready to hit the trail for Shawnee searches.
Several readers have inquired about hand painted flowers and variations on our Smiley cookie jars so will feature a lot of pictures - most of these decorations appear on the yellow bibs as do the hand painted bases instead of decals. Some of these are not always the most desirable otherwise - some of the earlier yellow bib molds are not as pristine so don't be overly critical on condition if priced fairly. I recall years ago I received a yellow bib with some bugs on it - I actually returned it even though I don't have bugs in my collection - the jar was in such poor condition and just did not appeal to me at all. Interestingly I hand carried the jar to the UPS shipping main depot to return it and the person handling it literally tossed it about six feet on to the conveyor belt - my heart sank as was sure even though I had packed it so well that it might have broken - it didn't but there have been reports in the news lately about shippers mishandling packages so it brought back this incident to me. Sad the amount of vintage pottery lost through shipping.
I always think it is best to collect what we truly enjoy and love being surrounded by. Friendships and good memories are what are collections should be based on.
As you can see there is quite a lot of consistency in the decor and colors - collectors are so concerned with tampering today and want to be assured the jars are vintage decoration. A friend found a repainted jar recently - authentic Shawnee but a cold painted jar redone by someone - the color is way off but a beautiful base. It was inexpensive and he will enjoy it for display.
Have shared this before but wondering if anyone else has ever found one? Beautiful Smiley water/milk pitcher with hair! Stunning.
Still wondering about the pig and duck dishes, no one has come up with any information to authenticate them. Doug and I missed the fact that the one a collector sent a picture of was without decals but did have decoration on the outside. We thought it was a blank.
Going through the archives for pictures for this newsletter, I came across some great displays collectors have sent pictures in so will feature some of those next month. Always love to see the cabinets and unique ways collectors feature their collections.
"Some things to share for the newsletter
First picture is of a train caboose planter (on the left) with a different paint scheme than I've seen before....all under glaze.
This is interesting. The one on the right being the standard. The left is likely one of a kind.
Nice contribution from one of our readers - I so appreciate it when readers take the time to share!
Until next month, happy collecting - be sure to share your finds with us so others can know what to look for!!!
Lin Linromb@aol.com
Also a picture of a little bird planter/vase/string holder (?). I have seen a few of these over the years and they look 'Shawnee' to me in terms of pottery weight, color, glaze, etc. Have these been discussed in the past? It has a flat unglazed bottom.
Finally, a picture of Kenwood 922 'salad or spaghetti bowl'. It's big and HEAVY! Can't recall seeing any pictures of these, except in the catalog page.
Hope all is well with you and keep up the good work on the newsletter!"
Doug's Corner
This may get a little confusing being a five participant discussion taking place in about ten hours via email, but you should be able to pick out the pertinent points. It is edited to just present the facts and leave out personal tid-bits. By the way, pay attention, there will be a quiz at the end.
From my mailbox -
I am so excited!! I found these little green cups on Etsy, and just had to buy them, though I wasn't sure who made them. In the pics, the green looked like that sort of regular medium green a lot of potteries used during the 40s, and the ribs looked straight, no twist to them, so I was thinking maybe Hull. But when they arrived... I could see the Shawnee Green Sheen, and the shimmy, shimmy, twist!! Howeverrrr... when they finally warmed up enough that I felt comfortable exposing them (been cold here, didn't want to shock them), I compared them to my tumblers, and am a bit confused. They are the same tone as aqua, but not the right shade. And they don't even appear to be quite the right shade for a very light application of the dark green, though I suppose they have to be. What do you think? I'm still pretty sure they're Valencia, though! Beyond thrilled.
Me to the owner - hmm, what's the bottom look like?
LOL... I should have addressed that, shouldn't I? Dry foot rim, nice white clay, and that very subtle concavity, just like on the tumblers. No USA, but none of my other Valencia has that either.
Color... I swear it's a mix of the green and the aqua. My green tumbler has a serious "gasoline sheen", these have just a bit of it. I've seen this effect in some other wares. Some claim it's from being put into dishwashers with soap containing some kind of citrus (in the case of Homer Laughlin Fiesta), but I have some Red Wing plates which look unused with it, yet the ones which look like they did get some use and it is mostly gone. Weird! These three cups all look unused. I did find a bit of drippage under the handle of one which seems to more closely match the dark green, but still think the lightness is rather odd.
Doubting Thomases (or Thomasinas!), eh?
I guess I can't really blame them, the color is a bit odd. I have been flipflopping on that. Overall, they look like a slightly different shade of aqua, but where the glaze pools... definitely looks to be the green. Attaching photos of these cups with aqua and green tumblers (though I think I already did that, and a ruler. The clay color looks the same as the bottoms of the tumblers, and both have a slight concavity, they're not totally flat inside the dry foot rim.
OK. Across the bottom of the cup, I got 1 5/8 - 1 11/16" across to the outside of dry foot. Somewhere between those two 16ths is the most accurate I can get!
My note to a Collector #1 with plenty of Valencia - maybe your Valencia experience can help me answer a question i’ve been presented.
the three cups/mugs in the foreground are in question. the picture in Pam’s book doesn’t have a heavy/wide rim like these and of course are unmarked. also the swirl isn’t as predominant as the book Valencia.
your thoughts please.
The reply - My first impression is they are not. Are they a tad lighter green? Send a picture of the bottom. Do they fit a saucer?
In the mean time from Collector #2 - Those are Valencia cups. Nice find.
The conclusion of mine with the information provided would lean towards them not being Valencia.
-color
-handle
-no swirl on horizontal lines
-lip
-smaller oval thumb shape at top of swirl.
After seeing the bottom pics, Collector #1 - At that angle there is some swirl towards the bottom.
I'd gamble a saucer for a mug. (I think I have one or two to spare)
From Collector #3 - I can't imagine these are not Valencia. Everything about them is right. They actually look similar to ones in a pic in the August 2013 newsletter, but scale is hard to tell there.
I did not look in Pam's book, but my guess, based on the size, is these are the A.D. (After Dinner) Cups that come with a saucer and appear in the Jim and Bev Mangus book and on the catalog sheets.
I never had those myself, but that is my guess. The catalog sheet shows the regular cup and saucer, an A.D. cup and saucer and a Chocolate set (which I have never seen)
Hope that helps. If Collector #2 is still in touch they have a rather large colllection of Valencia and may be able to weigh in also.
I'm 99.99% sure they are. There is nothing else they could be unless the weight or color is off...
Me too. One conclusion, having the pottery in hand makes life easier. A second conclusion , I think we have real Valencia here. No quiz, I couldn't get the poll thingie to work.
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