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SHAWNEE POTTERY COOKIE JARS - HISTORY
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Where it all Began |
Shawnee Pottery Company of Zanesville, Ohio opened its door for business in 1937. Being
new and un-named, the pottery company took the name of Shawnee,
after the Shawnee Indian Village that was located in the Zanesville-Roseville vicinity.
The Shawnee tribe lived there before the area was settled and were
known to make pottery out of the rich red clay found in the area. An arrowhead that Malcolm A. Schweiler discovered on the site became the
trademark of the new Shawnee Pottery Company.
This location was chosen to be the new home of the Shawnee Pottery Company. They were
incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware. In 1937 the company issued a
beautifully designed Certificate of their incorporation.
This location was chosen to be the new home of the Shawnee Pottery Company. |
The site previously was the home of the old American Encaustic Tiling Company.
Formerly the largest maker of tile works in the world, it had shut down during
the Depression Era.
Most of the old kilns that the tiling company had used were
removed and replaced with the newest and the best prior to Shawnees' grand opening.
From the 1880's through the 1930s, many of the tiles produced at this plant were
used around the world. Their decorative tiles were used on building exteriors.
Plain and decorative tiles were also made for interior design. The new Shawnee plant
hired many of these tiling craftsmen. |
Certificate Vignette |
Mass Production of Shawnee Pottery |
Shawnee mass-produced various and sundry items such as cookie jars, dinnerware, vases,
salt and pepper shakers, character figurines, flower pots, lamp bases, and much more. Today, Shawnee's
pottery has reached collectible status being so desired that it has become one of the most sought after potteries. Most
dealers cannot maintain a stock. Much of Shawnee's potteries were targeted
for inexpensive department stores and 5&10s, such as McCrory, S.S. Kresg, Woolworth, Benjamin Franklin, and Sears.
The company was diversified in that they produced dinnerware as well as kitchenware.
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Mass production and choosing pleasing designs was critical to the filling of pottery
orders. The proposed retail price of many of the pieces was ten to thirty cents.
It is believed that the Shawnee Indians were the first craftsmen to fashion pottery from the
Zanesville clays. All agree that Zanesville became known around the world as a clay
center, providing just the right clay material for the Shawnee artists as they formed their decorative
pottery. During its hay-day, the company produced around 100,000 pieces of pottery a day.
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End of an Era |
After almost 30 years, Shawnee closed its doors in 1961.
The Terrace Ceramics Company bought Winnie, Smiley, and Muggsy cookie
jar molds and they created the cookie jars without trimming, leaving them
plain. If a cookie jar had a flaw, Shawnee declared them "seconds," marketing
them by adding gold trim, and floral decals. Interestingly, these
jars maintain the highest value as collectibles and are highly desired. The
thumb of the artist, that was decorating the jar, applied the rosy color
on the cheeks of Winnie and Smiley.
Shawnee used markings such as Smiley 60, Winnie 61, Shawnee, USA, Kenwood
USA, Patented Chanticleer USA and other variations of the USA that included
numbers. Most pieces had paper stickers as identification labels, but
have not survived if they were used at all. Much
of the Shawnee pottery only has "USA" incised markings and
many had no markings at all. In many instances it is extremely hard to identify a piece to be
Shawnee because of the lack of markings. Oftentimes, Shawnee is mistaken for McCoy and
McCoy for Shawnee. |
After World War II Shawnee, like other pottery companies,
found it could not compete against foreign imports. It ceased operation
in 1961. Since that time, Shawnee pottery has become
one of the most collectible potteries for pottery enthusiast. After the cessation of
operation by Shawnee, many of the molds and designs were duplicated. Furthermore,
reproductions of items that never were produced have
appeared, deceiving many a novice collector. Many of these are of inferior quality and smaller
in size than the originals.
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In "The Collector's Guide
to Shawnee Pottery"
by Duane and Janice Vanderbilt, you will find more
information on the history of the Shawnee Pottery Company.
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