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Weller Pottery
1872-1948
 Fultonham & Zanesville Ohio

Weller Timeline

April 12, 1851 Samuel Augustus Weller born in Ohio
1872  Operates a one-man pottery in Fultonham, near Zanesville in Muskeegum County, Ohio
1882-1890  Expansion to Zanesville, followed by building, buy-outs until 1931 when the Depression forces consolidation and down-sizing
1893-1896 William Long's Lonhuda ware, Louise Weller and Louwelsa born, 1896
1897  Henry Schmidt develops Weller Turada, the first squeezebag pottery line in the Ohio valley, Owens Pottery introduces similar Cyrano line in 1898
1895-1904 Charles Upjohn heads Weller decorating department, develops Dickensware II in 1900
1902-1907 Jacques Sicard at Weller, Sicard line appears in the fall of 1903; (Clement Massier Reflets Metalliques by 1889)
1902-1905 Weller becomes world's largest pottery and maker of mass produced Art Pottery
1903-1904 Frederick Hurton Rhead at Weller, develops Jap Birdimal line in 1904, becomes Roseville's first art director in 1904, leaves Roseville in 1908
1904 Weller has huge display at the St. Louis Exposition
1908 Rudolph Lorber develops Dechiwo, 1908, which leads to Burntwood, Claywood, and others
1917 Weller Hudson family introduced
1916-1929 Rudolph Lorbor develops Brighton birds, Muskota, Woodcraft, Forest, Glendale and other great naturalistic lines, ending with Coppertone, 1929. Dorothy England Laughead creates Silvertone, Chase, and the Garden Animals
1920-1924 John Lessell heads the decorating department, develops luster glaze lines including LaSa, Marengo, Cloudburst, Lamar, others
July 1, 1922 Weller Pottery incorporated as "S.A. Weller, Inc."
October 4, 1925  Samuel Augustus Weller dies
1925-1932 Nephew Harry Weller takes over as president, introduces continuous kiln, consolidates plants in 1931 due to Depression, dies in auto crash in 1932
1930-1932 Last freehand decorated lines introduced at Weller: Stellar, Geode, Cretone, Raceme, Bonito
1932-1937 Frederic Grant, son-in-law, is president for one year, divorced from Ethel (Weller, b. 1898); Irvin Smith, another son-in-law (Louise) is president from 1933-1937
1935 Freehand decoration ends at Weller
1935-1948 Weller produces simplified embossed lines
1937-1948 Walter Hughes, a ceramic engineer and former employee at American Encaustic Tiling Company is Weller's last president
1947-1948 Essex Wire Corporation buys controlling share in Weller, closes the pottery in 1948
1954 Minnie Weller dies at age 92, Weller house contents are auctioned

Chris Swart used All About Weller (1989) by Ann Gilbert McDonald, Art Pottery of the Midwest (1988) by Marion Nelson, and Art Pottery of the United States (1987) by Paul Evans to prepare this timeline.

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