October  2004
SHAWNEE TALES  by  Linda Romberg
Archives - Spring 2004
Sept. 2004
This month has gone by without hearing from many collectors so am pulling columns that I had written for Ed's site that did not get posted - still interesting news..............
October Shawnee Tales

These months keep rolling around faster!  Not a lot to report - did hear of a terrific find from a friend in Texas - Paul Z - he was at a local flea market and found a pair of gold Smiley range shakers with the large orange spray of roses decals AND what he thought was gold trim planters but actually are more likely an open  sugar and creamer (note the opening on the right pig below the snout for pouring) - we believe them to be Shawnee - - would like some input from others if they have seen these and know for certain they are Shawnee.  Definitely the decals and decoration of that era. 

The great part of this story is he bought the entire set - ALL FOUR PIECES for ten dollars.  What a BARGAIN, don't we wish there were more finds like that to be found these days?  Paul wrote "Wondering if Hull since similar to the LRRH garnishments.  Don't mind if put in bragging rights either.  $10 for all 4 pieces, or $2.50 per piece.  As Debbie said, God smiled, or is it smileyed, on me"

David Woody of Florida wrote"

"I did want to let you know that I have been reading your articles on Shawneepottery.com and really do appreciate the effort you are putting forth to keep everyone knowledgeable about Shawnee. You know what might make an interesting article is how everyone got started collecting Shawnee. I got started after my Mother & Father passed away and one of the articles that I inherited was the gold trim Puss N’ Boots. I was with my Mother in 1957 when she and my Aunt both purchased these identical cats. On all the visits I made through these years, I always told my Mom I want that cat because it reminded me so much of her. She actually gave me the cat around 1985, but it was not until recently that I learned about its origin and history and started collecting. Now, every time my wife and I go someplace together “She states you are not going to be a potteryman today are you”. When I get into an antique mall I just lose all track of time, I have had owners to tell me it was time to close the store."   

David - a great idea - we welcome any stories like this about how collectors got started - will gladly do a feature each month if the response warrants!  Problem is, everyone seems to think others have more to offer - we all start somewhere and collectors love to hear to stories others are willing to share.  I see why the other newsletters are defunct - it is difficult to produce a monthly newsletter without participation!
This past month had a couple of terrific pieces offered on eBay - a carmel Smiley bank jar WITHOUT THE BANK SLOT - this is a rare jar - it was very limited and in fact the head is made without the closed underside - it is made in the mold of the typical Smiley cookie jar but the identical sized mold as the bank jars  Both Smiley and Winnie have been found without the slot.  Five years ago Melvin and Jean Gibson were here for a visit taking the long way home to Michigan from Texas - Mel insisted the detour to Arizona was only a "few miles"  I had been in a serious car accident the week before their visit but can't blame my oversight on that.  Jean and I were walking through a very junky antique store that has some great stuff from time to time - we both pointed to the Smiley chocolate bank and nodded saying yes we had it - continued on through the shops and on the way home I told Melvin "now had that NOT had the bank slot, I'd have jumped on it"  Melvin's reply "Why Linda, there was no money slot on that jar!"  I thought he was putting me on and when I finally half believed him, made a U-turn and headed back to the shop - Jean and I were so certain he was mistaken that we let HIM go back into the store to check it out.  A few minutes later he walks out and crooks his finger to tell us to come on back inside.  Sure enough he was RIGHT!   I suggested we flip for it since I had overlooked the important detail but he insisted I get it as he hadn't known the significance - guaranteed he looks at EVERY bank jar today regardless!  The moral of this story is PAY ATTENTION TO DETAILS - often we assume it is a duplicate jar and don't look closely.  I hate to tell you how many times before this I had seen bank jars and NEVER looked to see if they had the rare head.  I would LOVE to find the non bank carmel Winnie!  Someday!
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