Were we a nation of moonshiners during prohibition or were these made for decorative too?? I see tons of them in garage sales/flea markets here in MN--is there a ton of makers or the ones not marked....all look similar .. what company(s) made the plain ones?
Sugarcube, there were dozens n' dozens of potteries that made crocks, jugs, churns, big jars, small jars, canning jars, tobacco smoking pipes, etc. Stoneware items were
a necessary household "utility" and/or "storage" item since Colonial times ..... and even into the early to mid 20th century.
The earlier ones are the most sought after because many contained "freehand" painting of most anything the artist felt like painting on them. Later on stencils were used to "decorate" and/or "mark" them ..... and then encised "marks" included.
Some potteries always stenciled their name on the larger pieces, others would put the name of the retailer on them who "ordered" the pottery.
And that was just
a sketchy wee sample of the history of US pottery making.
Ps: the real early stuff (
Slipware) is now only found in private collections, historical showplaces and museums.
Those early pieces do appear from
out-of-the-woodwork every now n' then.
