A. E. Hull Grazing Cows Stoneware Salt Glazed Pitcher, Early 1900s

Description

Early A. E. Hull “Grazing Cows” Salt Glazed Stoneware Pitcher, great condition and useable still today. Measuring 7 3/8″ tall.

About A. E. Hull Pottery Company. Launched in 1905 in Crooksville, Ohio by Addis Emmet Hull, the company’s early lines consisted of common utilitarian stoneware, like this pitcher, as well as semi-porcelain dinnerware and decorative tile, and enjoyed an excellent reputation for producing quality ceramics. Addis was succeeded by Ralph W. Hull. The business continued to expand over the next several years and, by the 1920s, maintained offices and factories in Crooksville, an office and showroom in New York, offices in Chicago and Detroit, and a large warehouse in New Jersey. It was also during the 1920s that the company expanded the variety of its product line to art pottery. The company also began using a broader variety of colors and glazing techniques with its products. When A.E. Hull died in 1930, his son – Addis E. Hull, Jr. – succeeded his father in the management of the business. Hull, Jr. left the company in 1937 to join the Shawnee Pottery company as General Manager and Gerald F. Watts became the new manager of Hull Pottery. Also in 1937, the company contracted with Shulton Inc. for the containers of its Old Spice product line and other pottery cosmetic containers. From the late 1930s through the 1950s, Hull’s work was celebrated as some of its best, with “Red Riding Hood” (produced in 1943) being its most popular line. Other art pottery lines included floral themes, Orchid, Magnolia, Calla Lily, Rose and Tulip, to name a few and, from the 1940s through the 1960s, florists often used Hull pots or figural planters, including its Floristware line, in their creations. Hull’s product line had also expanded to include piggy banks, liquor bottles, and lamps. Numerous collectors clubs exist that specialize in collecting Hull Pottery, including The Hull Pottery Association, headquartered in the company’s hometown of Crooksville.