Abingdon Art Pottery
Posted in Pottery on 07/30/2010 05:10 pm by admin |
 Vintage Abingdon art pottery Barre 9 Chartreuse Vase  US $27.99
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 Vintage ABINGDON ART Pottery Clam Shell Candle Holders US $19.95
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 Art Deco ABINGDON USA Pottery 522 Pink VASE 8 3 4 US $24.95
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 Abingdon Art Pottery 10 Blue Console Bowl US $18.00
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 ABINGDON ART POTTERY GOOSE PAIR GEESE PINK EX US $9.99
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 ABINGDON ART POTTERY PENGUIN W TOP HAT BLACK EX B US $18.51
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 ABINGDON ART POTTERY PENGUIN W TOP HAT BLACK EX A US $16.05
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 PRETTY ABINGDON BLUE ART DECO POTTERY VASE US $28.99
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 Abingdon Art Deco Pottery Pink 491 Flower Frog Vase US $49.99
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 Abingdon Art Pottery Console Candleholders 3 Piece Set US $58.99
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 Abingdon Pottery Art Deco PINK Stoneware Vase 101 MINTY US $22.99 |
 ABINGDON ART POTTERY YELLOW DOUBLE HELIX VASE US $60.00
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 Abingdon Art Pottery USA Blue Trophy Vase US $19.99
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 Vintage ABINGDON Art Pottery DECO Doubl Cornucopia VASE US $31.99
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 ABINGDON POTTERY 532 YELLOW FLORAL GOLD ART BOWL US $36.00
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 ABINGDON ART POTTERYGOLD TRIM PORCELAIN GOOSE FIGURINE US $15.99
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 VINTAGE ABINGDON POTTERY ART DECO SOFT PINK MATTE VASE US $36.99
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 Abingdon Art Pottery Console Set Bowl Candlesticks MCM US $39.99
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 VINTAGE ART POTTERY USA ABINGDON WHITE HANDLED VASE US $29.99
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 ABINGDON ART POTTERY VASE 607 GREEN US $17.99
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 Vintage ABINGDON Art Pottery FLORAL Pedestal Dish US $8.99
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 Vintage Abingdon USA Pottery Light Blue Art Deco Vase US $24.99
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 Gorgeous Tall Pink Art Deco Style Abingdon Pottery Vase US $9.99
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 Pink Abingdon Pottery Art Deco Vase US $9.95
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 ABINGDON ART NOUVEAU POTTERY VASE BLUE ANTIQUE OLD US $5.99
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 VINTAGE ABINGDON CLAM SHELL NAUTICAL ART POTTERY VASE US $9.99
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 vintage pink art pottery Abingdon pillar urn vase USA US $8.99
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Abingdon Pottery
Abingdon Pottery as artware was produced for only 17 years from 1934 through 1950. Art Pottery was produced by The Abingdon Sanitary Manufacturing Company of Abingdon, Illinois, as a way of supplementing lagging production of its main line of products - plumbing fixtures - during The Great Depression.
The artware ceased being produced once production had again ramped up for plumbing fixtures in the post- World War II housing boom. At that time, the company, re-named in 1945 to Abingdon Potteries, Inc. and still located in the town of Abingdon in rural Illinois, was sold to Briggs Manufacturing in 1951.
The original company dates to 1908. With the rise of indoor plumbing, Abingdon pioneered some of the first colored fixtures and self-ventilating toilets in the 1920's. The company was led much of the time by president Raymond E. Bidwell. The Chicago World's Fair chose Abingdon fixtures exclusively for its facilities in 1933.
It was in that time frame that the company decided to explore the design and manufacture of art pottery. Designer Frances Moody, engineer Leslie Moody, and designer Eric Herslet are credited for making this new product line a success.
Another company president, John M. Lewis, held that the products should exhibit an appeal based solely upon their looks and functionality - not based upon the fame or reputation of any designer. He also saw to it that production of any particular design was limited in number, thus adding to collector value later on. A surprisingly large number of Abingdon pottery designs are original, and not direct copies of others.
Abingdon art pottery featured Art Deco and some classical design. The glazed colors of pink, blue, green, and grey were commonplace on such items as vases, bowls, ash trays, cookie jars, pitchers, urns, book ends, and even chess pieces.
Most were marked "ABINGDON USA" in ink on the bottoms. In addition, they usually had mold numbers stamped into the surfaces. Edges around the bottoms were often ground, and some surviving pieces still exhibit their original foil stickers from the manufacturer. Genuine Abingdon pottery is almost as translucent as hard-paste porcelain (although it is decidedly not porcelain), and light-weight.
The same durability as was known for its plumbing ceramics was present in the company's art ceramics. Georgia clay, South Dakota feldspar, and Illinois silica, were glazed with nearly 200 varieties and colors. Most valuable were the multi-colored pieces and those that featured hand painting (begun in the 1940's). Certain pieces of the "Fire Red" color, which is more orange in color than red, are also deemed valuable.
It is the density and durability that sets Abingdon pottery apart from subsequent creations by Japanese and other sources. The fine quality of the heavy and dense vitreous clay resists hairline cracks and breakage. Abingdon glazes, however, were sometimes prone to crazing.
In all, over 6 million art pottery pieces were created. First sold in gift shops, Abingdon pottery was eventually marketed in fine department stores of the era, such as Gimbals, Marshall Field, and Wanamaker's. Today, Abingdon pottery is highly collectible and also found in a number of museums in the Midwest.
About the Author
Lawrence R. Bell is Editor for The Antiques Bible at
Abingdon Pottery
. The Antiques Bible is an illustrated glossary of antique terms with helpful links to related resources.