Weller Pottery

Weller Pottery was one of the most prolific pottery producers of central Ohio in the 20th century. Operating for the better part of a century, Weller was renowned for its experimental glazes in the early years of the 20th century.

A company initially created by Samuel A. Weller in 1872, Weller Pottery began as a producer of relatively utilitarian vessels. However, when Weller moved his company to Zanesville and partnered with fellow potter William Long in the 1880s, Weller Pottery turned to more artful designs.

Experimenting with deep, lustrous glazes, epitomized in their early Louwelsa pattern, Weller was a beacon of innovation in the early decades of the 1900s. Though the company dismantled in 1948, the longevity of Weller designs has continued for generations and still tantalizes collectors today.

Quick Facts

• Weller created more than 80 different patterns between the late 1890s and early 1940s from the early Blended Ware to Paragon
• In addition to prominent designers like Jacques Sicard, famed ceramic craftsman Frederick Hurton Rhead also worked for Weller Pottery as a designer in the early 1900s
• One of Weller's most celebrated designs was the Burnt Wood pattern, which involved the decoration of each ceramic vessel to appear as it if was carved from or burned on to the surface of wood