FACTORY MARKS

The factory mark identifies the manufacturer of the ware. Rookwoodhas used a number of factory marks. It has employed both its name, in variousforms, as well as the picture-symbol type of representation associated withmost European furnaces. The symbol that comes quickly to mind is the worldfamous monogram mark of the reversed R and P, with its wreath of flames.

This unique factory mark was used longer than any other, and was inuse at the time the pottery enjoyed its greatest prestige. As a result it is thismark that is as often found on the finest of Rookwood productions. Prior to itsinstitution the factory marks were widely varied in design and survived but ashort time. They are herein explained and illustrated in the order of theiroccurrence, beginning with the earliest.

The most common marksprior to 1882 were the name of thepottery and the date of manufacture,either painted or incised on the baseof the piece by perhaps the decor-ators or potters. A variation ofthis consisted of the initials of thePottery, and of the founder:R.P.C.O.M.L.N. (RookwoodPottery, Cincinnati, Ohio, MariaLongworth Nichols. Mrs. Nicholsremarried in 1886 and became Mrs.Storer.) Illustrations of two ofthese marks are at the right:

From 1880 to 188Z anotherdesign used was that prepared bythe famous Cincinnati artist, H. F .Farny. This factory mark wasprinted in black beneath the glaze,and represents a kiln with twoRooks.

The following oval markbearing the name and address ofthe factory was also used for ashort time.

from Rookwood Pottery by Edwin J. Kircher

In 1882 the following twotypes of marks were used. Bothwere impressed in a raised ribbon,and the upper one appeared only ona commercial project - a largebeer tankard made for the CincinnatiCooperage Company.

Prior to 1883 an anchor wassometimes impressed or placed inrelief. It occasionally occurred inconnection with an impressed date,and often in conjunction with adecorator's mark. (The illustrationto the left is impressed; the one tothe right appears in relief.)

ROOKWOOD1882

The regular mark adopted in1882 was the word ROOKWOOD andthe date in arabic numerals,impressed. This mark was incontinuous use until 1886, the datebeing changed each year.

ROOKWOOD1882

In the year 1883 a small kilnmark was impressed in the ware, andmay or may not appear with the wordROOKWOOD and the date, alsoimpressed.

The monogram mark of thereversed R, and P was adopted in1886. The monogram mark and the"ROOKWOOD 1886" both exist denot-ing the year 1886, the ROOKWOODmark having been used in the earlierpart of the year. In 1887 a flamepoint was placed above the RP mono-gram, and one point was added eachyear until 1900, at which time themonogram mark was encircled by14 flame points.

In 1901 the same mark usedto indicate 1900 was continued, andthe Roman numeral I was addedbelow, to indicate the first year ofthe new century. The Romannumeral was subsequentlychanged to denote the correctyear.

ROOKWOOD1883

Society Collection

Mrs. Maria Longworth Storer, 1849-1932Founder of Rookwood Pottery

Overture of Cincinnati Ceramics

The following handwritten manuscript was given to theSociety by the Ohio Mechanics Institute April 1,1949. The authoris unknown, though probably an early associate of RookwoodPottery. The paper was written in 1890.

Editor

In connection with the Centennial Art Gallery, although notimmediately represented therein, the subject of ceramics should holdan important and honored position. In a department of the granddisplay, there were groups of pottery by Cincinnati artists and experi-menters which attracted the scrutinizing attention of all whose knowl-edge of the subject enabled them to trace the western growth of thisancient and beautiful art as it developed here in the hands of in-dividuals who were almost entirely untaught in the mechanical meth-ods which have brought the art to the perfection reached in the studiosand kilns of the old world from ancient China to modern Europe.No intelligent observer could but admire the inventive genius, thehandy skill and indefatigable persistence of purpose, the undismayedperseverance against seemingly unconquerable obstacles until thecrowning triumph was attained — the art that has distinguishedCincinnati the world over. This is an achievement upon which welook with increasing pride when we reflect that it was done alone bywomen who were obliged not only to rediscover and invent thosefeatures artistically applicable to ceramic decoration but, by closeobservation and tedious experiment, also to improve the localmethods of firing and other mechanical appliances.

It is exceedingly difficult to reconcile the various claims as topriority of individual successes in different stages of developmentowing to the fact that these ladies were more intent upon accomplish-ing the common object than securing personal glory and applause.The first impulse given to the subject appears to have come from theactive brain of Benn Pitman but was actually suggested by his wife.In 1874 Mr. Pitman formed a class for the study of china painting

74 The Bulletin

composed of Mrs. E. G. Leonard, Miss Louise McLaughlin, MissClara Newton, Mrs. William Dodd, Miss Agnes Pitman, MissElizabeth Nourse and others who, under the instruction of theirversatile master, made satisfactory progress and produced manyadmirable examples of their skill. This enterprise led directly to thesecond and more difficult step, the production of pottery propersimilar to the Haviland Faience.

In September 1875, the first piece of underglaze ceramic workmade in Cincinnati was executed by Miss Louise McLaughlin on aporcelain plate requested from the kilns of Messrs. Thos C. Smith

'&§>>£ iJ;>f>£Su. '• '. -. .•̂ ••:'

. • • . • : • : •.

Courtesy of Cincinnati Art Museum

Left: First piece of underglaze ceramic work made in Cincinnati in 1875.Right: First experiment in Cincinnati in the reproduction of Haviland Faience in 1877Both pieces were executed by Miss Mary Louise McLaughlin.

Overture of Cincinnati Ceramics 75

and Sons of the Greenpoint Pottery, Long Island, New York. Thisplate is now in the Cincinnati historical collection in the Eden Parkmuseum. The enameled faience of the Havilands, sometimes calledLimoges Faience from the city in which the industry was established,was exhibited in the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876. Here its greatbeauty and exquisite enamel excited the liveliest interest and curiosityas to the means by which such remarkable effects were brought about.

In September 1877 Miss McLaughlin made first experiments atthe Coultry Pottery in Cincinnati with the aim of reproducing theHaviland Faience, and in December of that year the first piece thatdemonstrated this possibility was taken from the kiln. This piece, ina shape known as the "Pilgrim Vase", has also been deposited in theCincinnati museum. The main feature of the process is the mixtureof mineral paints with white slip or liquid white clay universally usedin potteries for striping wares, after the same fashion adopted by thepainter in oil to obtain the hues on his canvas. Her idea was that, asclay is also a mineral formed from aluminum, an admixture such asshe purposed to make could be successfully united in the firing.A long course of experiment was required to perfect the process. Shewas, however, able to exhibit pieces which received unbounded praiseat the Loan Exhibition of Decorative Art in New York in October1878. The following year her work shown in the American Section ofthe Paris Exposition received great attention from art collectors.

As soon as she had mastered all details of the underglaze effects,a complete description of this process was given by Miss McLaughlinin her book entitled Pottery Decoration. The practical result was thefounding of a new industry in Cincinnati. Her method of paintingceramic wares is the one in use in the Rookwood Pottery and in allother potteries in this country where underglaze work is done. Thedecoration is placed upon a vase or other object as soon as it comesfrom the hand of the potter, the clay being kept moist during thepainting. When the articles are thoroughly dried, they are fired; thiscauses the body of the ware and the decorated surface on it to shrinkequally in the firing. Subsequently, the pieces are dipped in glaze and

76 The Bulletin

fired the second time. All parts of the process were experimentallyarrived at by the inventor and the entire originality of her method isestablished by the fact (since ascertained) that it is the exact reverseof that used at Limoges, which is guarded there as a valuable secret.

From the meager outline of the Limoges method, published someyears since, it is a process adopted under the supposition that it wasimpossible to successfully accomplish the shrinkage of the ware andthe decorated surface on it at the same firing. This was the very aimwhich Miss McLaughlin successfully attained in her experiments.At Limoges the paint is placed on the ware after it has been fired once;therefore, the shrinkage of the body of the ware is ended before thedecoration is made. Mineral paint is mixed with white clay slip in theproportion required to give the necessary variety of hue. These mix-tures are then fired in separate masses in order to bring about ashrinkage equal to that which is likely to occur in the body of theware on which they are to be placed. These masses of mixed clay andpaint are then crushed and ground to the requisite degree of finenessand used by the decorator for painting on the dry body of the ware.The pieces then are dried, dipped in glaze, and fired a second time inthe usual manner.

Simultaneously with the studies of Miss McLaughlin, others wereexperimenting, if not with the identical end in view, at least with thepurpose of finding out what could be done in all ramifications ofpottery. During her residence in Paris, Mrs. C. A. Plimpton hadgiven the subject considerable attention and dabbled, as she calledher efforts at that time, in that most beautiful method of mixing colorwith slip; but, having found the method plain, she was inclined toanother branch of ceramics. She was particularly attracted to theprogress of American pottery and on her return to Cincinnati im-mediately joined with the enterprising ladies who were engaged in theart's development. Ever ready to give her fellow workers the advan-tages of her extended knowledge and ready invention, she became apotent influence in enabling students to solve many problems. Sheleft the mysteries of underglaze and directed her attention to the use:

Overture of Cincinnati Ceramics 11

of our native clays for the purpose of producing effects similar to thework of the cameo cutter — making the design in relief of differentcolored clays, embracing modest hues of a very considerable gamut,and presenting wonderfully rich and striking effects. Clays fromvarious parts of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Ten-nessee were procured, and under her skillful fingers they assumedshapes and colors worthy of the ancient Greeks.

Mrs. Plimpton believed that, like the ancients, we should take thematerials which we find convenient at hand to express our ideas. Shehas wrought this common earth that sticks as a clog to our feet intothoughts unique and forms of exquisite beauty. She has become theinventor of a method of decoration commonly believed to be impos-sible; by inlaying and superimposing designs wrought in combinationsof the different kinds and colors of clays, she has made unique effectswithout any painting whatever.

The colors used by Mrs. Plimpton range from white to black,embracing browns and yellows of many hues, rich reds and softdelicate greens. Some of the designs are inlaid with black lines almostof a hair's fineness and demonstrate the almost unlimited extent towhich her method can be carried. Specimens calling attention to theinexhaustable wealth of our country in potters' materials can be seenin the Cincinnati museum. Already their example has been felt in themore solid texture and richer color of many common utensils, and itonly remains for the higher orders of art to be applied to ensure thedevelopment of that exquisite taste which the Greeks desired as muchfrom their common surroundings as from examples of higher art.The first piece of chromatic relief, if we may so designate it, made inCincinnati was a little vase bearing a stork, also now in the Cincinnatimuseum.

The Cincinnati Pottery Club was organized April 1, 1879. Theoriginal membership was limited to twelve. From the ladies presentat the first meeting, the officers were elected who served throughoutthe eleven years the club existed and consisted of the following dis-tinguished persons:

78 The Bulletin

Miss Mary Louise Mclaughlin,1847-1939

President of theCincinnati Pottery Club

Gift of Miss Clara C. Newton

President Miss Mary Louise McLaughlinSecretary Miss Clara Chipman NewtonTreasurer Miss Alice Belle Holabird

The membership was later increased to twenty. The object of the clubwas to promote the growth of ceramic art in Cincinnati. The impetusgiven by joint and individual experiments made at their club roomsin the old Hamilton Road Pottery form the basis of the work that hasmade Cincinnati famous for its art pottery. Later the attention of theclub was given to china painting. The results obtained from the useof metals combined with the mat backgrounds gave the club a reputa-tion in the art world so enviable that exhibits of its work were soli-cited for all the leading ceramic expositions in this country and in:Europe.

Overture of Cincinnati Ceramics 79

Some of the most active and efficient members whose names canreadily be called to mind, besides the officers named above, were:Miss Elizabeth Nourse, Mrs. G. S. Sykes, Mrs. Ferguson, Mrs.Louis C. Leonard, Miss Louise Devereux, Miss Laura A. Fry,Mrs. E. G. Leonard, Mrs. Meredith, Mrs. Plimpton, Miss MarySpencer, Mrs. M. V. Keenan. These and several others put theirheads together on the principle that two or more heads are better thanone to promote the common cause, their patriotism (the patrioticimpulse is always better in woman than in man; so are all good andnoble impulses as for that matter) causing them to care more for thegeneral result than for individual glory. The writer cannot call tomind particular works so as to designate them, but of those men-tioned above Mrs. Keenan achieved distinction both by her manyfine examples and as a most genial and efficient teacher. She was faralong with her work before the formation of the Pottery Club butupon invitation became a member. Her studies were, however,mainly carried on at her own studio as were those of several otherceramic artists, or rather, artists who were giving their attention tem-porarily to ceramics, certain limitations adopted by the club notseeming to them to favor their special desires. Her first experimentswere mixing black stamping ink with yellow clay and slip to produceolive backgrounds and then mixing cobalt and yellow for variousshades of pea-green. She took her experiments to Mr. Baily, managerof the Dallas Pottery, who exclaimed, "That's limoges". Mr. Bailywas so delighted that he requested her to paint samples of colors onplates which he fired to see how they would stand the heat of the kiln,putting the delicate reds and yellows in a cooler place so that theywould not be burnt out. Several pieces were wrought into excellentartistic results. One shaped like a soap bubble is now in the BostonArt Museum and has elicited much praise. The appreciation ofconnoiseurs has been expressed by the liberal purchase of her workboth at home and in England.

Miss Mary Spencer is another of these artistic workers in the fieldof mingling fine art thought with the somewhat rougher element of a

80 The Bulletin

common industry — the limning of poetic sentiment that is too oftenleft beyond the reach of prosaic everyday life upon articles of absolutenecessity, utensils of household utility, so that varied feeling andsentiment can be carried into the midst of the matter-of-fact andhurry of living, causing one to stop a little and see the beauty ofnature as one must, while plowing the fields or reaping the grain, andby listening to the birds to unconsciously become the finer. MissSpencer had for some time engaged a portion of her time with chinapainting, producing beautiful objects of many sizes and styles, andhad also tried in a modest way the effect of the plastic clay combinedwith colors. Her first successful piece of pure Limoges (it seems tothe writer a better name for this product would be "The CincinnatiFaience", differing as it does in method from the Limoges of France),using the process of painting with mineral emulsion colors upon themoist clay, was made in June 1878. This was a mere trial block orsmall piece without any significance in point of design. It excitedconsiderable remark at the time on the part of those engaged in thework. Afterwards she produced several other pieces reaching designsof great beauty; one a sugar bowl with a soft liquid mingling of hueswith a flower cropping out here and there as from a deep cavernousshade. Another which the writer remembers was a vase resemblingthe Portland Vase in shape with light airy figures, like those of Pom-peian mural decoration, relieved against a rich blue sky.

Miss Mamie Owens also contributed a liberal share to the stockof knowledge and successful proof of skill. At first she experimentedat the Dayton Street Pottery. Through working with Miss Connally,who had studied at Dresden, she received some valuable hints andinstruction in the use of overglaze paints. She also studied at theRookwood Pottery, assisted by Miss Laura Fry. After teaching atDayton and Hunt Street Pottery, she went to Chicago where shereceived instruction from a lady who had studied the latest effects inmineral painting in Europe. Returning to Cincinnati she again en-gaged in teaching, then went to New York where access to materialand facilities enabled her to finish the group which she was preparing

Overture of Cincinnati Ceramics 81

for the probable Cincinnati Centennial Exposition. In one NewYork collection she saw pieces done by a process entirely new toamateurs. To imitate it, Miss Owens applies an underglaze blue overthe glaze on white china giving the effect after being fired of the genu-ine Royal Dresden blue. This effect, says Miss Owens, has never beenproduced with an overglaze color.

In the Centennial Exposition we noticed many of the laity as wellas the learned connoisseur attentively examining her works. Onevery handsome piece, done in the blue described above, was finishedwith a simple decoration of delicately raised gold design with bandsand perforated parts of raised gold. One small antique shape wasdone on the order of the Crown Derby. The body was a delicatecream; the neck was pink and blue in alternate sections divided byconventional designs in raised gold. Another large piece was decor-ated with a bold design of pink azalias and soft green bands, all withraised outlines of gold and grasses of gold in the distance. Thebackground was mother of pearl. On the shoulder and base wereclusters of white roses with outlines of raised gold on a backgroundof deep golden bronze. The handles, band, and cover were of bronzeand gold to match the other parts. Another piece was decorated withpurple wisteria, raised leaves of green and yellow gold, with handlesand perforated parts of the two golds. Another was a Bird of Paradisesitting on a bunch of golden ferns on an ivory ground with delicategrasses of shadowy colors in the distance. On the neck was a con-ventional design of blue flowers and green bands on a dark goldenbronze background. Several small pieces with conventional designsof both jewels and enamels were perhaps the most beautiful objectsin the group. Altogether these works reflected credit upon the talentedand persevering artist and upon that branch of art in Cincinnati.

A number of ladies whose works became as equally well known asthose already mentioned would, considering the importance of thework in which they were engaged, be entitled to the dignified com-pliment of a separate biography. Unfortunately the material at handdoes not permit the writer to make even a meager particularization

82 The Bulletin

of their principal works. We must therefore delegate some future penfor a complete history of this overture of Cincinnati ceramics. Suchnames as Mrs. Meredith, Mrs. George Dominick, Miss Holabird,Miss Alice Fletcher, Miss Laura Fry, and several others are not to beforgotten. Nor are the works and encouraging enthusiasm of Mrs.William Dodd (without whose unselfish help to others many a finethought and almost accomplished purpose would have come tonaught) to be passed over in silence. Mr. Wheatley too should comein for his share of praise and fame. Working and importing all theknowledge which he gained from his experiments and producingmany admirable specimens of his skill, he became the owner of apottery and kilns where the works of the Pottery Club members andothers were fired.

Even after certain mechanical methods had become solved, othersinvented, and the good points found attached to other ceramic pro-ductions incorporated, there still was a lack. Limits in perfecting thefiner qualities of the pottery glaze were apparent; that is, mechanicaldefects existed in passing those delicate manipulations of glaze com-pound through the gradation of fiery furnace, which everything madeof clay must endure to determine if the vase, the pitcher, and theplaque, like the three noted Children of Israel, would come out un-scathed. In consequence all of the work alluded to above, particularlythe underglaze, while admirable, exhibiting noble and beautiful artisticforms and colors of most harmonious and expressive combination,lacked that certain completeness of finish and signet of certaintynecessary to obtain the appreciation of the great mass of people who,though able to admire and even understand the perfect rhythm of thecompleted whole, could not make allowance for the occasional haltsin the rehearsal.

It fell to the lot of Joseph Longworth's daughter, Mrs. MariaLongworth Nichols (now Mrs. Bellamy Storer), to supply this de-ficiency. Herself an artist of fine attainments and education, sheentered upon the problem described above. About the time othersbegan the work in Cincinnati, fourteen or fifteen years ago, she began

Overture of Cincinnati Ceramics 83

painting on china but was not satisfied with the limits of overglazedecoration. After two or three years, learning that Mr. Dallas of theWhite Ware Pottery on Hamilton Road was willing to have amateurwork fired in his kilns, she went there to see what could be done inunderglaze work. She worked there two years and became interestedin the development of the art. Her father, noticing her zeal and appre-preciating the still apparent mechanical deficiencies, proposed tofurnish her with a place where she could have full authority andcontrol. Accordingly, he gave her the old schoolhouse on EasternAvenue which she turned into a pottery [1880]. Her object was to seeif beautiful things could not be made out of common clay — the redclay of bricks and the yellow clay of kitchen bowls. This was thefoundation of the Rookwood Pottery. These ingredients form thelargest portion of Rookwood works still in use. The pottery at firstdid only experimental work. Everything was untried and we were allinexperienced. Two years later, after Mr. Baily came to the Rook-wood, we began to make really salable and presentable wares. Thedecorators all had to serve a long apprenticeship. The rich colors anddeep effects of glaze have been a slow and gradual development, thesuccess of which was crowned last year (1889) by a gold medal at theParis Exposition. One of the Rookwood Pottery's principal dis-coveries, for which Mrs. Storer holds a patent, is the superimposingof colored glaze on colored and painted bodies. The ordinary whiteglaze would only look like a thin varnish, leaving a bald staring effectunderneath. The delicate tinting of the ground is a discovery made byMiss Laura Fry working at the Pottery.

These different original methods have given the Rookwood Pot-tery its distinction and individual peculiarities but for which its prod-uct would be like other underglaze earthenware. The RookwoodPottery, enthused still by the zeal and inspiration of Mrs. Storer(although she has now returned to those branches of higher art whichshe temporarily laid aside to help on what she believed would becomean important industrial element and a promotion of refined taste) ismaking every effort to reach a higher and higher ideal of perfection.

84 The Bulletin

As soon as the Pottery began to pay expenses, which was last year,Mrs. Storer made it over to a stock company. Mr. Taylor, to whoselabor and interest it owes its business success, the delicacy of finish inthe decoration, and the mechanical excellence of its wares, is now thechief owner of the Pottery. With a liberality characteristic of all theworkers and promoters of the Cincinnati Faience, he still extends thesuperior advantage of his facilities to deserving amateur practitionersof the art who it is hoped will keep on with their work, adding year byyear something of higher artistic excellence as well as more completeand certain mechanical processes.

William Watts Taylor became Mrs. Storer's partner in 1883. In1891 Mrs. Storer retired from the Rookwood Pottery, transferring allher interest to Mr. Taylor, who remained its controlling influence untilhis death in 1913. Under Mr. Taylor's direction as president, the Rook-wood Pottery buildings in Mt. Adams were erected in 1892 and extendedin 1899 and 1904.

Editor