Maxwell Paperweight

            The Maxwell paperweight is a rare and treasured item for any collector to have in his possession.  The William H. Maxwell paperweights are one of the first to be patented in 1882.  William H. Maxwell was known as a glass blower by occupation.  He began to manufacture some simple items of pictures or labels that were covered in clear glass having a convex shape.  Maxwell had many ideas that he was experimenting with at the time.  The factory that was making the small glass Maxwell paperweights was totally lost to a fire in 1879.  It was thought to be caused by an explosion from the furnace.  After the destruction of his first plant William Maxwell teamed with Hartford P. Brown and opened another company called Brown, Maxwell & Co.  The company was located in Rochester, Pennsylvania.  Some of the glass items that were being made by Brown, Maxwell & Co. were crystal tumblers, prescription vials and lamp founts along with other glass items.  One of the company’s specialties was the Maxwell paperweight.   The Maxwell paperweight has many different images encased within its clear glass dome.  Some are of names and dates of people, photographs of a special event, advertisements of a company or maybe a logo.

      The Maxwell paperweight has three categories in which it is grouped.  The first group of Maxwell paperweights is a group that includes real life pictures.  The paperweight is made with a photograph embedded within the molten glass to be preserved forever.  It was the only one like it to be made.  A very individual paperweight made for customers.  The next category of Maxwell paperweight is a paperweight that promotes a business or company.  The business has an advertisement or logo encased in the paperweight to give out as a gift or promotional item.  All of the advertisement paperweights were made in mass qualities.  Some of the advertisement paperweights have a stamped Brown, Maxwell & Co. beneath the plaque.  Variations where sometimes noted on the same company paperweight.  Last is a group of Maxwell paperweights that are as individual as the person who ordered them.  They are hand painted or decorated to the individual’s design.  Some of the paperweights might have a name and date of that person or maybe a place of employment with a picture of some important aspect of their job.  One such Maxwell paperweight has a hand painted picture of a train with the engine number painted on the train.  It is as unique as the individual.

            William H. Maxwell has a variety in the way that he signed his paperweights.  One way that he signed his artwork was a dark blue hand written signature on the bottom of the plaque.  Another version to his signature is a stamped line with his name and city of his company.  Yet other Maxwell paperweights have a rubber stamped name and city with the year of his patent number either above or sometimes below his name and city.  One of the earliest signatures of a Maxwell paperweight that has been found is 1882.  One of the last known dates to find a signed Maxwell paperweight is in 1887.  It is uncertain what happen to William H. Maxwell after the late 1880’s.  One can only guess as to his fate, it is unknown if he went to work for someone else or maybe even illness or death stopped is work.

            The Maxwell paperweight has many facets to this collectible item.  It may be seen as just an object to hold down papers upon a desk or it may be seen as a work of beauty.  The paperweights of old had a splendor that the paperweights of today just don’t seem to measure up too.  The artist of each piece put his of her special talent into the center of each piece of molten clear glass that was an original art form.  The Maxwell paperweight will weight heavy as a favorite of mine.

ANTIQUE IVORY HANNYA MASKS

   Antique ivory Hannya masks are not something that you can see everyday. In Japan they are much more common and easier to find. One must be looking for items that are of theatre or drama. Antique ivory Hannya masks are something of great value to treasure and pass on to the family for years to come. The masks are very old and sometimes a little scary to all that behold them. Halloween masks of today are no match for the antique ivory Hannya masks of years ago.

  Let’s start out with a little history about the antique ivory Hannya masks. The Hannya masks can be made up in many different mediums. Some were crafted in wood, stone or clay. You may even find some made of medal. The masks made of ivory are the cream of the crop. The antique ivory Hannya masks were made from the tusks of large mammals that could produce enough ivory for such a wondrous mask. Ivory was a material that came primarily from Elephants. The Walrus and Hippopotamus also grew some very nice ivory tusks. When ancient man discovered that ivory was a material that withstood the sands of time and that could be carved and made into many different items like weapons or tools that a person could make useful for their every day living. As time went on man came to treasure ivory for his show of wealth. The ivory was a very expensive item to obtain. Once the ivory was acquired it was sent to a skilled craftsman to be sculptured into a demonic looking creature. Antique ivory Hannya masks could look very differently but they all had the same characteristic. All the Hannya masks had two daunting eyes that would make the strongest of men tremble with fear. The masks also had two raised and evil looking horns upon the tops of the mask. Each of the antique ivory Hannya masks included an open mouth with four deadly looking fangs that would make any one step back and run with fear.

  The Noh theatre is the place that you would wear such a magnificent and furious mask.   If we go to ancient Japan in the Meiji era, the actors, who were all male would put on the day long plays for the wealthy elite. The antique ivory Hannya masks were worn to display a female who was in agony or pain or a woman that was having a fit of rage with emotions so great that she would turn into a horrible monster with demon like qualities. Hannya means a look that all men know from a woman. One of the plays that the antique ivory Hannya masks was worn for was a story of a young maiden that was deeply in love with a handsome religious priest. After a very fierce and painful rejection from the young priest, the young maiden was so hurt, and upset that she was turned in to a demon that had only revenge and hatred on her mind. The demon found her young lover hiding under a large bell that was nearby. The demon wrapped her serpent like body around the bell and burnt the young priest to death with all of her anger from within. It is a story that has survived the passage of time.

  Today, the antique ivory Hannya masks are for display or keeping as a prize of times gone by. The stories of ancient Japan can be passed down from one generation to the next. If I owned  antique ivory Hannya masks they would be proudly displayed on my walls and I would tell the tales of a woman so grief stricken that she turned into a demonic creature to pray on the man she loved. The story would only be told with the lights ON.

JADITE SUNKIST JUICER
 

            The Jadite Sunkist juicer is a blast from the past.  If you are old enough to know what a juicer is, then you will remember your mother using one to make you some fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast.  It is a shallow glass container with a ribbed cone on the top and a shallow rimmed dish on the bottom to catch the juice from the fruit that is being squeezed.  The Jadite Sunkist juicer is an antique collectible that is a real treat to find.  It is also sometimes called a reamer.  The meaning of a reamer is a tool used to bore out a hole into something.  If you were to cut a fruit in half and place the cut piece on the juicer and began to turn and squeeze at the same time you would get some juice from the fruit.  That is how it got its name, by squeezing the juice from the fruit or reaming the juice from the fruit.  The Jadite Sunkist juicer was a very essential tool to have and most homes had a juicer of some form to make their breakfast juice.

            The Jadite Sunkist juicer is the color of Jade.  Jadite refers to the color and not a company or maker of glass products.   Jadite is an opaque green luster that is like a sea-foam green.  Jadite is sometimes called “clambroth”.   Jadite glass was an inexpensive to make type of dinnerware.  It was also a very durable and heavy glass.  Jadite was made between 1930 and 1972.  The Jadite was produced by many different glass companies.  It may have had a slight variance in color, either lighter or darker.  One of the most well known is Anchor Hocking glass company.  Anchor Hocking made a line of Fire King that also had the seafoam-green color.  The Jadite Sunkist juicer was made as an advertisement for the Sunkist Company.  What a perfect way to advertise your fruit by giving away a Jadite Sunkist juicer.

            Sunkist was first known as the Southern California Fruit Exchange in 1893.  It was a cooperative of fruit growers that united to sell their fruit.  The Coop was run and shared by the members of the Exchange.  It became a very profitable means for the growers to all work together as a team to distribute their fruit.  In 1905 the Exchange changed its name to California Fruit Growers Exchange.  With all the advertising and promotions of the Fruit Growers the orange started to become a household item.  The Jadite Sunkist juicer could have been one of there promotional items.  Sunkist was introduced in 1907 and became the symbol of there best quality of fruit.  In 1952, Sunkist Growers was the name that was used by the members of the Exchange.  Oranges, grapefruit, lemons make up well over half of the citrus produced with a Sunkist label.  It is a perfect job for the Jadite Sunkist juicer to harvest the vitamin rich juice from the delicious Sunkist fruit.   

            If collecting glass or kitchen items is of interest to you then the Jadite Sunkist juicer is a treasure worth searching for.  The novelty of having the Sunkist logo and the added value of the Jadite color is worth owning such a fine collectible.  We could tell the tales of a time when our mother or grandmother had to get her juicer from the cupboard and squeeze the juice from her favorite fruit to make a glass of juice.  It is a reminder of times when we has to do things for ourselves.  The quality and freshness of a fruit drink that has been squeezed by a juicer is pure and very good to drink.  The Jadite Sunkist juicer can squeeze my fruit any day of the week. 

ROOKWOOD 1321 JAR

            The Rookwood 1321 jar is a small pottery jar that was made by the Rookwood Pottery Company.  The 1321 is the mold number that this incredible little clay jar came from.  The height of the jar is about 4 inches and the width is about 3 ½ inches.  This mold pattern consists of a small rimmed jar with a lid and a small inner lid.  The outer lid of the Rookwood 1321 jar is embroidered with dainty little flowers that surround the rim of the lid.  The use of floral decorations was commonly used on this type of jar mold.  The markings on the bottom of the Rookwood 1321 jar will help to identify the many attributes of its origin.

            The Rookwood Pottery Company was located in Cincinnati, Ohio in the year 1879.  Maria Longworth Nichols Storer was the founder of the company.  One of the many employees that Maria hired was Laura Fry. Laura Fry invented the patent in 1884 for the air brush blending process that was used on many of the Rookwood pottery pieces.  The air brush styling was used to blend the many colors into the pottery.  One of the first unique pottery lines made by Rookwood was the Standard Ware in 1884.  The Standard Ware is a brown pottery that has an underglaze slip. In the following year 1885, Karl Langenbeck was hired as the chemist to supervise the mixing of the clay to make the perfect pottery clay used in the Rookwood 1321 jar.  In 1894 the Sea Green and Iris lines were being produced and in 1904 the Vellum.  Also the Ombroso in 1910 and the Soft Porcelain was the next arriving in the pottery line being made.     

            Many of the production pottery came from the molds that were being used in the 20^th century.  One of the markings on the Rookwood pottery may be a reverse RP design.  The first of many markings on the bottom of the Rookwood 1321 Jar.  The reserve RP monogram was introduced in the year 1886 and a flame point was included above the RP for each additional year until 1900.  After 1900, the Roman numerals were used below the RP to indicate the year that each piece of pottery was made.  Letters were molded into the pottery pieces to signify the types of clays that were being used.  A letter G was for ginger, R for red, O for olive, Y is yellow, W is white and S is for sage green.  The Rookwood 1321 jar is almost always a signed piece of pottery.

            By the year 1904 the common use of the Standard Ware line were starting to diminish in popularity.  The Matt finishes and Vellum glazes were the more popular as the company continued to grow.  Both of these finishes are used on the Rookwood 1321 jar.  The Rookwood Company was expanding to large architectural murals, tiles and large wall plaques.  By the 1920’s the pottery was being made in master molds with the artist’s initials.  The matt finish was largely used to help lower the cost of their production.  With hard times setting in and World War II the Rookwood Company was in financial troubles.  By 1967 the Rookwood pottery was forced to close its doors.  With the closing of the Rookwood Company and the pottery no longer being made it only helped to increase the value of the Rookwood 1321 Jar.

            As we look back to the history of the Rookwood 1321 jar it is easy to see how this beautiful small jar has become a true treasure to possess.  With all the many colors and different finishes that are used to individualize this antique piece of pottery.  The high value is a small price to pay for a work of art from some of the masters of the pottery industry from a time long ago.  It would be a treat to say that I have a Rookwood 1321 jar setting in my display cabinet.

JEMEZ   CLAY   POTTERY

            Jemez clay pottery is a product of the Towa or Jemez Native American Indian tribes. The making of clay pottery is one of the oldest crafts known to man.  Many of the ancient clay pots have been put in museums for display of this most ancient art form.  Clay pots have been used for centuries.  The pottery was used for carrying water, storing food and gathering seeds for next years planting of crops.  This age old craft has been handed down from one generation to the next.  The Jemez clay pottery is a very distinctive pottery that has many traits that identify it as one that belongs to the Jemez Indians.

            The Jemez Indians lived in a region called the Northern Four Corners. The Jemez tribes lived mostly in the mountains of the San Juan River basin. They lived up in the mountains or on the plateau of the high cliffs. The Towa natives were sometimes called the cliff dwellers. The building of their homes high among the mountains and cliffs helped to keep them safe from other tribes or the Spanish that has settled into this area.  One of the early traits of the Jemez clay pottery is the black on white of Rosa clay pots. The clay pottery is white or a dull gray with black lines or markings that has a design used by the Towa natives.  The pottery is painted with a vegetal paint that was made by a mineral pigment common to that region. As the Towa natives moved southward through the mountains they took their pottery with them.  As a result of their movement the clay that they used to make theirs pottery changed also. The clay pottery was then called black on red. The Towa tribes came to settle in the Jemez Mountains that has clay that is a reddish-brown in color and very rich looking.  In the early to the middle of the 18^th  century the Jemez Indians came into conflict with the Spanish who had moved into their territory and fighting broke out among them. The Towa natives destroyed the Jemez clay pottery so that the Spanish could not have possession of their valued heritage.  As a direct result of the shattering of the pottery the making of Jemez clay pottery was a lost craft for many centuries.

            The making of the Jemez clay pottery is a very long and tedious task.  Once the clay is gather from the right source it is then soaked for the cleaning and removal of stones and twigs. The clay is then dried in the sun and ground into a fine powder to be mixed with sand if needed. The clay is then tempered and stored in tightly sealed containers to be used later. One of the methods that the Jemez clay pottery is made by is the coil method.  The potter takes the clay and rolls rope coils with the clay and starts to form his shape for his unique piece of pottery.  Once the shape is achieved he then begins to hand smooth the clay to its rich luster. The slab technique is much the same as the coil method but slabs of clay are used instead of coils.  Once the perfection of the pottery is attained it is then dried to a hard leathery condition. It is sanded, decorated or carved with the many different designs use for Jemez clay pottery.  Some of the images that are put on the pottery are images of corn which mean life, health or happiness.  Eagle feathers may also be carved or painted on a clay pot that can symbolize power. The Jemez pots can have a series of lines that look like stair steps.  Perhaps this is from the times of living in the mountains and using stairs as a way to get into their homes.  A clay slip is placed upon the pot and while the slip is still wet it is burnished using a round stone.  The art work is then painted with the natural paint of choice.  The last of the process is to fire the piece of art work in a kiln. The modern day potter has two options.  He can use an electric kiln or a much older method that is still used today which is the open kiln method.  The firing of a piece of pottery is what oxidizes the pot so that it will become hard. This is a very skilled process to achieve the right hardness and color that the potter is hoping to acquire.  The many hours of crafting this beautiful piece of art work is what makes the Jemez clay pottery a tradition that has come down through history.

            The Jemez clay pottery is an art from the past.   It has survived many centuries of hardship and was almost lost forever.  The Jemez American Indians have preserved this rich cultural heritage to bring the people of today the clay pots of centuries ago.  The Jemez clay pottery is crafted to be as unique as the potter who is sculpting his clay pot.  Time will never be able to undo what the ancient Towa natives have crafted into their pottery. 

Marshall Pottery Butter Churns

            Part of the fun of collecting an antique such as a Marshall Pottery Butter Churn is the rich and storied history you’ll uncover as you begin your search.  Marshall Pottery Butter Churns pre-date the rise of electricity and are a window back to simpler times when you didn’t go out and buy your groceries but instead made them by hand.  Marshall Pottery Butter Churns are not only works of art but testaments to expert craftsmanship that will be a welcome addition to your treasure of collectibles.  While simple in its design, form and function, the charm of a Marshall Pottery Butter Churn isn’t easily matched as you’ll soon discover. 
             Marshall Pottery Butter Churns date back to the late 19th century when W. F. Rocker, a Kentucky native, moved to the East Texas town of Marshall to found Marshall Pottery Works.  One of the reasons he chose this part of the country was because it was rich in the two ingredients needed to produce pottery: white clay and water.  A man by the name of Sam Ellis bought the company from Rocker years later, expanded its production line and put his family to work making canning jars, crocks, syrup jugs, and of course, Marshall Pottery Butter Churns.  Marshall Pottery Butter Churns belong to the family of hand turned pottery.  Molding clay from a spinning wheel then firing it in a kiln goes back hundreds of years. Today, the process of making pottery has been modernized and updated with new processes and technologies, but this age-old practice of hand turning pottery is what the company became famous for.  Marshall Pottery passed down the tradition of making pottery from master to apprentice and its Marshall Pottery Butter Churn is no exception.   Still open to the public and operating out of East Texas today, Marshall Pottery and its skilled artisans are transforming the white clay of the region into treasured heirlooms.     
 

At the height of its use, no one probably thought of a Marshall Pottery Butter Churn as a work of art.  They were a simply a necessity in the making of butter, mostly on rural family farms.  Churning is the process of shaking up whole mile (or cream) to produce butter.  In essence, butter is the fat of milk.  From the middle ages until the Industrial Revolution, this was accomplished by placing the milk into a container then agitating it by hand.  Many configurations of churns have been used throughout history: end-over-end churns, the barrel churn, and the Scottish churn which employed a plunger, often called a dasher, to be moved vigorously up and down by hand.   Like other churns, Marshall Pottery Butter Churns were crafted to physically agitate the cream until it was broken down to form fat or butter grains.  Butter was then made from the cream that had been separated and then cooled.  The creation of butter was an arduous task, requiring sturdy craftsmanship that Marshall Pottery Butter Churns provided. 

By the 1950s and the advent of electricity, the need to make your own butter was pretty much relegated to the pages of history.  Large company creameries took over the process, and instead of churning your own butter, now you simply buy it at the local grocery store.  But the butter churn’s obsolescence is what makes Marshall Pottery Butter Churns such highly prized collectibles.   Because they are no longer used in the making of butter, Marshall Pottery Butter Churns are sought after treasures that harkens back to the days of the American pioneer.  While some collectibles appeal to the eye, you’ll find that Marshall Pottery Butter Churns most definitely appeal to the heart.

GREEN BURPLE DEPRESSION GLASS

A colorful treasure awaits your home in the form of green Burple Depression Glass. As the name implies, green Burple Depression Glass was borne out of the trying times of America’s Great Depression. Intriguing, inspiring, whimsical, functional and definitely eye-catching, green Burple Depression Glass is a nostalgic testament to American can-do spirit and perseverance. If you’re old enough to have beloved relatives who endured those difficult years of the late 1920s to the early 1940s, you’ll discover that green Burple Depression Glass brings back wonderful memories of simpler times and of them as well.

Depression glass is clear or colored translucent glassware that was often distributed for free, or at low cost, in the United States during the Great Depression. Many food manufacturers and dime stores would include a piece of glassware in boxes of food as an added incentive to keep purchasing their wares and maintain brand loyalty. Green Burple Depression Glass was even handed out at movie theatres and department stores just for simply stepping inside their door. As like most glassware of that era, green Burple Depression Glass was manufactured in the central and mid-west regions of the United States where access to raw materials and manufacturing was relatively inexpensive. The charming thing about green Burple Depression Glass is that it came in almost every color imaginable and numerous patterns to fit most everyone’s taste. More than two dozen manufacturers made more than 100 patterns, and if you dig around you’ll find entire dinner sets including plates, bowls, goblets, serving trays, candlesticks and butter dishes all sharing the same beautiful pattern. Green Burple is one such pattern. Green Burple Depression Glass has gently swirled sections with “bubbles” swirled between the smooth sections. The Burple pattern can also contain a series of these “bubbles” rising from small to larger.

Because of its rural American roots, Depression glass has become a very popular collectible and green Burple Depression Glass is no exception. Today, the most popular colors with collectors are pink, cobalt and green. Among the more popular patterns you’ll find are Mayfair, American Sweetheart, Princess, Anchor Hocking and Cameo. Sometimes the quality of the glass was less than perfect, so as you begin your search, you should be careful to note mold flaws. Mold flaws are imperfections that occurred during the manufacturing process. Most collectors can spot these flaws, but unless it is major, they won’t affect the value or beauty of the glass.

It’s also worth noting that Depression glass has two major categories. The first is what we’ve already discussed which is simply known as Depression glass. The second is called Elegant Glass which is generally fancier, looks more delicate and is often etched. Green Burple Depression Glass belongs in the first category and you’ll have a wonderful time tracking down individual pieces, completing sets, and proudly displaying them in your home. And since they were sturdy, you can still use green Burple Depression Glass for serving food today, though putting them in a dishwasher is not recommended or advised.

Since green Burple Depression Glass has become so popular with collectors everywhere, the most important thing to keep an eye out for is modern day reproductions. Scarce pieces of true green Burple Depression Glass may sell for several hundred dollars and that makes knock-offs a problem. But don’t let these green Burple Depression Glass reproductions discourage you. A little research goes a long way and one should check all resources and only buy from reputable dealers when choosing a color or pattern to collect. One of the most popular titles on Depression glass is The Collector’s Encyclopedia of Depression Glass. You’ll find the prices listed in this book very helpful and new editions will keep you up-to-date.

The rainbow of colors. The multitude of patterns. I think you’ll find green Burple Depression Glass both heartwarming and breathtaking.

VINTAGE REDWING CROCKS

            The vintage Redwing crocks are a very collectible item to have in your treasure cove of antiques.  There usefulness today is as plentiful as in years gone by.  Many Redwing collectors use the vintage Redwing crocks for planters, kitchen utensil holders, umbrella holders and of course to make pickles and a vast array of other uses for this distinguished crock.  The vintage Redwing crocks of long ago were used as mainly storage for foods that had to be kept for a lengthy period of time.  The knowledge of refrigeration and preservatives was not even known about when the vintage Redwing crocks were being used for food storage.  The crocks where often put in the cellar to help keep food from spoiling.  The vintage Redwing crocks come in many different sizes and styles.  The Redwing crocks have withstood many hardships of use and abuse and are still very plentiful to find in many collectors’ homes.  This heavy clay pottery will be here for many more years to come so that we can past them down to our children to cherish.

            The Redwing Stoneware Company in Redwing, Minnesota started in 1877.  It was one of the largest pottery and ceramic plants in the area.  In 1883 another stoneware company started to make pottery and it was the Minnesota Stoneware Company, and then in 1892 yet another pottery company was formed and it was called North Star.  Three pottery companies in the area were just too much competition for the pottery business.  The three companies decided to merge into one unified pottery company in1894 and they were called Union Stoneware Company.  Even though the three companies united in business they still retained their own business names under the Union Stoneware Company.  North Star closed shop in 1896 and the other two united as one and became the Red Wing Union Stoneware Company.  Red Wing Potteries, Inc. was the final name change for the company in 1936.   The vintage Redwing crocks have several different markings on them that changed with the history of Redwing.  The vast majority of the Redwing crocks have “Red Wing” written on them as an identifying mark.  Other Redwing crocks may have the name Union Stoneware Co. and Minnesota Stoneware Co. as a mark.  “RWSW Co.” was yet another type of mark that was found on many of the vintage Redwing crocks.  The one mark that is truly the mark of a vintage Redwing crock is the stamped “wings” that is so familiar to all that collect antiques crocks.

            Salt glaze was a very common glaze used on the antique Redwing crocks.  It is one of the earliest glazes used on many of the potteries found in the history of the crock.  Salt glazes came from Germany in the early 1500.  The rock salt that was used on the clay reacts with the silica in the clay and the high heat of the kiln seals the crock.  The crocks are then water tight and will not leak or become porous.  The vintage Redwing crocks made before the 19^th century are some of the best example of the salt fired or the salt glazed method.  The cobalt slip was a way of applying a decoration to the “green ware” before the firing of the crock.  A slip is watered down clay that is very thin and can be applied like a glaze.  The slips on the inside of the crocks made a smooth and easily cleaned surface.  The salt glaze used on the vintage Redwing crocks made an orange peel like texture that varied to some degree by the amount of salt that was applied.  The different clays used to make the crocks also made a slight change in the coloring of the crocks.  All of theses characteristic make the vintage Redwing crocks so popular with collectors of today.

            The vintage Redwing crocks will always have a heritage in the history of crocks.  They were made for everyday use in the early homes of long ago and have also earned a place in homes of today as collectors seek to find them.  As you look at each crock you have to wonder what tales could be told about the history of each vintage crock.  A treasure worth hunting to find and displaying in your home can only be a vintage Redwing crock and that is “NO CROCK”.

McCOY MAMMY COOKIE JARS

            The McCoy Mammy cookie jars are one of the oldest and best known cookie jars in the history of the McCoy pottery company.  How could you not fall in love with such a delightful character that has the added bonus of fresh made cookies inside her?  The McCoy Mammy cookie jars are made to look like an old time black mammy that is round and jovial.  She depicts a perfect picture of how we would describe an old black mammy of times long ago.  The McCoy Mammy cookie jars are about 11inches tall and about 8 inches wide.  She is standing with her arms folded and each one resting on her robust waistline.  She is wearing a long dress that buttons down the front.  The dress has a wide collar that supports her round happy little black face with two big white eyes and a cherry red mouth with enlarged lips.  The McCoy Mammy cookie jars also show her wearing a red handkerchief around her head.  The word “Cookies” are embedded at the bottom of her puffy round skirt.  This is a cookie jar to display front and center on your favorite shelf with all of the many treasures that you might be showing off to your friends.  

            In the late18^th century, England was introducing the first cookie jars known as the “biscuit jars”.  The American version of the first cookie jars were glass containers with screwed on metal lids.  The glass jars were very plain and had no designs only a cylinder shape and often only found in grocery stores.  During the Depression Era the American cookie jars started to gain popularity with many people.  In the 1930’s the stoneware companies began to make some simple forms for their cookie containers.  Brush Pottery Company is considered one of the first companies to manufacture the ceramic cookie jars.  The early Brush cookie jars were marked with “Brush U.S.A.” and made in the color green with Cookies written on the front of each cookie jar. Many of the other pottery companies also began making cookie jars with unique designs and shapes to compete in the cookie jar market.  The McCoy Mammy cookie jars are a good example of some of the first innovative figures to be produced.  Many of the first cookies jars were “cold painted”.  The paint on this type of cookie jar would wear off with too much use or rubbing on the paint.  Later airbrushing the paint on the cookie jars became a more popular means of a lasting finish.

            The Nelson McCoy Sanitary Stoneware Company in Roseville, Ohio was started by J.W. McCoy and his son Nelson McCoy in 1910.  Besides making pottery for the area they also incorporated the mining and selling of clay to the area potteries of Roseville.  Their success was a great asset to the pottery companies of this region of Ohio.  The free land and the vast amounts of clay in this area was a huge factor to the growth of the McCoy Pottery Company.  The Nelson McCoy Sanitary Stoneware Company was upgrading equipment and refining the production of the stoneware to a more decorative form of goods and not so much of the functional stoneware.  By the mid 1920’s McCoy Pottery Company had purchased a 300 foot long tunnel kiln to make mass quantities of their wares.  The McCoy Mammy cookie jar was perhaps fired in this very same kiln.  The kiln was the most modern one for this region of Ohio.  The Depression was having a negative impact on all of the pottery companies of the area so a co-op was formed called the American Clay Products Company.  The co-op helped to unite all the marketing into one program to benefit all the pottery companies’ sales.  The Nelson McCoy Pottery Company was the newly elected name for the company in the 1930’s.  In the 1940’s the WWII changed the making of pottery to the making of land mines.  Land mines were made of clay instead of metal so that they couldn’t be detectable with a metal detector.  After the war ended the McCoy Company again went back to making the decorative and functional pottery pieces.  The McCoy Mammy cookie jars was one of those artistic creations.  The company ended in 1990 after a century of successful pottery manufacturing.

            The McCoy Mammy cookie jars are rich in history and one of the most collectible cookies jars with the McCoy name.  There are many variations on this grand old mammy but the one that has held its value throughout history is the McCoy Mammy cookie jars.  It was one of the first to help evolve the cookie jars that we use and cherish today.  If collecting cookie jars is of interest to you then I would highly suggest that you hunt one down for your own.  My favorite cookies can only be found in a McCoy Mammy cookie jar.