Shawnee Pottery

Early on in my cookie jar collecting “career,” I discovered Shawnee Potteries wonderful cookie jars and go-withs. At that point, I started to think of myself as, “Majoring in cookie jar collecting and minoring in Shawnee!” I didn’t know much about cookie jars or Shawnee at the time, but I knew I liked what I saw.

I bought every book about cookie jars and Shawnee that became available. I was eager to learn how to identify the pieces, thereby becoming a more knowledgeable buyer. I soon found that Shawnee pieces where very sought after. Competition was fierce!

When I had less than 10 cookie jars in my collection I had the opportunity to buy a Winnie and Smiley pig cookie jars. I was thrilled. The dealer told me that her “picker” had found the two jars at the same estate sale. The Smiley was the Shamrock and the Winnie was red collared with gold trim. Both pieces were mint condition. Several weeks later the same dealer called and said, “I have the Puss-n-Boots cookie jar, are you interested?” (She knew she had a hook in my mouth, yes?) Of course I came home with this jar too. Today I have 20 Shawnee cookie jars in my collection and some go-withs. This is after almost 12 years of collecting!

Three times I have been able to purchase a rare piece at reasonable prices because the piece had unusual colors and the uneducated dealer/customer wasn’t sure what they had. Education is NOT expensive, it pays to buy the books and study them!

Pictured at right--------------------->>> This Winnie cookie jar and shakers are both very hard to find, because of the rarity of their colors. Winnie’s collar on the cookie jar is bright green, with a peach flower on the hat.

Shawnee Pottery Company closed its doors in 1961. Terrace Ceramics bought the cookie jar molds for Muggsy, Winnie and Smiley and produced them without decoration. While Shawnee was in production if a cookie jar had a flaw on it, it was deemed a “second.” Gold trim and decals were added to cover the flaws. These pieces are some of the most sought after! The color on the cheeks of the Winnie’s and Smiley’s were applied by the thumb of the artist decorating the jar. In “The Collector’s Guide to Shawnee Pottery” by Duane and Janice Vanderbilt, you will find more information on the history on this fine American company.

The picture above feature two of the Bank Head Smiley and Winnie jars, featuring butterscotch pants/coats. These examples do not have gold trim. You can also find these jars with brown pants/coats. Both colors have been found with gold trim. The tops on these cookie jars are bank heads, with coin slots on the top; hence the name. They are smaller in size than the other Winnie and Smiley jars. Between the jars is pictured a “King Corn” cookie jar, also produced by Shawnee.

I also love the Dutch boy and girl cookie jars. From left to right, are three pair. Gold decals proclaim the name of the jars to be, Cooky for the ladies and Happy for the gentleman, on the first two pairs. All four feature flower decals and gold trim. Notice that the last two jars on the far right end are shorter than the other four. This couple is called the “Great Northern” Dutch boy and girl. They come in several different colors. I have never seen the Great Northern boy or girl with gold trim, in person or in any of the Shawnee books.

Who could not love the beautiful colors on the go-withs pictured above! Left to right: A Puss-n-Boots multi-colored creamer, the wonderful Little Boy Blue and Little Bow Peep pitchers, a Jo-Jo the Clown cookie jar and a multi-colored Smiley creamer. All of these pieces can also be found with gold trim.

The pieces pictured above are not gold trimmed either. The three cookie jars, the Sailor Boy, Puss-n-Boots and Muggsy, I prefer without gold trim. In my opinion the emphasis should be on the design of these wonderful jars, not decals and gold trim. Lucky for my checkbook that I feel this way, it saved me lots of money too! The gold trimmed pieces are so much more expensive! Where there is color on the Sailor Boy, it is cold paint. I found mine with all the cold paint gone and had restoration painting done on the piece. This is a controversial move, with the debate on how that affects the price and authenticity of the jar. I simply find that I enjoy my jar with color on it and that’s what works best for my collection. If I were to sell the jar, I would state that it has been repainted. Also pictured is a Puss-n-Boots creamer and the large Muggsy salt and pepper shakers. The Puss-n-Boots cookie jar can be found with either a short or long tail.

In 1937 when Shawnee Pottery was formed, I wonder if the in-house designer, Louise Bauer, had any idea that in the year 2000 Shawnee would have earned the place of honor among collectors that it has. Louise Bauer and all the other folks that made up Shawnee Pottery, our hats are off to you!

Do you have an unusual or very loved piece of Shawnee that you would share with us? Contact me at: books25@home.com.

Pictured below is part of ACJA member Beverly Sutton’s Shawnee collection. Thanks Beverly for sharing your pictures with us!

Here is a picture from ACJA member Carol Shelton's Shawnee collection. Aren't they great? Thanks Winnie!