Lynn’s eBay ezine Volume III, issue number 36

This ezine is published once a week.

September 20, 2007 Volume III, Issue 36

‘Shawnee Pottery‘

by Lynn A. Dralle, ‘The Queen of Auctions’

It seems strange that I keep running into Shawnee Pottery pieces and that I have been doing so well with them! Especially considering that when I was about 12 years old I decided to collect Shawnee. My grandmother always sold antique and collectible reference books in her store and at antique shows. She said that whenever you acquire a new piece you should also acquire a book to go with it. She thought that reference books were invaluable and quite reasonably priced. She was right, again!

So, when I would accompany her to antique shows, I would usually help set up the white cardboard display cases that held those books (that we ordered from The Collector’s Book Company). At one antique show, the book on Shawnee Pottery caught my eye. I mentioned to my grandmother that it looked interesting and of course she gave it to me right there on the spot. I read with fascination about the history of the company and immediately began looking for pottery pieces that would be signed (incised) with only “USA.”

The reason for this is that many of the Shawnee Pottery pieces left the factory with just a paper label or sticker. As you can imagine, over the years, many of these labels were taken off or fell away. Other signatures to look for besides just U.S.A. are Shawnee USA, Patented Smiley Co. Shawnee U.S.A., Patented Winnie Shawnee USA 61, Patented Mugsey USA, Patented Winnie USA, USA 6 and Patented Puss N Boots USA. The names Kenwood and Great Northern were also used on a few of the cookie jars.

Shawnee gets its name and distinctive mark from an arrowhead found on the grounds of the then unnamed plant in Zanesville, OH in 1937. As many of you know, this area has produced many famous pottery plants including Roseville. The reason is that this part of Ohio is very rich in natural clay. The Shawnee Indians were known to have lived in this area and made pottery long before Europeans arrived.

The first president of Shawnee was A.E. Hull Jr., son of the founder of Hull pottery. George Rumrill came from Red Wing to Shawnee in 1938.  So, you can see that many well-known potters were an integral part of Shawnee’s success.

It was also the right time. In 1937 Americans were beginning to feel some hostility towards the Europeans and Japanese for all their imported goods. This was when the first “Buy American” campaigns were started and Shawnee was perfectly poised to offer dinnerware and pottery to the U.S. market.

Shawnee Pottery was originally mass-produced to be sold in dime stores like Woolworth, McCrory, Sears, and S.S. Kresge. Many of these stores supplied the designs to the Shawnee company and promised to purchase the items. If you can believe it many of the pieces were to be retailed at between 10 and 30 cents!

The best known Shawnee kitchenware is probably the Corn King and Corn Queen lines, which began as Proctor and Gamble premiums. Premiums were basically giveaways so that when you mailed in a certain number of labels you would receive a piece for free in the mail.

I still can’t believe how high this Corn Creamer and Sugar sold for this month!

Click here and here to see what they sold for!

Shawnee is also well-known for salt & pepper shakers, wall pockets, baking dishes, kitchenware and their cookie jars. The most popular (and the ones that sell for the most) of the cookie jars are the Smiley pig, Wininie pig, Muggsy dog, Puss n’ Boots and Dutch Jack and Jill. Mine must be the Dutch Jill. Shawnee called them both Cooky and Cookie Jars. My Dutch jar says Cooky in gold on the shoulder.

The Shawnee Cookie Jar.

Now, this is where it gets interesting. The gold-trimmed jars are the most sought after and you will never guess why–not in a million years. They are seconds! Gold and decals were applied to the seconds or jars with blemishes to hide the imperfections. These jars never made it to the five and dimes, but instead were sold in specialty shops at a higher price. And now they command much higher prices. According to one article I read, “The sky’s the limit when it comes to the rarer gold-trimmed, decorated jars.”

My Cookie Jar not only has the gold trim but also an applied large decal of flowers. Wow! Yikes! Score! I have to admit that I did spend over my usual $5 for this piece and actually paid $18 for it. I am doing that a lot more lately—going up to $25 without fear. I do this because I will list it at $24.99 if I don’t think it will sell for a lot at auction to protect my investment. If it doesn’t sell at auction it will get moved into my eBay store for much more. Click here to learn more about making your eBay store work for you.

Shawnee is often mistaken for McCoy and McCoy mistaken for Shawnee. Production methods can help you identify them correctly. The majority of Shawnee was glazed both inside and out except for a raised rim on the bottom of the piece–kind of like a foot that goes clear around–it will be unglazed. Some of the larger Shawnee pieces may be completely unglazed on the base showing the white clay body and mold lines.

Both McCoy and Shawnee produced matte/dull and shiny glazes. Some pieces were decorated with cold paint. This is paint that is applied after the glaze has been fired. This paint was not durable and could come off with washing. Any piece with cold paint should be handled with great care. Even if it is damaged do not try and repair it as the repair could lower the value.

Unfortunately, like many of the other American potteries, Shawnee couldn’t compete against cheaper pieces made overseas. They closed their doors in 1961. Many of the molds were sold so be careful to watch for reproductions. A new Shawnee pottery was also started in the 1990s, but most are signed with a very different looking mark. However, be careful, take my grandmother’s advice and invest in a good book on Shawnee!

Happy eBaying!

Lynn

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEBSITE? Yes, you may – just as long as you include all links as they are and append this complete blurb with it: The Queen of Auctions and eBay Power Seller, Lynn Dralle, publishes ‘eBay Tips & Tricks’ a weekly ezine with 10,000+ subscribers. If you’re ready to jump start your eBay business, make more money and have more time, get your FRE E tips now at www.thequeenofauctions.com

A big thanks to everyone who has already submitted a story! We are looking for more great stories of your eBay adventures. We know there are many great tales out there, so please submit your story along the lines of the stories from the 100 Best Books and a great side story with photos will help. If we use your story, you will receive a $35 merchandise credit on my web site and you will have your story featured–along with your user ID–in my ezine! It may also eventually end up in a published book!

Happy eBaying!!

Lynn

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