zanesville stoneware pottery

In 1889, in order to sell more capital stock, E.G. Bowen and Company reorganized and incorporated as Zanesville Stoneware Company. Many investors hopped on board to secure their place in what was a steady, but successful functional pottery company.

During this time period, Zanesville Stoneware produced storage jars, crocks, chamber pots, and other essential goods. Clays were acquired locally, and with the use of three muffle updraft kilns, the pieces were fired into a yellow-buff color.

Zanesville Stoneware was one of many functional pottery companies caught up in the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 1900s, and they began research and development to meet the needs for mass-produced quality art pottery. BY 1910, after experimenting with limited art ware pieces, they finally introduced their first full lines of garden art pottery. Ceramists W.T. Beach and E.M. Devol developed a stunning matte green glaze for these initial lines and later produced a cream, robin egg blue, and stone gray. While Beach and Devol were renowned only for their glazes, Milman Linn was known as Zanesville Stoneware’s “master” potter. Linn was influenced heavily by his time in Italy, and the aesthetic forms carried the same beauty as historic Italian ceramics. Linn was also behind many glazes, models, and molds that he and his team designed and produced in-house.

Linn’s antique Italian designs turned out to be a national favorite, and his Rubble Ware line and pressed Italian flower designs are well sought after. The 1920s saw a new era with bolder colors and intensity. A popular glaze named “zasko” was produced during this time - it featured a light gray hue with a dark blue runover. Some early pieces with this color are actually stamped with “ZASKO”, but most pottery out of Zanesville Stoneware is stamped on the base with production/shape numbers. During this time period, large hand-turned ceramics were produced and celebrated as well.

By the 1930s, Linn's designs and forms, as well as the new glazes and handcrafted pieces, were becoming wildly successful. During this time, the company continued to produce the same, beloved style of art pottery, but also wildly expanded to meet demand. Several acres of land were purchased, new technology was incorporated into the firing process, and hundreds of employees were brought on. Zanesville Stoneware is still in business to this day, and though the production of historical art pottery has been traded for more modern ceramic work, the pieces developed in the 1900s will always stand as a testament to the successes of the company and the skill of its potters.

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