About Merrimac Pottery

Merrimac Pottery was founded by Thomas Nickerson in 1897. Nickerson studied English pottery craftsmanship under Sir William Crookes, and with some experimentation, created a broad, soft range of colors that were rarely seen before. The company earned a Silver Medal at the St. Louis exposition for color and ancient form, yet its fame was short-lived. Merrimac terminated production in 1908 after the pottery plant and stock were destroyed by fire. 

Graduating from the simple matte green and yellow, Merrimac Pottery was made in matte and iridescence purple, rose and blues, various tones of greens, as well as fine crackle glazes. Merrimac Pottery is typically marked  with an impressed "MERRIMAC" over a sturgeon logo (as the company's name in an Indian language signified this fish), or with a paper label. Early examples made before 1900 were rarely marked.