From 1880 until 1967, this Ohio pottery company produced decorated art pottery that is now considered extremely collectable and is admired around the world by collectors and others who appreciate beautiful art pottery.
What many may not be aware of is Rookwood, at one time, had two distinctive product lines. One being its broad selection of decorated wares and the other, lesser-known line, of commercial wares. Author Anita J. Ellis spent a considerable amount of time researching Rookwood Pottery, its two lines and the often misunderstood glaze lines, and then published Rookwood Pottery: The Glaze Lines. It's an exceptional read and highly recommended for anyone wishing to better understand not only Rookwood Art Pottery, but art pottery as a whole.
Ellis defines the two Rookwood wares:
Commercial Wares – Those objects that were not decorated by an artist after the object was formed and are not unique, but rather, mass-produced. These include those pieces with decorations created in the mold.
Decorated Wares – Defined as those wares decorated by an artist after it was formed. It does not include objects for which an artist designed a relief or three-dimensional decoration created in the mold. Each decorated ware example is unique even if it is a variation on a theme.
Even more interesting about Rookwood art pottery is the realization of only 90% of the glaze lines have been identified and according to Ellis, the remaining 10% may never be known. This, of course, only adds to its beauty. Mystery is an attractive element to people, events and of course, art pottery.
As we now know, Rookwood Pottery was founded by a woman at its helm. Maria Longworth Nichols is the official founder and owner of record in 1880. Of course, not unheard of, a woman who owned anything in the late 1800s is always unusual. She must have known something, considering her 
company was successful for almost one hundred years; a true success story for any century.
For more information on Rookwood pottery markings, see this blog post and if you'd like to know more about Rookwood's history, be sure to visit our Rookwood page.
Have any interesting stories about your own Rookwood art pottery collection? We'd love to hear them. Drop us a line and let us know!
Donna McGill – Just Art Pottery
