Saturday, November 26, 2005

Robinson Ransbottom

Here's another email from Jim, who won a lot of 5 pottery pieces at auction. His description...

First ,it's stoneware and very well made.It stands 5 1/2" tall and is7" across the top and weights 3 lb 12oz..The glazing is two tone drip brown over green with a deep brown interior.

Now, do you have any idea as to who made it? There are no marking anywhere but looks to good to be done in a "shop" class. Anything you might think would really be helpful.




Jim, the jardiniere you found was made by the Robinson Ransbottom Pottery Company (RRPCo), from Roseville, Ohio. RRPCo, founded around 1900, was a competitor to McCoy and Brush, but unlike those other two companies they are still around today. I was pretty sure they had a Website at one time, but when I tried to go there now it seems that they have let their domain lapse. RRPCo is often mis-marked in antique malls as McCoy or as Roseville (a less utilitarian, more refined and expensive pottery) because they were made in the same city. The larger jardinieres may be marked "RRPCo Roseville, OH" but the smaller ones usually are not.

I am unsure of the date of the piece you have (I have three like it), but it is older, and that pattern was made in several different sizes. I know it's in one of my pottery books but I haven't unpacked them yet (correction -- I haven't found them yet!). Depending on where you are in the country, I would expect to see your size jardiniere in an antique mall anywhere from $12-25. It's a great piece!

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