by Linda Romberg
Sept 2009
SHAWNEE TALES
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This is one summer I will be glad to see end, the heat in Arizona has been
literally brutal with barely any rain all summer - a very dry monsoon season. Dry as far as Shawnee finds too from what I am hearing from collectors
across the country! No exciting finds at Orinoco in early August. No one
reported about the Zanesville Pottery Festival this year so we don't have
anything to share regarding it.
I had a call from a guy in North Dakota whose mother recently passed away.
He has a collection of several thousand pieces to sell but he wants to sell it as a bulk lot. At this point it seems that an auction house north of Minneapolis may take it under consignment and sell it over several months. Explained to him that collectors would find it difficult to travel great distance then pack up several thousand pieces to transport, that most of us buy individual or several pieces at a time so this would be overwhelming for the average person let alone a dealer. As soon as I get more details I will have Doug mention it for those of you in the area that may be interested.
Without more participation there isn't a lot to report.
A couple of photos of pieces to keep an eye out for. The Potters Wheel bookend is not very common - I found my chocolate one while walking through The heart of Ohio just after reminding myself that NOT everything Shawnee is ivory in color and to slow down and really examine the cases - wasn't but ten cases down I spotted the Potters Wheel Bookend at the back of a glass case. Much smaller than I would have guessed. Would love to find others but has been years since any have turned up.
My first one was purchased in Zanesville but had a reglued neck - I jumped at the chance to buy it as was the ONLY ONE I had seen at that time. It is dark green. Makes a great display piece.
Note these are marked Shawnee as shown in the picture on the back - said to be bookends but not likely to support many books being so lightweight - closest to an authentic dealer sign we have by Shawnee. Rumrill also has these same bookends, said to have sold the mold to them when Shawnee closed. I have seen one is a light blue color.
Another variation to keep an eye out is the Smiley yellow bib cookie jar with the Smiley in block letters - not very common. I have never seen it on any Smiley other than the yellow bib mold.
Doug's Corner
There were some Potter Bookends in Zanesville before Pottery Festival. Ref: July's Newsletter, bottom of page. July
Below is some very rare airbrush work (not the creamer) -
Note - Lin needs more collector input to keep the Newsletter going !
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historycuff65@ Your Newsletter notification got kicked back to me.
Last minute note - according to Pam Curran's book the Potters Wheel was designed by George Rumrill and then later, in 1960, resurrected by Shawnee - never sold but presented to VIP's and large volume customers.
