Late in the 1960s, there was an exodus from the city to the country. If you are a boomer like me, you remember those days. The protests of late are peaceful compared to the days that we witnessed in our…
At the turn of the last century, the potteries along the Ohio River were working overtime to fulfill rapidly increasing orders - bricks for streets, clay products for drainage, durable toilet wares, and dinnerware. American potteries had developed new production methods…
Governor James Rhodes brought the dream of the Appalachian Highway to life with a lot of political capital earned over the span of a long political career. Born and raised in Southern Ohio, his efforts on behalf of the people and the economy of…
Read More Selling Pieces of the Past: The World is Your Marketplace
Call it what you will . . . Retro Diner, Restaurant China or Restaurant Ware. To my eye, these plates look fresh and modern. Black is back but did it ever fade away? The scalloped edge brings a cottage in…
Read More Ohio River Pottery: Black and White Restaurant China
We are giving away this set of chartreuse Russel Wright Salt and Pepper Shakers.
The ink was barely dry on his master's thesis when John Gilkes accepted the position of Lead Designer for the Taylor, Smith Taylor Pottery. Gilkes, under the tutelage of Arthur E. Baggs, the renown potter and professor of ceramics at…
Read More Ohio River Pottery: Shadows by John Gilkes for Taylor, Smith & Taylor
The top of plate is equally fascinating . . . this platter produced by Warwick China has double black lines. Not the classic double green line that I admire.
The dinnerware designed by Russel Wright is included in the rather broad [and vague] category, Mid Century Modern. Russel Wright designed the new line of American Modern Dinnerware in the 1930s. His designs were, in part, a reaction to the…
Read More Ohio River Pottery: Russel Wright for Steubenville Pottery, American Modern
Clay has a life of its own. There are many things it will not do and cannot be made to do. It insists on respect. It records not only the impression we make on it by hand or machine but…
"Anywhere you dig in Sebring you hit pottery shards. In some places they sit in parking lots or driveways, just waiting to tell us their history."
The best thing about Christmas morning is the quiet and the contentment in the air. The stockings so carefully hung are strewn on the floor, paper and ribbon everywhere, sipping hot chocolate with mounds of whipped cream and, of course, a roaring…
Almost, thirty years ago, a package arrived postmarked from the Homer Laughlin Company, Newell, West Virginia quite unexpectedly. A few days before, we were at the International Housewares Exhibition in Chicago. It was a big deal, a really big deal. Now,…
