blueyes29
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posted on October 9, 2002 09:03:07 AM
I've recently acquired some pottery pieces that I was told were "California Pottery." Are "California Pottery" items ALWAYS marked with a particular name/logo on the bottom? Or, is it more a certain "style"? Some of the items I have are marked on the bottoms but others (specifically, a yellow elephant and small green duck) are not. Is there any "standard"? Thanks for any help/info.
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katthree3
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posted on October 9, 2002 10:01:44 AM
Hi there was an era 40's to 50's where there were many great potteries located in California. After the war they went out of buisness due to the japanese imports. The main ones were Kay finch, brayton laguana,Howard Pierce, Heidi Schoop, Sascha Brastoff. There were also lots of smaller companies. They do have a certain look that is refered to as California type pottery, however the bigger names are more collectable. Jane Callender and Hardie Arnita were smaller potteries but they have a following on their dog figurines. Several good books on California Potteries are available and will help you identify the manufacturers of the pieces you have.
Kat
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on October 9, 2002 03:57:16 PM
It's a style, blueyes29. Some of the potteries who produced some California Pottery weren't even located in California.
Your best bet to identify unmarked ware is to consult the several books on the subject. I imagine an Amazon search on "California Pottery" would return some useful results.
katthree3: You left out a few, including Gladding McBean and Catalina Island (which were actually in California), but I think you got the jist of it.
All: I'm just posting to this thread to annoy whoever it was who said they couldn't read an AW thread without finding a contribution from me. I used to collect and sell this stuff, primarily Gladding McBean's Franciscan Ware and Catalina Island pottery.
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Roadsmith
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posted on October 9, 2002 08:43:00 PM
Hey, there, Fluffy! I for one am glad you post frequently and I often learn good stuff from you. Keep up the good work. You sure took a beating on that other thread about "ebay sales down."
Daughter lives in Mtn. View, son in Redwood City, both in the computer world. They read the San Jose Murky News all the time and find it informative.
PLEASE vote for Sally Lieber for Calif. House of Representatives! She's our daughter's next-door neighbor and a great great person. Good values, etc. etc.
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inot
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posted on October 9, 2002 08:54:15 PM
Hey Pusspuss, it's neither the frequency nor content of your posts which is annoying...it's your pompuss delivery.
Doncha get it? Lighten up!
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sparkz
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posted on October 9, 2002 09:18:17 PM
If memory serves me correctly, I believe that there were over 160 different potteries in California at one time. Some of these were not much more than 4 or 5 people working in a barn with a single kiln, but a few such as Gladding McBean and Vernon made it big time. The accessability of good clay and cheap, skilled labor from Mexico made California an ideal place to set up a pottery. Many of them used no identifying markings, and many out of state potteries imitated some of the work done here. You really need a good book on California pottery to be able to even guess at where some of it may have been made.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
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blueyes29
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posted on October 10, 2002 07:08:34 PM
Thanks, all, for the great info...appreciate it...as usual!
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on October 10, 2002 09:23:42 PM
More than getting a book is just handling some of the stuff, looking at it at flea markets and so on. Enough of that and you'll be able to identify even unmarked ware. GMcB didn't mark all their products with their name; some are just ink-stamped "Made in USA" (helpful, huh?) but if you know what the mark looks like and what glazes they used, that's a good clue.
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rarriffle
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posted on October 11, 2002 02:41:58 AM
the Kovels did a piece on California Pottery on their show "Flea Market Finds" about 3 weeks ago...they said it is climbing in popularity right now and the prices should keep climbing for awhile...
They also mentioned the glazes and colors as an identifier.
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drivingmetodrink
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posted on October 11, 2002 07:55:59 AM
I am a collector of California Pottery and may be able to help. Also, I have several reference books that help with identification. If you can send an attached photo to [email protected], I will have a look and see if I can help you identify what you have.
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paloma91
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posted on October 19, 2002 03:52:47 PM
With so many knowledgable posters here, I hope someone can help me with this one. I have a lime green ceramic bowl and on the bottom, I think it says Brahm California 665 USA It looks like it was inprinted in clay before firing and glazing. some of th letters were filled in by the glaze making it hard to read. I am certain of the "California 665 USA" but just guess at the name It looks like there is something before the Brahm but I can't make it out.
any help is GREATLy appreciated. I have checked all of the california pottery books I have and I am stuck!
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katthree3
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posted on October 19, 2002 04:15:10 PM
Hi, I did a search on ebay on Brahm and came up with this auction # 723726452. Could it beJohannes before Brahm? I have not heard of this company before.
Kat
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on October 19, 2002 07:17:32 PM
paloma91: You sure that's not "Bauer"?
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paloma91
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posted on October 19, 2002 08:35:26 PM
the 723726452 hit the mark! THANKS SO much! the imprinting of the first name is so faint but when I hold it up to the screen and compare it to that auction's foto of the mark, it matches, all except for the number, that is. theirs is 675 and mine is 665.
Thanks so much! Now the question that is burning in my mind is what significance the number holds? Is it a pattern number? sequence number, the mfger or potter's number? I have looked for this info too and was never quite clear as to what it was. I even went to the public library and hit the University of California Historical california Archives site and couldnt find anything there!
Gee, you don't know how much I appreciate everyone's help on this!
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on October 20, 2002 12:31:24 PM
Typically a mold number.
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paloma91
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posted on October 20, 2002 05:24:10 PM
Thanks fluffy. I was up pretty late last night just trying to research Johannes Brahm with no luck. I guess he isnt well known. Oh well.
I truly appreciate all of your expertise!
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usually
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posted on October 20, 2002 06:13:09 PM
Johannes Brahm was only in production for about 10 years. The pottery is very collectible.
I have sold several pieces for $75 to $100. The coffee table cigarette holder and ashtray sets and wall pockets bring the best prices.
The very lovely flowered pieces are really popular; but are hard to find in good shape as the petals and leaves are usually chipped.
I do know that they stopped production in 1956 so that might help you with the age.
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