The History of Rookwood Pottery
Rookwood Pottery was born on Thanksgiving Day 1880 when Maria Longworth pulled the first of thousands of pieces of pottery from the kiln. It was originally built as a place where she and other women could enjoy their hobby of decorating pottery, but Longworth’s aspirations quickly rose beyond just a hobby. She made Rookwood Pottery one of America’s first major industries owned and operated by a woman.
Fine artists help define the company and business quickly developed. The pottery was almost instantly recognized for its quality craftsmanship and glazing. Maria hired Henry Farny, a well-known painter of American Indian subjects, as the first full-time Rookwood decorator, starting a tradition of fine artists working for the company.
Three years later, Maria named William Watts Taylor as manager of the company.
Under Taylor’s leadership the pottery reached its peak. He reorganized sales methods and made Rookwood the first pottery to hire a chemist to develop the unique glazes for which the pottery is known. He encouraged innovation and risk-taking and paid special attention to the pottery markings, which added to its appeal to collectors. He brought in professional artists and let them build careers painting pottery. One of his artists, Kataro Shirayamadani, worked as one of the pottery’s outstanding painters from 1890 until his death at age 93 in 1947.
Rookwood developed innovative techniques, one of the first of which was the use of an atomizer, which operated much like an airbrush, for application of the glaze. The glazing techniques were closely guarded and sometimes patented secrets. The distinctive green and golden tints of the Rookwood glazes came from blending base pigment with Ohio Valley clay.
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 and Dixie Terminal in Cincinnati. In New York, the Vanderbilt Hotel, Grand Central Station, the Mayo Clinic, Lord and Taylor and several subway stops feature stunning Rookwood tile designs.
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. On April 17, 1941, it filed for bankruptcy.
Though the company closed its doors its products never lost their value. Even today, the embodiment of Maria Longworth’s work and dreams are recognized as treasures and are highly sought by private collectors and museums. In 2004, 124 years after its founding, a piece of Rookwood pottery sold for $375,000 at auction, setting another world record for pottery.
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 Michigan collector 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.