Shawnee Pottery : Affordable Collectibles

Shawnee Pottery was the manufacturer of various types of household pottery from 1937 through 1961.

The company created various types of kitchenware intended to be inexpensive, and for daily use. The Shawnee Pottery line was available in department stores like Woolworth's, Sears, and McCrory's. It's charm and beautiful design made it a popular choice among homemakers of the day and they snapped it up. The pieces that now sell for $50.00 and more once were purchased for 10-50 cents!

The story goes that the Shawnee Pottery was named to commemorate an arrowhead found on the grounds of the plant in Zanesville Ohio in 1937.

Because of the large amounts of natural clay in that area the Shawnee Indian tribes lived and produced pottery near the site of the plant well before the area was settled and began to thrive. Shards and pieces of these Native American pots, as well as arrowheads and other tools were once scattered across the area and very easy to find. Using this history as inspiration Shawnee Pottery used both the name and the arrowhead to identify their products.

When the American Encaustic Company went out of business during the depression, it left a host of buildings, and other items. It had been the largest tileworks in the world from the late 1800s through the 1930s. Not only was there empty buildings, and unused machinery but there were many employees that lost their jobs.

The new Shawnee plant took over these unused buildings and hired back many of the employees and craftsmen that had worked for American Encaustic. The company removed the old kilns and replaced them with state of the art equipment.

Many of the men associated with Shawnee were well known in the Ohio Potteries and brought their unique vision and experience to Shawnee like A.E.Hull, Jr. son of the founder of Hull Pottery and George Rumrill, producer of Red Wing Pottery. Designers that had worked for Hull, Roseville, Weller, and Frankoma were brought in to design the items that Shawnee would later become famous for.

Shawnee Pottery produced item after item. Each was snapped up at the various stores and taken home to be used. However, after the end of World War II the pottery was unable to compete with the foreign imports that began flooding the nation and finally stopped operations in 1961.

Many of the old molds were duplicated in the late 1960s and 70s by unscrupulous manufacturers wishing to fool unsuspecting collectors. Some of the items were made in the style of Shawnee but never actually produced by Shawnee Pottery. Others attempted to be replicas but were too small and/or of inferior quality.

Shawnee can be mistaken for McCoy because they are very similar. However, most of Shawnee is completely glazed inside and out. There is a raised foot on the bottom that follows the contour of the base. The base often just has USA inscribed in the clay. These pieces predate World War II. Other marks include:

• "Shawnee"
• "Shawnee U.S.A."
• "USA # (numbers inserted here)"

• character names,like: "Pat. Smiley" and "Pat. Winnie"

Corn King was the premier Shawnee design. It was begun as part of a Procter and Gamble Promotion in 1941. Pieces ofcorn ware, as it was called then, were given away in boxes of Oxydol. The line was popular and so the company continued production until the early 1950s. These pieces are very collectible. The pieces below are an estimate. Like any other collectible prices will fluctuate from month to month.

• Puss and Boots Creamer 45.00

• Elephant Creamer 15.00

• Corn King Milk Pitcher 15.00

• Smiley Cookie Jar 100.00

• Corn King Casserole. Intact 85.00
• Embossed Rose Tea Pot 40.00

• Little Dutch Boy Cookie Jar 30.00

Shawnee Pottery is beautiful and meant to be used. After use just wash it by hand in a gentle dish soap, like 7th Generation, and dry carefully before putting away.

Keeping your collection behind glass will keep it dust free and ready for use in tea parties and for other ocassions. The cookie jars and tea pots add a colorful touch of whimsy to the tops of cabinets and other visible areas. Shawnee is especially good for creating a vintage look in your kitchen.

Learn as much as you can and enjoy what you have. You can find Shawnee Pottery at garage sales, thrift shops, eBay, and numerous places online. Keep a sharp eye out for that fabulous find that will make your collection perfect.