Iroquois China

The Iroquois China Company was established in 1905 in Solvey, Syracuse, New York, in a plant built for another china company that never even took possession. Simply designed and decorated lines were made for the commercial china arena, and Iroquois china was used in some of the finest hotels and dining cars in the US in the first half of the Twmeiteth Century.

Iroquois employed some of the big industrial designers of the time to design their china forms, including Russel Wright, Ben Seibel, Michael Lax, and even Peter Max. The modern forms coming from these designers fit the modern decal decorations well. Some of these china designs called for stacking salt and pepper or sugar and creamer, for space saving as well as modern design.

Iroquois also produced a number of patterns on a china design of an older style named Museum White, or Henry Ford Museum, with squared off handles and angled rather than round shapes in the serving pieces.

All Iroquois china is marked. Production ceased in 1969.

Iroquois china shapes and designs are the Twentieth Century at their best. Find a pattern you like and collect it, or go for various pieces from several shapes and patterns. Most will give an authentic retro feel to your dining table.

See Iroquois China.

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Frankoma Pottery

Frankoma was established in 1933 by John Frank, professor of ceramics at the University of Oklahoma. In 1936 the pottery has moved to Sapulpa, Oklahoma, where the local reddish clay became the body of the pottery. This clay, when combined with glazes made from local rutile materials, was fired only once, and the clay body is visible through the glaze on the finished products.

Using glazes in green, gold, terra cotta, peach, blue and white, production included annual Christmas plates from 1965 with images from the Bible with a white semi-translucent “Della Robia” glaze.

Fall centerpiece with Frankoma pot © by gohomekiki

New dinnerware lines were developed between 1936 and 1962 and most remained in production until the 1990′s. These are Mayan-Aztec (1936), Wagon Wheel (1948), Plainsman (1948), Lazybones (1953), and Westwind (1962).

Miscellaneous decorative pieces were made throughout the lifetime of the company. These include figurines; annual Christmas plates;
miniature ash trays, pitchers, vases, etc.;
political mugs for the Republican and Democratic Parties; Bicentennial plates; Conestoga Wagon;
plates for the Oklahoma Wildlife Federation; vases, toby mugs, bookends, vases, bowls, trivets, canisters, salt and pepper shakers; and Will Rogers plaques.

See Frankoma Pottery here.

Using a single firing and rutile glazes in many relatively soft colors, the Frankoma pottery has a look all its own. The pottery has changed hands from 1991 until the latest sale in 2011. The name, molds and formulas remain available to a new purchaser as of that date. For those who love the carefree and rustic look of the Frankoma pottery, there is some hope that the product will continue to be made.

Visit the collector’s society for more information: Frankoma Family Collectors Association (frankoma.org).

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