Question: R.R.P. Co.
Kristine H. Pawlik
I have seen a lot of pottery made by the R.R.P. Co. in
Roseville, Ohio. I know that it is not THE Roseville
company, whose items are so sought after by many, but
what company is (was) it?
Any help will be appreciated, as I would really like to
page through a book on said pottery. The pieces I have
seen so far are all very different. If it wasn't for the
initials on the bottom, I'd be hard pressed to believe
that they all came from the same company.
Thank-you.
Kristine Pawlik
Watt-Man
fm...@cleveland.Freenet.Edu says...
Gee, someone else just had a question on RRPCO!
They thought it might be Roseville, however. Interest
may be picking up. That said, I don't think there is
any reference on RRPCO yet. I have written one of the
sections in Harvey Duke's upcoming new version of his
book on pottery, and it is very comprehensive. I'll
ask him if RRPCO is covered.
The Robinson-Ransbottom Pottery was formed by the
merger of the Robinson Clay Products of Akron, Ohio
and the Ransbottom Brothers Pottery in Roseville. Both
of these companies are from the 1800's, the merger
took place around 1920 as I recall.
Illif Watt's grandmother was a Ransbottom, by the
way. There are some pieces of RRPCO with Watt glazes
on them.
RRPCO is still alive and well on the north side of
Roseville. You can visit their Pot Shop, which sells
current items and has a small display of historical
wares. You can also take a tour of the pottery. They
are still the largest manufacturer of stoneware in the
world.
You are right about the variety of wares they
produced. Their hand-decorated wares are very nice,
but I suspect that few collect them yet.
The most common hand-decorated line I see (and
collect!) is the Rustic Ware line. It has simple
geometrics and floral patterns in pastel blue and
rose colors. There are many variations on the
patterns. This line is done on off-white pottery,
similar to Purinton. The decorations have a vaguely
"Deco" look to them. Spaghetti bowls are the most
common pieces in this line, but you can find pitchers,
plates and powder jars.
To me, the most interesting line is an older one
(presumably) done on a rich cream body. The bold,
hand-decorated floral patterns in red, blue and green
are reminiscent of Watt pottery. In fact, the cookie
jars in this line are often marked as "older Watt" or
some such mistake.
I have identified five separate patterns, and the
Morning Glory has three different colored variations.
Pieces consist of cookie jars (fairly common), several
sizes of crock-style canisters (less common), and
pitchers, mixing bowls, tea pots, tapered covered
canisters and mugs, so far. All of these are much
harder to find.
Now...these pieces ***are not marked***!! I have
one piece with RRPCO's crown mark on the bottom as my
confirmation. I am working on a contact in the family
to see if I can find some catalogs.
I am interested in more pieces, and have some to
trade, if you are collecting the hand-decorated wares.
E-mail mail at tp...@lims01.lerc.nasa.gov. I have good
photographs of my collection also.
Hope to hear from you, and good hunting!
--
When I work, everybody works.
Dennis Thompson When I play, everybody works,
because someone has to work
while I play. (My former boss)
rta...@pica.army.mil
> I have seen a lot of pottery made by the R.R.P. Co. in
> Roseville, Ohio. I know that it is not THE Roseville
RRP Co is a current producer of pottery, and you're right, they do produce
a variety of stuff ... blue spongeware, blue stripe, other colors, etc ...
we just bought a blue sponge covered casserole and a blue sponge "pizza
platter", oven-proof/microwave safe, at Stormville NY Flea Mkt ... there
are (at least) 2 dealers up there who handle the stuff AS NEW ... I have on
occasion seen it mixed in with some older stuff, priced as collectable ...
I think they're factory seconds that they pick up in the outlet store, but
they do have a nice look. RRP Co is probably listed in the area phone book.
(Try "Robinson Ransbottom Pottery Co" ... that seems to fit the initials)
... Good Luck
--- RBT ---