BLACK AMERICANA COOKIE JARS

by Sandi Phillips

As a cookie jar collector one of my favorite cookie jar categories is Black Americana. Long before I started collecting, 11½ years ago, the prices in this category had skyrocketed. My collection has evolved as a mixture of old, new and individual artist jars; with the high prices on the older jars, I have even added a couple of reproductions. My first Black Americana jar was a red Brayton Mammy. How thrilled I was to add her to my collection! (See story Fall Issue ACJA Newsletter) She is pictured above with a blue Brayton Mammy and Clay Art’s 1995 Baking Time Mammy.

Pictured above is a mixture of old and new, with three artist jars thrown in for good measure! L to R: Negatha Peterson’s Negatha Mammy, Carol Gifford’s beautifully done reproduction of the Luzianne Mammy, National Silver Mammy, MJ’s Married Mammy that is a reproduction of the Brayton Mammy and an unmarked Mammy biscuit jar.

Negatha Peterson’s mammy is made in many different color combinations, some with gold trim. You will also find many different colors and decals on MJ’s Married Mammy. Mine has gold trim. Carol Gifford made a wonderful clock that I have in my collection; it matches her reproduction of the Luzianne Mammy cookie jar. Carol’s jars and go-withs are very high quality and her painting is meticulously done. The basket handled Mammy has all the paint under glaze, while the National Silver Mammy has cold paint on it. Both of these jars are older.

This picture is of my Black Americana gentlemen jars. Top shelf: Pearl China’s Chef, “Cooky” has gold trim and is an older jar. The next three shelves feature Alfano Art Pottery’s series of musicians: The Jazz Player, Alphonse and B-Flat Williams. These jars feature loads of gold trim, heavy weight and are beautifully turned out. The same is true of the bottom two jars. Made by Carol Gifford, mine are both artist proofs. Watermelon Sammy and the Butler as they are called, were originally sold as a set of five jars, featuring three Mammies and the two gentlemen. Next to each of the jars are mini lunch boxes, another “side” collection! Don’t we all have those? Before I collected cookie jars, I collected tins. Of course the tins had to go to make room for my cookie jars!

Do I hear music? Far left is Clay Art’s Jazz Singer made in 1990, another Clay Art jar, Swing made in 1999 sits next to it. Next is the Diva, made by Florida artist Kay Steindorf. Each of her jars are very individually decorated, no two jars ever are identical. The 1990 Hamilton Gone With The Wind Mammy pictured, is the first edition. The second edition Mammy’s skin is lighter in color and her petticoat is more pink than red. Both jars are very light in weight. The value of the first edition is usually much higher than the second. Far right is Mammy’s Guardian Angel made for MJ’s Collectibles, mine is marked 1/150. You can see the fragile looking wings; this jar must have been a challenge to ship!

There are so many Black Americana cookie jars I would still like to have in my collection! Certainly price is a big factor, but so are condition and availability. I have gladly bought several reproductions that were well done, priced and marked accordingly.

Individual artist jars make up a large part of my collection also. Did I miss the boat on any individual artist jars? You bet! Alfano Art Pottery produced a wonderful jar called The Paperboy, issued in 1994. I also love Cookie Jarrin’s Little Angel made in 1992, by Regal China. Both editions sold out quickly. Why did I miss the boat? That’s easy. My checkbook was too thin at the time to purchase the edition before they sold out!

The last grouping, L to R, features another Carol Gifford jar Daisy Mae, Rick Wisecarver’s Cookstove Mammy, Fitz & Floyd’s Rio Rita and Beloved Belinda by Renita Pines. Rick Wisecarver’s Cookstove Mammy’s have many different color schemes; even the age of the mammy varies from young to old. On the apron, which doesn’t show very well in the picture, it’s like a miniature painting. My jar has a rooster sitting on a fence.

Perhaps the best Black Americana jar I ever saw was never produced. McCoy called it the “Negro Chef” and it featured a chef and mammy side by side. The jar is pictured in, “McCoy Cookie Jars,” on page 175. Maybe, just maybe, ACJA members Nelson and Billie McCoy will decide to produce it someday. I promise you I won’t miss the boat if they do!

*Author’s note: Be warned that reproductions have hit Black Americana cookie jars very hard. The following quote is from Carol Seaman, in the 1999 Fall issue of the ACJA newsletter, on the subject of reproductions, “Stay informed. Ask Questions. Get measurements. Challenge the authenticity. Pay accordingly.” That is probably the most concisely phrased, powerful advice I have ever heard or read about reproductions.