Pacific Clay Products, founded 1892, was created by the merger of several Southern California potteries. The company began producing utilitarian pottery

Pottery

Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...

 in the 1920s, and introduced solid color earthenware

Earthenware

Earthenware is a common ceramic material, which is used extensively for pottery tableware and decorative objects.-Types of earthenware:Although body formulations vary between countries and even between individual makers, a generic composition is 25% ball clay, 28% kaolin, 32% quartz, and 15%...

 dinnerware in 1932. The primary site for the production of ceramic tableware

Tableware

Tableware is the dishes or dishware , dinnerware , or china used for setting a table, serving food, and for dining. Tableware can be meant to include flatware and glassware...

, kitchenware

Kitchenware

Kitchenware include utensils, appliances, dishes, cookware, and so on for use in the kitchen.-See also:*Cookware and bakeware*Dishware*Drinkware*List of eating utensils*List of food preparation utensils*List of Japanese cooking utensils...

, and art ware was based in the company's Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles plant at 306 West Avenue 26. Pacific Pottery ceased production of ceramic

Ceramic

A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...

 dinnerware and art ware in 1942. It continues to exist as a producer of bricks. The company has been owned by David H. Murdock

David H. Murdock

David Howard Murdock is an American businessman. Forbes ranks him as the 130th-richest person in the "Forbes 400" list and 376th in the "World's Billionaires" list, with a net worth of US$3 billion as of March 2011....

 since 1973.

History

Pacific Clay Products was one of the "Big Five" Southern California potteries in the production of ceramic tableware, kitchenware, and art wares from 1930 to 1942. The "Big Five" Southern California potteries were Metlox, Vernon Kilns

Vernon Kilns

Vernon Kilns was an American ceramic company in Vernon, California. In 1931, Faye G. Bennison purchased the former Poxon China pottery. Poxon China was located at 2300 East 52nd Street. Vernon produced ceramic tableware, art ware, giftware, and figurines. Vernon Kilns was one of the "Big Five"...

, Gladding, McBean & Co

Gladding, McBean

Gladding, McBean, LLC is a ceramics company located in Lincoln, California. It is one of the oldest companies in California, a pioneer in ceramics technology, and a company which has "contributed immeasurably" to the state's industrialization...

., J.A. Bauer Pottery

Bauer Pottery

Bauer Pottery, strictly speaking J.A. Bauer Pottery, was an American pottery founded in Paducah, Kentucky, however operating for most of its life in Los Angeles, California.-History:In 1885, J. A...

, and Pacific Clay Products.

Early pottery products manufactured in the 1920s were utilitarian ware including bowls, mugs, and poultry feeders. The company also produced hand-thrown vases and garden ware pots. In 1932, Pacific introduced mix and match brightly solid colored tableware and art ware. The solid-colored tableware was sold as "Hostessware." In 1935, Pacific introduced hand-painted patterns on the Hostessware shape in various plaid, floral, and fruit designs. By 1937, Pacific introduced the Coralitos and Arcadia lines, a more delicate earthenware body in solid colors. In 1941, hand-painted patterns on the Coralitos and Arcadia shapes were introduced: Grape, Strawberry, Hibiscus, French Ivy, and Shasta Daisy.

Pacific Clay Products' art ware lines were introduced around 1932. The art ware lines, marketed as Pacific Pottery, included a wide variety of shapes for vases, figurines

Figurines

Figurines is an indie rock band from Denmark, formed in the mid-1990s. The band released their first EP, The Detour, in 2001 and their first full-length album, Shake a Mountain, in 2004. The band began to receive national attention in Denmark around the time of the full-length release, and began...

, flower bowls, candleholders, planters and flower frogs for the retail and florist trade.

In October of 1942, all dinnerware and art ware was discontinued due to World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 as the company retooled for the production of war materials for the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

government. Pacific Clay Products never produced tableware or art ware again.

Books

• Chipman, Jack. Collectors Encyclopedia of California Pottery, Second Edition. Collector Books (1998) ISBN 1574320378
• Chipman, Jack. California Pottery Scrapbook: Identification and Value Guide. Collector Books (2004) ISBN 1574324071
• Snyder, Jeffrey B. Pacific Pottery, Tableware from the 1920s, '30s, '40s ...and more! Schiffer Pub Ltd (2000) ISBN 0764312766
• Stern, Bill. California Pottery: From Missions to Modernism Chronicle Books (2001) ISBN 0811830683

External links

• Pacific Clay Products Note: Company records or archives regarding the dinnerware division no longer exist.