Rookwood Pottery Records and Collected Materials (CAA/56)

Biographical/Historical Notes

Rookwood Pottery is a Cincinnati-based art pottery company founded in 1880 by Maria Longworth Nichols Storer, the daughter of Joseph Longworth, one of the wealthiest and most prominent businessmen in Cincinnati in the 19th century.

Having been an art student at the Cincinnati Art Academy, Maria was immensely interested in art, but in 1873 she became particularly interested in China decoration. After a China painting class with instructor Benn Pitman, Maria and her friends (Mrs. Dodd, Miss Newton, and Miss Louise McLaughlin) formed a committee of amateur artists who poured their time and skill into producing decorative China.

By 1879, Maria was seeking a place to cultivate her pottery independently. On a trip to the Hamilton Road Pottery of Frederick Dallas, she met Joseph Bailey, the superintendent whose son would later become one of Rookwood's directors. It was here that Maria began her experiments with glaze, clay, technique and color. In the spring of 1880, Maria was given an old schoolhouse on Eastern Avenue by her father to use for her pottery.

Together with Mr. Bailey's son, Joseph Bailey Jr., Maria formed the Rookwood Company in November 1880. Maria chose the name "Rookwood" because it reminded her of "Wedgwood" and also because her father's country estate on Walnut Hills was named Rookwood. The company later moved to a new building atop Mount Adams, was built in 1891-1892 by H. Neill Wilson (now a restaurant).

Throughout its early years Rookwood was a successful business, employing well-known artists such as Albert R. Valentien, Matthew Daly, and Kataro Shirayamadani. The company was especially praised for its use of "underglaze faience", a process of painting in slip under the glaze before it is fired. Other specialties of Rookwood pottery included the "Tiger eye", "Ox blood", and a transparent matte glaze. In addition to its art pottery, Rookwood added architectural pottery to its portfolio in 1902. Under the direction of William Watts Taylor, this division gained national and international acclaim.

The company was hit hard by the Great Depression, and struggled with bankruptcy throughout much of the 1940s-1960s. The company was purchased by the Herschede Clock Company in 1957, which saw production move to Starkville, Mississippi. However, unable to recover from the losses of the preceding decades, the company ceased production in 1967.

In 1982, Michigan dentist and art pottery collector Dr. Arthur Townley purchased all of the remaining Rookwood assets. Throughout his tenure as Rookwood’s owner, Townley produced small quantities of pieces to maintain original trademarks. Townley refused offers to sell Rookwood for over two decades, but eventually collaborated with Cincinnati investors in 2004 to move the company back to Cincinnati.

In July 2006, all of the remaining assets of the original Rookwood Pottery were acquired from Townley by the new Rookwood Pottery Company. These assets included, among other things, the trademarks, more than 3,000 original molds, and hundreds of glaze recipes used by the original Rookwood Pottery Company. Today, Rookwood Pottery is owned by Martin and Marilyn Wade and operates from a production studio in the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati. It produces works of architectural tile, art pottery and special commissions under its original Rookwood trademarks.

Scope and Contents

There are two parts to the collection.

The first part is made up of records created and used by the pottery itself. As well as administrative records, such as company minutes, and a series of reference images of animals, landscapes, famous paintings, and architectural details used by Rookwood's artists, there is also an important set of "Mold Shop Books" that illustrate the pottery types/shapes created by the company. There is also material relating to Rookwood glazes, specifically a set of tiles created to test different glazes, as well as a manuscript and notes on glaze experiments conducted by Rookwood.

The second part of the collection is an amalgamation of reference materials collected by the museum, including historical newspaper and magazine articles, photographs, pamphlets and original brochures from the Rookwood Pottery Company of Cincinnati, OH. The articles detail Rookwood Pottery's origins and history, its production process, artistic specialties, and founder Maria Longworth Nichols Storer. The photographs include images of the company's products, premises, and artists. Pamphlets and brochures also serve to document the variety and scope of Rookwood Pottery's wares as well as help identify the unique Rookwood ceramic markings, including a guide written by Edwin J. Kircher of how to correctly identify Rookwood Pottery pieces.

Conditions Governing Access

While the archives aims to provide access to the records in its care to the fullest extent possible, it reserves the right to restrict access for any reason. Please see the archives’ Access Policy for further information: www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/visit/library-archives/the-archives/

There are additional Rookwood Pottery Company Records (MSS.260) located at the Mitchell Memorial Library at Mississippi State University: https://msstate-archives.libraryhost.com/repositories/5/resources/1337

General note

This collection was formerly known as CAA/3/1, part of the Cincinnati Art Businesses record group, before it was made a unique record group in May 2023.

Preferred Citation note

Mary R. Schiff Library & Archives, Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH.

Detailed List of Collection

Custodial History

The images belonged to Mrs. Joseph Longworth Nichols, the aunt of the donor's wife.

Custodial History

The images belonged to Mrs. Joseph Longworth Nichols, the aunt of the donor's wife.

Custodial History note

Received among materials donated from the estate of former CAM employee Kenneth Trapp (2021.47).