NC Art Pottery Pitchers

Backcountry Notes ^ | November 15, 2009 | Jay Henderson

[jay1949]

When Jugtown Pottery kicked off the North Carolina art pottery movement in the early 1920s, its owners focused on two lines of ware: traditional lead-glazed "dirt dish" earthenware and new, colorful pieces based on oriental designs. Potters in the surrounding area observed no such strictures; whether by genius or by serendipity, they used colorful art-pottery glazes on anything that went into the kiln, pitchers included. The pitchers sold and, some nine decades later, they still sell.

[ErnBatavia]

I’ve looked over your site a few times before....good stuff.

[jay1949]

Thanks. More good stuff to come, if you like what’s there now. I’m slow but stubborn.

[Oorang]

I just bookmarked your site even though it made me homesick, again. I'm about as far from NC as a person can get and still be in the continental US. Sigh.

[jay1949]

What area of NC is “home”? For me, it’s Whynot, although I was born in Raleigh.

[Roses0508]

When my husband was courting me some years ago - trying to entice me to move from my home in TN to Greensboro, we’d make the trip to Seagrove regularly.

I loved the countryside around there too. It must remind me of some place from my childhood (we moved alot), because I am overwhelmed with land lust when I am in that area.

You mention my favorite potter: Benjamin Burns, Great White Oak Pottery. His reds are the best and I have his pieces through out my house. They have place of honor in the formal dining room and liviing room.

Maybe I can talk hubby into a trip to Seagrove soon.

Thanks for your webiste.

[ErnBatavia]

You are the spittin' image of this guy who I knew while in the seafood biz (but he's 100% Noo Yawk Italian)

[jay1949]

My dear wife is a bigtime fan of Benjamin Burns and Bonnie Burns - - our dining room is well populated with their vases, jars, plates and platters. Their reds are great and co-ordinate with the red walls in the room. A good time to go to Seagrove is the weekend before Thanksgiving -- this year, November 21-22. There are two bourse-setup shows in town and the selection is great. If you can't find something you like this weekend, you're not a pottery fan! I confess, however, that I rarely go to the shows -- maybe this year, maybe not -- as I prefer slow weekends in the spring and summer when I can hang around and chat with the potters.

[jay1949]

HEY! That looks like our old milkman! ;>)

[Ditter]

I love your site! I tried “the wheel” for a while but ended up with carpal tunnel repair and had to give it up. I had molds made from original pieces and poured slip for a while. Now I am just making paintings again, my first love.

My favorites have always been jugs and pitchers. I have a pitcher that I bought somewhere on our travels, maybe Pennsylvania. It is a classic work of art. It has the small initials of “mc” on the bottom. I would love to be back there again, I'd buy more than one.

[jay1949]

Many thanks -- I have a piece on jugs in process.

I would love to be back there again, I'd buy more than one. Oh, that thought has occurred to me so many times! If I had known then what I know now, I would have cleaned out the Seagrove Pottery sales room of 1976-dated pieces, to the full extent of my then-paltry bank account!

[Ditter]

Is there any kind of registry where I could find out who made the pitcher with the small ‘mc’ stamped on the bottom?

[ErnBatavia]

"Hi, Dad!"

[jay1949]

Unfortunately, there is no central registry that I know of. There are books cataloging pottery marks, but mostly for commercial brands.

[Oorang]

My Mom’s family migrated from Granville Co. to Franklin Co. around 1800. Family is now all over the state from Shelby to Wilmington.

[jay1949]

Sounds like my family — can’t go anywhere in NC without tripping over a cousin or two.