Company Profiles: Pottery and Ceramic

Abingdon was founded in 1908 as the Abingdon Sanitary Manufacturing Company, producing toilet fixtures and commodes, but fortunately for collectors they changed their focus.

Originally started as a maker of Kewpie doll heads, the company was sold to B.E. Allen and stayed in his family until the company was sold/closed in 1982.

Brush jars have been widely reproduced and it can be hard to tell reproductions from the originals. Many of their original molds were sold and used later for reproductions.

Margaret DeForest's ceramics hobby became a family owned business in 1950. The company shut their doors in 1970.

When it comes to ceramic giftware and products, Fitz and Floyd set the standard a long time ago with quality and design that other companies strive to attain.

John Frank, teaching Art and Pottery at the University of Oklahoma, was inspired to use clay deposits from Oklahoma. With only a small kiln, butter churn for mixing clay and jars for glazes, a pottery studio was started in Norman, Oklahoma.

A company that produced very limited edition jars that have retained and increased in values over the years. Although they no longer produce cookie jars, their jars are still very sought after.

It might be a little hard to imagine a Hippo wearing a tuxedo or a turban, but that is exactly what Henry Cavanagh imagined and worked on before he started making cookie jars. He lived in Germany during the oil embargo where the Hippo is called the Horse of the Nile. This inspired Henry to make Hippos -- sculptures of dressed, whimsical Hippos.

Kathy Wolfe is famous for her Big Boy cookie jars and it was just happenstance that got her into making those fun jars.

Although not a company that made the goods, Lefton (an import company) was responsible for many of the ceramic items that have been sold over the past years. George was a Hungarian immigrant who arrived in Chicago in 1939. Although his background was in marketing and designing specialty clothing, he had a passion for collecting fine porcelain.