I hope someone will be able to help me on this. I found a #15 crock made by the Uhl Pottery Acorn Ware division in Huntingburg, Indiana. I thought someone on this forum might know something about it. What I know is it was made sometime between 1907 and mid 1940's and thats all I have tried everywhere I can think of if someone can help me I would appreciate it. Thank you.

-- Wynema Passmore (nemad_72039@yahoo.com), September 29, 2001

Answers

Go to www.ebay.com and do a search.

-- Kathy (catfish201@hotmail.com), September 29, 2001.

I tried that already what info i have came from there, thanks.

-- Wynema Passmore (nemad_72039@yahoo.com), September 30, 2001.

The Auction Company, Jasper, Indiana

Uhl Pottery at Auction

by Don Johnson For years, people have had problems with Uhl pottery. Sure, there were the usual difficulties of identifying unmarked pieces. But for Uhl, the trouble started even before that. It seems that no one could agree on how to pronounce the name.

The correct pronunciation of this German name is to rhyme Uhl with school. That notwithstanding, many people still tend to say "yule." Adding to the confusion, there remains a contingent of dealers who like to put "U.H.L." on price tags, treating the name as an acronym.

Good grief! With so much mayhem just over the name, is it any wonder this pottery took so long to gain a following? Of all the stoneware and pottery companies in Indiana, Uhl was by far the most prolific, but then, the company was also in business for close to a century.

Uhl traces its roots to Germany, when in 1846 August Uhl left his father's family-run pottery in Hesse-Darmstadt and emigrated to the United States, eventually landing in the Ohio River town of Evansville, Indiana, in 1848. The next year, August Uhl and Henry Henn opened a pottery company.

As chronicled by F. Earl and Jane A. McCurdy in A Collector's Guide & History of Uhl Pottery (Ohio Valley Books, 1988), it was the first in what would become a dizzying array of potteries associated with the Uhl family. In 1851 Henn sold out to Louis Daum, who bought out August's stake in 1854. By that time August's younger brother, Louis, had joined him in Evansville, and in 1854 they founded A. & L. Uhl Pottery Co. In 1887 August sold out to Louis, and the pottery was renamed Louis Uhl & Son.

In 1893 the Uhl Pottery Company constructed a building on Crown Street in Evansville, and in 1894 it changed its name to the Indiana Pottery Company. The Uhl Pottery Works was listed at the same location in 1899, with George Uhl as proprietor. Charles Uhl bought the company in 1904, and his son, Louis, came to work at the pottery as a bookkeeper. Louis was superintendent of the pottery by 1906. Finally, in 1909, Uhl moved to Huntingburg, Indiana, about 45 miles northwest of Evansville, to be closer to the company's clay source. The first kiln-load of stoneware produced at Huntingburg was made during Christmas week of that year.

Until then the company primarily produced utilitarian wares: jugs, crocks, jars, and flowerpots. Garden ware, vases, dinnerware, and novelty items were eventually added to the line. About 1925, Jane Uhl, sister of Louis, came to work for the company. Among her contributions was a selection of hand-turned decorative wares. The pottery remained in business until mid-1944 when a six-month strike decreased demand, and sagging profits led Louis Uhl to close the plant.

For years, no one paid much attention to the leftovers of this Hoosier pottery. A handful of people eventually began quietly putting together collections, but it wasn't until 1985 that Uhl gained any serious recognition. That year marked the formation of the Uhl Collectors Society. From the few families that founded the group, the society has grown to more than 1100 members across the United States. Prime examples of Uhl pottery, which once sold for pocket change at yard sales in southern Indiana, now bring three- and four-figure prices.

Chip Kugler of The Auction Company in Jasper, Indiana, has been a licensed auctioneer for only four years, yet he has quickly become one of the go-to guys for selling Uhl. At an auction in Huntingburg on September 21, 1996, he set a record price for a piece of Uhl when a one-of-a-kind white pig bank realized $4160 (no buyer's premium). The bank was hand lettered "Merry Christmas '43 To: Mildred From: Gloria."

The Uhl Pottery Company made several sizes of pig banks, none of which is easy to find, but it was the Christmas greeting on this medium-size bank that led to the flurry of bidding. The pig was part of the estate of Helen Utz, whose daughter had received it as a Christmas present from a friend whose father worked at Uhl, and the bank was in mint condition.

Uhl also produced a line of miniature Christmas jugs, which have become highly collectible and continue to escalate in price. Although made in limited quantities, only a few of the Christmas jugs are truly scarce. At an Uhl auction in April 1995, Kugler sold a 1943 Christmas jug—one of the hardest pieces to find—for $1400. Until 1943 the Christmas novelties had always been miniature jugs with ink-stamped greetings; a different style of jug was used each year. In 1943 special paper labels were printed and applied to some of the miniatures.

The majority of the Uhl pottery found today was made in Huntingburg. Collectors are most interested in miniatures, especially Christmas jugs and advertising/souvenir pieces. Hand-turned wares also command premium prices, but comparatively little interest is paid to utilitarian pieces, such as crocks and jugs. Items having Uhl's Acorn Wares trademark are relatively common, but even the earlier ink-stamped pieces from Evansville remain affordable. The earliest examples, salt-glazed items with the impressed mark of A.&L. Uhl, are the most difficult to find and seldom change hands.

The Uhl Collectors Society's members-only auction, held each June in southern Indiana, helps bring key pieces onto the market. This past summer the highlight was a "Happy Hunters" miniature basketball on a pedestal that brought $2200 (no buyer's premium). The small pottery trophy was given to members of the Huntingburg High School basketball team who won the sectional in 1936 and 1938. It's been estimated that only 15 were made each year. Other top-dollar lots at the 1996 convention were a 1943 Christmas pitcher at $1100 and a brown Army tank bank at $750.

Kugler helps call for bids at the convention auctions and sells Uhl through both estate and specialty sales in Indiana. His most recent Uhl pottery auction was held on October 19, 1996, in Jasper, where he offered 310 pieces that represented roughly half of a one-owner collection.

Not surprisingly, miniature Christmas jugs brought some of the sale's top prices. Leading all bids at $605 (no buyer's premium) was a "Believe It Or Not" canteen jug, thought to have been made for the 1936 Christmas season. The white jug bears the ink stamp "Believe It - Or Not This Jug is filled with Best Wishes from Uhl Pottery Co., Huntingburg, Ind." The price surprised Kugler, who had sold a "Believe It Or Not" jug in April 1995 for $320.

Other Christmas jugs at the October auction were a "Greetings from Uhl Pottery Co." prunella, brown over white, believed to have been made for the 1938 Christmas season, at $360, and a small brown-over-white "Merry Christmas 1937" globe jug at $350. A 1933 Christmas jug limped to a $370 bid; this brown demijohn miniature has a brown ink stamp of a Christmas greeting flanked by two Santas. The stamp is often hard to see, as was the case with this jug. In 1995 Kugler sold an example with a better mark for $630.

Advertising miniatures became an important part of Uhl's line after the company moved to Huntingburg. Various businesses found these novelty items to be a good way to thank clients for their patronage. The minis were also used as souvenirs.

A brown-and-white shoulder jug with a "Dalton Ohio 1932" ink stamp sold at the October auction for $350. A double-handled prunella, "N.J. Wilhems," brought $270; a brown-and-white double-handled bellied jug, "Cumberland Falls," $200; a pink miniature pitcher, "Hill-Top Gift Shop, Canmer, Ky.," $145; and a miniature barrel mug, "Compliments Meyer & Danzinger," $175.

Since Uhl made minis for a number of companies, most notably Meier Winery in Silverton, Ohio, paper labels can be found on some examples. Among the scarcer labels used by Meier's was Grandpa Meier's, which pictured a bearded man. Various sizes of jugs were made with this label, and at the October auction, a one-gallon shoulder jug cost $370, a pint was $100, and a miniature made $145.

Other miniatures were made without advertising; these were simply novelty items that were inexpensive and well-accepted by the public. Uhl's horsehead jug is one of the hardest to find in any color. The October auction had a blue one at $335 and a yellow one at $325. A peach cat jug sold for $105, while one in black made $95. Elephant jugs are relatively common, topping at $100 for one in tan. Other animal-related novelties included a yellow rabbit planter at $180 and a white elephant planter at $140.

Miniature cookie jars can be tough to find, the globe cookie jar being the scarcer of the two styles. One in blue with a chipped lid went at $330, while a standard miniature cookie jar in blue closed at $180. Prices for miniature ring jugs can also be a bit steep; one in peach sold for $260, while a yellow one brought $130. Other miniatures included a brown three-ounce barrel stein at $110; a blue globe jug at $120; a white octagonal jug at $80; a blue canteen jug at $42.50; a purple shoulder jug at $50; and a 1 inches brown-over-white jug at $105.

Uhl also made a variety of miniature shoes and boots. A pair of blue baby shoes topped at $250; a white baby shoe, $110; a pair of green military boots, $145; a blue military boot, $100; a pair of black slippers, $140; a pair of large peach Dutch shoes, $90; and a pair of blue slippers, $90.

When it comes to utilitarian wares, interest wanes. Evansville pieces made in the late 19th and early 20th century still bring reasonable prices. A five-gallon Evansville jug sold for $115, while a three-gallon Evansville churn was $80. The more common Acorn Wares items made in Huntingburg garner less interest due to their availability. A one-gallon shoulder jug sold for $35 and a four-gallon churn for $85. Prices rise a bit for unusual sizes, a half-gallon jug at $95 for example, but even uncommon pieces such as a brown-over-white harvest jug with a bail handle could be considered cheap at $110.

Conversely, Uhl's line of hand-turned pieces has become increasingly collectible. Three unmarked examples were sold in October: a large, blue pinched-spout pitcher for $500, a light-blue lidded sugar for $310, and a green lidded sugar with glaze defects for $100.

Miscellaneous Uhl offered at the Jasper auction included a one-gallon blue-and-white sponged pitcher with a faint Uhl mark for $510; a blue squat grape pitcher with lid, $375; a blue Polar Bear jug missing its stopper, $320; a one-pint blue Lincoln pitcher marked "Hill-Top Gift Shop, Canmer, Ky.," the handle repaired, $175; a two-gallon black-and-green Polar Bear water cooler with a brushed finish, $230; a brown Uhl logo disc, $220; a black Acorn ashtray, $210; a small white pig bank, $210; and a white doorstop shaped like a flattened globe, $170.

The Uhl Collectors Society has made an annual commemorative available to its members since 1987, which have also become quite collectible. The 1987 commemorative, a blue miniature barrel stein, is the most desirable, and a few of the molds used to make the stein were also distributed. A 1987 stein with an original mold led the commemoratives in October, selling for $460. A 1989 large football brought $150; a 1991 ashtray, $100; a 1992 beater jar, $95; a 1993 Evansville crock, $80; and a 1994 Dillsboro Sanitarium jug, $100.

Reference material about the Uhl Pottery Co. is limited to the book by F. Earl and Jane McCurdy; unfortunately, it is out of print. A few of the company's catalogs have been reprinted, but they are not widely available.

A family membership to the Uhl Collectors Society is $12 per calendar year. For more information, contact Uhl Collectors Society, 801 Poplar Street, Boonville, IN 47601

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), September 30, 2001.