INDUSTRY LEADERS Red Wing Stoneware Company (RWSCo): Incorporated - PDF document

3/4/2018 Danaè Quirk Dorr INDUSTRY LEADERS • Red Wing Stoneware Company (RWSCo): • Incorporated February 1877 • Production began in early 1878 • $25K capital stock • Largest producer in Nation by 1887 • Employed 100 people • Minnesota Stoneware Company (MSCo) • Incorporated May 1883 • Many of the same stockholders as RWSCo • $30K capital stock • Surpassed RWSCo production in 1889 • Employed 100 people Used with permission from Bonnie and Gary Tefft Source: The Red Wing Potters and Their Wares, 3 rd Ed. , 1996 Cannot be reproduced without permission 1

3/4/2018 NEW INVESTMENT • North Star Stoneware Company: March 1892 • Many of the same stockholders as MSCo and RWSCo • $100K capital stock • Articles of Incorporation: $200K • Both the First and Second Presidents former RWSCo officers • Production began by November 1892 Sources: Gary and Bonnie Tefft’s “The Red Wing Potters and Their Wares, 3 rd Ed. Image provided by Larry Marshall (RWCS- FB post, Sept 2017) And David Newkirk’s “A Guide to Red Wing Markings, Book 2 LOCATION Image provided by Stacy Wegner (RWCS- FB post, Nov. 2017) 2

3/4/2018 “PANIC OF 1893" • More than 15K companies and 500 banks failed • Including a quarter of the nation’s railroads • 17-20% National unemployment • 43% in some states like MI • Forced Closures • North Star – Reopened, end of September • RWSCo – Reopened, October • MSCo – Reopened, October with pay cuts Red Wing Data Source: The Red Wing Potters and Their Wares, 3 rd Ed. , 1996. Cannot be reproduced without permission Images: Library of Congress. SOLUTION? • Union Stoneware Company: September 1894 • “Sales Outlet” • Reduce Expenses • Advertising, Shipping, Distribution • Avoid Competition • Orders Proportionate to Shares • RWSCo: 34% • MSCo: 42% • NorthStar: 24% Image used with permission from Bonnie and Gary Tefft Source: The Red Wing Potters and Their Wares, 3 rd Ed. , 1996 Cannot be reproduced without permission 3

3/4/2018 1896 • “Panic of 1896” • National Bank of Illinois failed • September 1896 • MSCo – 55% of Union • RWSCo – 45% of Union Image source: The Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal “ZINC” • March 1895 – MSCo began “oil firing” • Soot and ash from wood and coal • November 1895 – Union Stoneware Pricelist • Small items fit inside larger jars or saggers Red Wing Dump • June 1897 – Zinc glaze replacing salt-glazing • 1900 – Switch essentially complete 1895 Union Advertisement Image used with permission from Bonnie and Gary Tefft Source: The Red Wing Potters and Their Wares, 3 rd Ed. , 1996 Cannot be reproduced without permission 4

3/4/2018 NORTH STAR LOCATION • 1897 – Shed torn down and site stripped of clay equipment • 1899 – Malting house established • 1994 – Demolition and Digging in the North Star Dump East End of Building: 75x200ft layer of shards, 4ft thick Image from the July 1994 Convention Supplement Photo from the RWCS-Iowa Chapter FB page ANSWERS Photos from the RWCS-Iowa Chapter FB page Written articles from the 1994 and 1995 Convention Supplements 5

3/4/2018 Photos from the RWCS-Iowa Chapter FB page PRIMITIVE LEAVES • These photographs were of shards dug in NS Dump by Steve Showers were taken by Phyllis Showers 6

3/4/2018 DOWN-TURNED LEAF COVERS COMPARISONS OF SHARDS TO KNOWN CROCKS • These photographs are from the collection of Steve and Phyllis Showers 7

3/4/2018 MORE QUESTIONS • Bonnie Tefft and Dave Hallstrom each found a shard • They fit perfectly and are taped together in this photo • No primitive butterfly shards were found Photos from the RWCS-Iowa Chapter FB page Story shared by Gary and Bonnie Tefft on RWCS-FB page, used with permission OTHER SHARDS STEVE FOUND 8

3/4/2018 BOWLS “RECOVERED” • BOTH 7 INCH BOWLS WERE FOUND IN NS DUMP BY STEVE SHOWERS • 5 INCH BOWL WAS FOUND IN PRIVY BY STEVE SHOWERS SPITOON! Found in NS Dump BY STEVE SHOWERS Found in NS Dump BY STEVE SHOWERS 9

3/4/2018 LIDS FROM NS DUMP • These photographs are from the collection of Steve and Phyllis Showers HIGH BUTTERS – 4 SIZES • ½ GAL HIGH BUTTER (UNMARKED) AND LID WERE BOTH FOUND IN NS DUMP BY STEVE SHOWERS 10

3/4/2018 LOW BUTTERS WAX SEALERS & PRESERVE JARS 11

3/4/2018 BEAN POTS MOLDED JUGS AND PITCHERS 12

3/4/2018 PROBLEM: THIN WALLS • This photograph is from the collection of Steve and Phyllis Showers 7” NS VS. RWSCO 13

3/4/2018 2017 – NEW HOTEL Images on Right provided by Dave Hallstrom (RWCS- FB post, Nov 2017) Image on Left provided by Lawrence Peterson (RWCS- FB post, Nov 2017) DIRT FOOTINGS Image provided by Dan Barry (RWCS- FB post, Nov 2017) 14

3/4/2018 NORTH STAR KILN -2017 Photos Provided by Steve and Phyllis Showers 15