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Rookwood Pottery
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Original Rookwood Pottery building in 2011
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| Location: | Celestial and Rookwood Pl., Cincinnati, Ohio |
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| Built: | 1892 |
| Architect: | H. Neill Wilson (and later expanded) |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: |
72001023 [1] |
| Added to NRHP: | December 05, 1972 |
Rookwood Pottery is an American ceramics company now located in the Mount Adams neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1880, and successful until the Great Depression, production has been intermittent and at a low level since 1967, though there was a change of ownership in 2006, and expansion is planned.
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Maria Longworth Nichols Storer founded Rookwood Pottery in 1880 as a way to market her hobby - the painting of blank tableware. Through years of experimentation with glazes and kiln temperatures, she eventually built her own kiln, hired a number of excellent chemists and artists who were able to create high-quality glazes of colors never before seen on mass-produced pottery.
The Rockwood Pottery building was built in 1891-1892 by H. Neill Wilson (son of prominent Cincinnati architect James Keys Wilson).
Each era of Rookwood work has its own unique character:
The earliest work is relief-worked on naturally-colored clay, in pinks, greys and sage or olive greens. Some were gilt, or had stamped patterns, and some were carved. Often these were painted or otherwise decorated by the purchaser of the "greenware" (unfinished piece), a precursor to today's do-it-yourself movement. However, such personally-decorated pieces are not usually considered Rookwood for purposes of sale or valuation.
After this period, Storer sought a "standard" look for Rookwood, and developed a number of very common treatments: the "standard glaze," a deep gold, red and orange over dark brown fired in such a way as to effect a very high-gloss finish, often in leaf or flower motifs. A series of portraits - often of generic American Indian characters or certain historical figures – was also produced using these particular glazes. Next was the "matte glaze," a flat but textured glaze developed by Artus Van Briggle, often painted on soft colored clay, which used "sea green" for aquatic and floral motifs. This pale blue-green glaze was usually applied over a soft yellow, bluish or red base. Another common Rookwood style of this period was the "vellum" glaze, usually a matte light blue, put on top of a very lightly colored clay. This was most often used for landscape scenes.
Other popular styles that came out through the lifetime of the Rookwood factory included the "iris" glaze, a high-gloss white over pinks, blues, and yellows and usually used for floral motifs, and the less-common but very collectible "tiger eye" which left gold streaks from ingredients in the glaze. This last glaze was unstable and it is not clear whether it was abandoned for reasons of chemistry or popularity.
One of the last styles of Rookwood was the "ombroso" glaze, not used until after 1910. Ombroso, used on cut or incised pottery, is a brown or black matte glaze.
In 1902, Rookwood added architectural pottery to its portfolio. Under the direction of Watts Taylor, this division rapidly gained national and international acclaim. Many of the flat pieces were used around fireplaces in homes in Greater Cincinnati and surrounding areas, while custom installations found their places in grand homes, hotels, and public spaces. Even today, Rookwood tiles decorate Carew Tower, Union Terminal (Cincinnati) and Dixie Terminal in Cincinnati, as well as the Rathskeller Room in The Seelbach Hilton in Louisville, Ky. In New York, the Vanderbilt Hotel, Grand Central Station, the Mayo Clinic, Lord and Taylor and several subway stops feature Rookwood tile designs.
The company was hit hard by the Great Depression. Architects couldn’t afford Rookwood tiles and mantels. Mass production potters churned out cheap look-alikes. By 1934 the company showed its first loss, and by 1936 was operating an average of just one week a month. On April 17, 1941, it filed for bankruptcy.
The 1920s were highly prosperous years for Rookwood. The pottery employed about 200 workers and welcomed almost 5,000 visitors to the Mount Adams business each year. Nearly every local bride had a piece of Rookwood pottery among her wedding gifts. Even Mark Twain, who admittedly was not an art collector, visited the pottery and went on a shopping spree.
The company was hit hard by the Great Depression. Architects couldn’t afford Rookwood tiles and mantels. Mass production potters churned out cheap look-alikes. By 1934 the company showed its first loss, and by 1936 was operating an average of just one week a month. Through these tough times, ownership of the company changed hands but the heart of the company, the Rookwood artists, remained and high quality pieces still left the Rookwood studios. In 1959 Rookwood was purchased by the Herschede Clock Company and production moved to Starkville, Mississippi. Unable to recover from the losses experienced during the Great Depression, production ceased in 1967.
By 1982, Rookwood was in negotiations to be sold to overseas manufacturers. Michigan dentist and art pottery collector, Dr. Arthur Townley used his life savings to purchase all of the remaining Rookwood assets. Throughout his tenure as Rookwood’s owner, Dr. Townley produced small quantities of pieces to maintain original trademarks. He continuously sought the means to return the company to its historic location and artistic prestige.
Dr. Townley refused offers to sell Rookwood for over two decades, eventually collaborating with local investors in 2004 to move the company to Cincinnati.
In July 2006, after approximately one year of negotiations, The Rookwood Pottery Company entered into a contract to acquire all of the remaining assets of the original Rookwood Pottery from Dr. Art Townley. These assets include, among other things; the trademarks, more than 3,000 original molds and hundreds of glaze recipes used by the original Rookwood Pottery Company.
On July 10, 2006, the Rookwood Pottery Company re-established a presence in Cincinnati. There is a new production studio in the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati.[2] The company has since produced a limited number of art pottery pieces such as the commemorative plaque in honor of the re-dedication of Fountain Square (October, 2006) and a beer stein in cooperation with Christian Moerlein Brewing Co. to commemorate the annual Bockfest (February, 2007).