Shawnee Tales
Feb 2020
by Lin Romberg
Already a month into the new year! Wondering what new discoveries we will come across. Here's one a reader just sent in. Gorgeous jar.
For any of you who have not signed on to the two Shawnee Facebook pages, it is fun to see pictures and comments from other collectors. Another page that is fun is No Longer Grandma's Cookie Jars - so many of us dabble in other jars and assorted pottery - this is an active group and fun to see what else is out there!
Two great pieces were auctioned on the Facebook Shawnee auction page - a gold Jo Jo clown cookie jar with the heaviest gold decoration ever - a real beauty. Picture next month.
Also the wheat coffee pot - possibly a one of a kind - we covered it in an earlier newsletter - here is, in part, a copy of the listing.
"As far as anyone knows this Coffeepot is a one of a kind. Possibly an escaped experimental piece. Very rare to say the least. Having collected Shawnee for many years it was a shocker when we found it. The piece is in excellent condition with no chipping or cracking. Great color and detail. A really wonderful key piece for a serious collector. I am doing a 10 day listing on it and I am going to set a base price of $100 on it. I will take any offers over that on it and who ever has the best offer can add it to their collection."
Previous info on this Coffee Pot .
Thought I had a nice addition - another pony to go with my blue one - not going for all the colors but wanted just these two - was surprised when it arrived as it is identical to what I THOUGHT was the blue one - turns out both are the Kenwood marked mint one, marked Kenwood on the belly. Have been assured there is a blue one but another collector who first got this one turned out to be a mint green she has as well. Does anyone have a BLUE pony????????
"Something I find fascinating are the Shawnee Kiln paint testers. Pam Curran's information in the Shawnee Pottery book on page 254 provides some interesting information about these paint testers. Kiln goblets were used every day to test paint colors for the days' production. From there, the paint testers were either destroyed or placed in the "Seconds Room" for sale. Can you even imagine going into the "Seconds Room" now to see what treasures were available? That sounds like a dream come true. Probably over 20 years ago we were able to purchase a nice selection of Shawnee Kiln tester goblets from Mel and Jean Gibson. It's amazing to see how many colors are used for so many Shawnee products. I suspect most pottery companies had their own testing method, so you may find a Shawnee Kiln paint tester or other American pottery company tester out in the wild! The list goes on and on; here are a few examples:"
Article contributed by a long time collector! Really fascinating as something I was not aware of!
Working on the March newsletter so any contributions can be sent - they are really appreciated!!!
Doug's Corner
Bet you've never seen one of these. The longtime Shawnee collector that sent these pictures said his Mom bought it, probably in the 70's at First Monday Days flea market, one of the oldest in Canton, TX. The size and proportion look good, crisp mold detail. Can't you picture it on ebay as "vintage Shawnee PNB bank". Whoever made this was pretty handy with the chalk process.
From the same reader - Here is a another good reason to shop at Goodwill. Not a bad buy for $2.99. He didn't mention the price on the shakers.
This pair was waiting for someone to take them home from a local antique mall.
