Roseville: Alphabetical Pottery From Apple Blossom to Zephyr Lily.
03.25.08By The DeanShall we look at my modest collection of Roseville Pottery and wonder, “What If” I had been more aggressive in purchasing Roseville after receiving my first piece all those many years ago. That first one came to me from a distant relative by way of my mother, when wifey had admired it as it sat in the basement of my parent’s home among nice but common planters by McCoy and Hull.
The other objects were purchased over the years as we traveled our sphere of antique hunting, for fun and profit. Other purchases were made from time to time when prices at antique stores, estate sales and flea markets were so compelling that we could not pass them up.
Roseville started production in 1892 located in (Oh No You Guessed It) Roseville, Ohio, later moving and expanding in Zanesville, Ohio. Over the years, following the directions of their various artists and competing with the likes of Weller, their catalog changed and increased with fascinating designs and styles, named for the floral detailing, or period design.
As time passed, attitudes on collecting and decorating have changed as have the prices of most pottery from companies like Weller, Roseville, Stangl and Hull. We saw very few items offered at first and prices were low, but as decorating styles changed from the “Modern” look so prevalent in the Fifties and Sixties returning to more traditional styles, old decorative pottery again found its place. As cheap imports flooded the market, production decreased and the company closed in the mid Fifties.
Our collection includes these examples:
White Rose Vase 1945
Zephyr Lily Bowl 1946,
Clematis Vase 1944
Freesia Basket 1945, My favorite,
I will admit a few of our purchases have found new homes, as profit ruled over hoarding.
Most sought by true Roseville aficionados are the experimental pieces with various glazes that never went into full production, but we;re not likely to see these in our normal travels. Highly regarded are their jardinières sitting on matching pedestals.
These days we see an abundance of Roseville in antique stores across the Midwest, and with prices lower than they have been in many years. Of course, the floral patterns are easily spotted, but it takes a trained eye to spot other less known pattern, and that were we always turn to our library of collector books.
For Roseville its Warmans Companion, Roseville Pottery by Mark F. Moran published in 2006 by Krause Publishing Co., bought it on line from Amazon.
