Operative Pottery Co. Mark
Q: I have a pitcher with this mark on the bottom. I can’t find the mark in any books and I’ve asked the museum in East Liverpool, Ohio, and the historical society there. No one seems to know anything about it. Can you help? I think it’s a missing part of our history.
A: This is a mystery. We have also been unable to find a mark like yours along with the words “Operative Pottery Co.” The mark picturing a lion and a unicorn next to a shield is based on the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom. The lion represents Britain and the unicorn represents Scotland. Variations of this mark were used by several companies in the United States and Britain. Some were located in Trenton, New Jersey, which was the center of pottery-making in the United States during the 19th century. Potters in East Liverpool organized the International Brotherhood of Operative Potters in 1890. Potters from Trenton eventually joined the union. (The union is still in existence, now called The International Brotherhood of Pottery and Allied Workers, and is part of the AFL/CIO.) Perhaps one of our readers can shed more light on this mystery mark.
The above corrected image was updated on 5/5/11.
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this is my pitcher and the mark you have pictured is not on this pitcher. i sent two pictures of two similar pitchers with two different marks. this pitcher has a mark that says star pottery co. i have a similar pitcher with the above mark. the difference is the flowers are not colored. i can not find either of the marks on these pitchers in any books. i would be glad to resend the pictures of these pitchers and their marks if someone would tell me how. thank you!
Could be the work of the potter’s cooperative, but the mark Austria and the bird between the lion and unicorn is quite odd. I guess you could narrow it down to U.S. or foreign simply by seeing what it holds in liquid volumne.
In the case of porcelain this does not work as some foreign marks are on U.S. molds, but in the case of ironstone I am not aware of any that would go the expense. Shape and decoration suggest 1875-90 Trenton or Ohio. If heavily crazed, Trenton.