Oddities: Texas stoneware...

 

I went to the Warrenton - Round Top antique/junk/& beyond event last week and found some interesting vessels that some of you might enjoy discussing... This one speaks for itself. Perhaps one of the rarest advertising jugs I have seen at Marburger Farms show.

 

 

Eeeearly Meyer?

 

The dealers who had this semi-ovoid churn said it came from Columbus, Texas. The auctioneer who sold it said it was from "east Texas" (Probably thinking Hunt) but someone had suggested to them it was a Stoker churn... (Central TX, Bastrop Co., orangey clay, rust to brown to black glazes) and I agreed that was closer to the truth. But to me the thing had a Meyer quality to it. The beautifully applied handles were pulled similar to William Meyer (Bexar Co.) including his telltale pointed terminations... but the clay body was kind of ochre... (Meyer is usually more pinkish) perhaps it is a transitional... Franz Schultz?... who threw for Saenger (1885) and Meyer (1887-89). Anyway, very unique, special churn.

 

 

 

 

Gary Glahn is hoping he has found a Millikin Frazier pitcher... (VERY, very rare) anybody else think so? I am not that familiar with Frazier.. but am always willing to learn something. Most Millikin Fraziers I have seen were quite bizarre looking... angular and strained forms.  Here is the shot of the  bottom of the pitcher... 

 

 

Anybody have any ideas?

 

 

And last of all, a nice fellow from Alabama named Gary & Martha Price from a Shop in the Community of Bacon Level in Randolph County has done research on John Leopard... and found this shard with what looks like an L on it...

 

 

I have seen a hand inscribed cursive L on a supposed Leopard vessel... but never this. Could be Leopard's maker's mark before he came to Texas...??? But, the form does not say Leopard to me, especially the mouth. The clean, gassy ash glaze, and no sign of iron deposits in clay, say NOT TEXAS, and the L could be a 7,  ounces!? OR

It could be a 1 Litre mark, and be from God knows where. 

 

Now you see why we love this stuff... it's the search, the mystery...

 

 

Texas Antiques

The old plantation bell on the Moore Farm, an important "antique" with intrinsic value.

If you watch The Antique Roadshow which we watch every week, you probably know that Texas Antiques are barely on the radar, unless you are in Texas. Texans are so wrapped up in their own world, and humorously compete, quite aggressively for things totally unknown to the rest of the world. One time I stood in line at the Roadshow with a couple of items, both belonging in a Texas museum somewhere, (one had been on exhibit at WashoBrazos)only to get fairly flat responses from the appraisers. In fact I had to get a reference book they had on a table and point out the maker of the rocking chair I was dragging along, only to be told I should contact Bayou Bend, a house museum in Houston, as they might have an interest in it. But they knew nothing about it and did not seem interested to learn.

I KNEW WHAT IT WAS! I just wanted to show off and be on television. But the Keno brothers would probably not know a Steinhagen rocking chair if one rocked on their toe. (That's right, they not only share a show they share a toe;) As in politics and wealth and jobs and growth and many other areas where Texas shines, the rest of the Country is... jealous and kind of indignant. We were a Country once, we have a distinct character and attitude and pride in our State, and we have our own antiques. And by and large, we don't care about the rest of the Country either.

So this series is gojng to be about the material culture that sets Texas apart. Whether it is reasonable or not, when I go to bid on early Texas blues records, or handmade spurs, or primitive furniture, or soda water trays, or stoneware, they cost more than others. There is nothing made in Texas that is inferior in price in the antique market. Texans care more and pay more, and because they do, others do as well. We call it Texas chauvenism.

So I want the next generation to know what the names McChesney, Steinhagen, Dunkin, Onderdonk, and Dance and many others mean to our state, our Texas culture, that make us so special and the envy of everybody else. Even if the Antique Roadshow has no clue.

Texas, like California, has a very diverse mix of peoples and topography and thus an exciting tradition of material culture. But you cannot name an Indian tribe from California. Texas had Comanches, Apaches, Kiowas, Cherokees and all those Hollywood words. You can't name a famous real cowboy from California... but Texas had Charlie Goodnight, John Chism, Bill Pickett, and tons more, and a healthy dose of the Hollywood cowboys, like Tex Ritter, Ben Johnson and Audie Murphy. When it comes to collecting Western Americana, Texas born items are at the top of "the most coveted list." But that is also true about many other things. The world loves Texas.

And they should.

So where to start? I want you to really appreciate the things made by Texans; things made by hand, hand carved, hand forged, hand thrown, hand woven, and hand painted. These are the rare, evocative cultural items that will never be made again, never be needed again, and yet symbolize this great State. So I made a list of names you can look forward to, for starters... in no particular order.

Texas Stoneware: Kirbee, Meyer, Stoker, Saenger, Suttles, Leopard, McDade, Prothro.

Native American Pottery & Basketry: Coushatta, Tigua, Caddo

Hand Wrought Spurs & Bits: Boone, Crockett, McChesney, Kelly

Handmade Furniture: Steinhagen, Bedemeier

Texas Originated Brands: Dr. Pepper, Borden's, Lone Star, Pearl, Shiner, Bright & Early

Highly Collectible Music: Scott Joplin, Texas Alexander, Blind Willie Johnson, Robert Johnson, Leadbelly, Bob Wills, Buddy Holly

Texas Landscape Painters: Onderdonk, Wood, Salinas

Texas Firearms: Dance Bros, Tyler

Starting soon... on the Navasota Current.