Shawnee Tales
NOV 2019
by Lin Romberg
Thanks to Doug for covering October for me!
Have an article from one of our longtime collectors and reader about lobster ware - some great pictures and information. So appreciate the sharing.
In 1953 Art Grindley became the president of Shawnee Pottery Company, bringing with him from his family's company, the lobster line. Bob Heckman, a pottery designer at Shawnee Pottery further developed accompanying pieces for the lobster line.
The lobster bake & serve ware was debuted in a 1954 catalog for Kenwood Ceramics (a division of Shawnee Pottery). It was marketed as oven proof, bake and serve ware to appeal to the “budding Betty Crockers" of the 1950s. From the oven to the table in one lovely dish! The original colors were Van Dyke Brown (glossy), and Charcoal (satin finish). Some white pieces have surfaced, but this color was never in full production. In 1955 the most popular color, Mirror Black (glossy) was introduced, and the other colors were discontinued. If you happen to come across any teal colored pieces, they were manufactured by the Grindley Artware Company and are NOT made by Kenwood.
Although the lobster ware line was discontinued after the mid 1950’s it has remained a favorite for many collectors. From the claw salt & pepper shakers, to the mugs, and casserole dishes including many other unique pieces, they are a fun find! Recently some rare items have been found! The large casserole with the original wire stand was found in Las Vegas (pictured below). The 4 charcoal French casseroles (pictured below)were found at a yard sale in Ohio. The double spoon rest (pictured below) was purchased by an avid collector from a collector friend. EBAY recently had a pair of every rare brown lobster handle jug salt and peppers shakers for sale.
Hopefully you can get your “claws " on some of these beautiful pieces! And..when you do find that great lobster piece don’t be “shellfish" with your pictures…send them to linromb@aol.com
original prices below items
Double click here to add text.
Another collector out on the Shawnee trail found some great buys - bargains are out there to be discovered.
The tag was marked "pair of cute bunny figurines, $3.00 for pair". Yep, you read it right $3.00 for the pair. I bought them.
Chanticleer- $18.00.Gold trim white corn sugar and creamer - $20.00 for pair.
Didn't need any of it, but just couldn't let it set.
Wish I had local flea markets in the Phoenix area, unfortunately we don't! I used to go over to southern Calif sometimes a couple of times a month for markets!
I did make an interesting purchase - had never seen this version before - certainly whimsical but I was thrilled to add it. Four are shown in Pam's book on page 179 but not in this color!
Next month will have the pre Shawnee days of lobster ware! As always looking for any contributions and pictures to share!
$4.50
$9.00 set
$1.25
$2.75 ea.
$4.50
$2.00
$2.50
