Shawnee Tales
July 2020
by Lin Romberg
Summer is definitely here - this next week in AZ temps will be over 110 every day!!!
Had an interesting alert from a long time collector - there is a reproduction Potters Wheel bookend out there, I was not aware of it. Here are pictures of the differences. The bottom hole is quite a bit larger than the Shawnee vintage one. Rumrill also made one but it is vintage and not the one we are referring to. Collector commented "not sure if this is called Repro or Fake but it sure is not the book ends we all have. It seems to be spray painted, the weight is light and the hole on the bottom is very large" In our conversation I had not realized that some of the Shawnee bookends do not have the Zanesville embossed on the front. Pam Curran covers a lot of information on them on page 222 of her Shawnee Pottery The Full Encyclopedia - a must have book for the serious Shawnee collector. I have collected for over forty years but still so much information I do not know, great reference book.
The bookends are elusive - many years ago at Pottery Festival I purchased my first one at a garage sale in Crooksville - dark green (re-glued neck not visible and I still paid $100) - then several years later found another one in brown - also on a trip to Ohio.
The Potters Wheel bookends are the only vintage "dealer" name piece. I am an avid reader yet fail to see how these small lightweight pieces could ever be used to support books, pamphlets maybe but not books!!!!
Years later, in 1995 Jim and Bev Mangus produced a line of signs for Shawnee - they came in three colors, blue, green and rose. Very popular and nice to display with our collections.
I had a nice surprise - had mentioned I needed the flax blue fern match holder and received one with a note - What Lindy wants, Lindy gets" So funny as my Mom used to say that exact phrase as I added to my collection over the years!!!
Only a few contributions in the call for pictures! Some nice pieces. We have never confirmed the duck and pig dishes but I have them also and feel they are likely Shawnee!!!!
Love seeing others pieces on display!!!
Doug's Corner
Now there are two - I didn't know there was one. I can't ignore Terrace Ceramics, they at the time seemed to be an aggressive well lead company. I think their downfall with timing in the world economy. Bad luck or foresight? I don't know.
A Treasure Chest Bank.
Obviously not Shawnee, but does the divided dry-foot look familiar? The top one was found at a barn sale and the lower found on Etsy.
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Flying over Fort McHenry - 15 Stars
