Get the Brush!

A few months back, I did a post on McCoy Pottery which talked about the Nelson McCoy connection. That post touched briefly on George Brush who had gone into business with Nelson McCoy, forming Brush-McCoy. This union only lasted until 1918 when they went their separate ways and Brush Pottery became its own business. The Brush-McCoy mark stopped being used in 1925.

Brush Pottery Planter in Brown Drip (available at Vintage Eve’s)

According to Lehner’s Encyclopedia, there are 2 different Brush Potteries. The first one was only in business for a year (1907 to 1908) when the pottery burned down. In that year they produced kitchen ware and sanitary ware. One item of note was the Lucille Toilet Ware line.  After the fire destroyed the 1-kiln plant, George Brush, the owner, went to McCoy Pottery. The original Brush pottery used the old Union Pottery molds so I’m not sure how to identify those pieces. If anyone knows, let me know!

Lucille Toilet Ware (credit BWPOSECC Stoneware)

On to the second Brush Pottery.  Once Brush and McCoy went their separate ways with McCoy selling their interest in Brush-McCoy, Brush started turning out many well vitrified products. Lehner’s Encyclopedia lists those items as kitchen ware, vases, cookie jars, patio ware, garden ware and more. Their cookie jars are very collectible and they had quite a few designs.

Happy Bunny – Chef Bunny Brush Pottery Cookie Jar (available at Just About Modern)

During the 1920s through the 1940s, they updated their equipment, getting a new tunnel kiln which improved their production. They introduced their Colonial Mat and Art Vellum lines; going towards softer and semi-matte finishes. According to the American Association of Art Pottery some of their brightly colored glazes sold really well, too, in the 1930s. They had a faux Rockingham Nurock glaze that was popular during this time.

Brush Pottery Art Vellum Glazed Vase circa 1930s (available at Delovelyness)

Brush Pottery is remembered for a few key pieces, mainly frogs of every shape and attitude, as well as cookie jars. And to combine those two, a frog cookie jar called “Hill Billy Frog” which is rare and can sell upwards of $4,000! Their main business turned more towards the floral and novelty. Just like the planter at the top from the Vintage Eve’s shop and this one here.

Brush Pottery Planter (available at Junctique)

 

Here is the “Hill Billy Frog” cookie jar. The link will take you to a website to help you know the difference between the original and the repro.

Brush Pottery Hill Billy Frog Cookie Jar Real and Repro

You will still see a lot of items listed as “Brush McCoy” when you shop even if they are just marked “Brush.” Anything produced after 1925 is either a McCoy or a Brush, not the combined name. Also, the Brush name was always impressed into the clay. The new repros out there have “Brush McCoy” in raised letters. In December 1978, Brush Pottery was sold to C.S.C. Inc. of Chicago, then in 1979 to Virgil Cole and John O. Everhart. They closed for good in 1982.

Brush Pottery Frog (available at NLDVintage)

They were around from the 1920s through to the 1980s. I can’t find the information as to what finally shut them down. They may have gone the same way many of the others did, with cheap imports taking over the market or it could have been lack of interest of the new owners. Hard to say. But it closed down in 1982 and burned down sometime around the turn of this century.

Again, I find it interesting to untangle the threads of all these companies, to follow one to its roots. I hope you have enjoyed this post and will join me at the link parties on the right. Have a great week!

 

 

Raise the Anchor

I have been away for a bit from the blog due to a very hectic schedule over the last few months! In my other life, I am a Special Ed Teacher and as such, the last few months before school ends are rounds of grading papers, meetings, testing and taking advantage of the good weather if at all possible! But here we are, together again, and I’d like to touch on a company that we have probably all invited into our houses at one point or another.

Anchor Hocking. This company has been around more than a century in many different forms. We’ve all seen their stuff. I have a couple of their pieces in the shop currently. Like these ones.

Anchor Hocking Relish Dish (available at Vintage Eve’s)

Anchor Hocking Moonstone Hobnail Divided Dish (available at Vintage Eve’s)

They originally started as the Hocking Company back in 1905 near the Hocking River — hence the name. At the time, according to the Anchor Hocking Museum website (AH), Isaac J. Collins and 6 of his friends had raised about $8,000 to buy Lancaster Carbon Company when they went into receivership. Even back then, though, $8k was not enough and they needed to bring on one more investor by the name of Mr. E.B. Good. He gave them another $17,000 which sealed the deal and Mr. Collins had himself a glass factory.

Hocking Glass Co. Elegant Glass Pink Mayfair (available at I Do Pink)

During their first year in business, with 50 employees, Hocking Glass Company sold about $20,000 worth of glassware. Not too shabby! As they expanded they began to sell some stock in the company.

Ruby Red Berry Bowl Coronation Banded (available at Vintage Creative Accen)

They were going along pretty good until there was a huge fire which destroyed their main facility. How many times have we seen this played out with some of these early 20th century companies?! They worked it out, though because out of those ashes rose a new facility called Plant 1 — specifically designed to produce glassware. The one that burned down had originally been a carbon company when they bought the facility.

Hocking Glass Co. Yellow Cameo Open Sugar (available at Places to Put Things)

Hocking Glass began buying up some other companies such as the Lancaster Glass Company (Plant 2) and the Standard Glass Manufacturing Company. This was all during the 1920s. Just before the Great Depression hit, they developed a revolutionary machine that pressed glass automatically. It allowed them to make over 30 items per minute, whereas before they could only make 1 per minute.

Anchor Hocking Fire King Bowls with Handles (Treasure Evermore)

Once that was perfected, they then created a machine with 15 molds that could turn out 90 pieces of glass per minute! That allowed them to lower their costs considerably. During the Depression they were able to sell tumblers “two for a nickel” and still stay in business.

Anchor Hocking Berwick Boopie Sherbert circa 1950 (available at Red River Antiques)

In 1931 they purchased a 50% share of the General Glass Company which was in the process of acquiring Turner Glass Company of Winchester, Indiana. The information on the Anchor Hocking Museum website (AH) says that this merger is what ended up creating the Anchor Hocking name. What happened was that Hocking Glass and the companies it was now merged with developed the first one-way beer bottle. Before that, beer was sold in refillable bottles.

Anchor Hocking Maxwell House Pressed Glass Jar (available at The Jelly Jar)

On December 31, 1937, Anchor Cap and Closure and all its subsidiaries merged with Hocking Glass. They had closure plants all over the Eastern seaboard and in Canada. They also had glass container plants in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. This led the now Anchor-Hocking Glass Company into glassware, containers and then into tableware, toiletries, cosmetic containers, and more.

Anchor Hocking Milk Glass Mugs (available at The Discerning Hoarder)

They continued to expand through the next decades. In 1969 they dropped the “Glass” part of their name because they were so far beyond just producing glass. Actually during the prior year, 1968, they had entered the plastics market after their acquisition of Plastics Incorporated.

Plastic Anchor Hocking Cups for the 1984 Olympics (available at Luxurys Warehouse)

In 1970 they purchased Phoenix Glass Company in Pennsylvania and entered the lighting field. They also bought Taylor, Smith & Taylor putting them squarely into the earthenware, fine stoneware, and institutional china dinnerware business.

Anchor Hocking Hobnail Perfume Bottle (available at MidCenturyMad Shop)

Over the years they have bought and sold different divisions. You can go to the Anchor Hocking Museum website (AH) for a very detailed listing of all the subsidiaries and divisions that have been acquired, merged, or sold. The list gets complicated. In 2006 Anchor-Hocking filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection due to heavier than expected losses. They were bought by Oneida which in turn was acquired by EverywhereWare, Inc. So they are still in business under the Anchor-Hocking name.

Mid-Century Ice Bucket Anchor Hocking (available at Gentry Antiques)

They apparently only used 3 marks during their production years. There is a mark that has an “HG” over “Co.” which was used from 1905 to 1937. The anchor with an H in the middle used from 1937 to 1968. Finally, the anchor inside a square used from 1968 until now.

Anchor Hocking Ruby Glass Pitcher (available at Heather’s Collectibles)

It is amazing how intertwined so many of these companies became. It is like trying to unravel a knotted ball of yarn; they start out simple and then it’s almost impossible to separate one from the other. It’s all interesting though!

I hope you have enjoyed this week’s post. Please join me at the link parties on the right — lots of wonderful blogs — and have a great week!!