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Some of the most beautiful and sought after pottery today was made by art students at the all female Newcomb College in Louisiana. Founded by Josephine Newcomb in 1886, the college stressed education that was both literary and yet practical. Ellsworth Woodward was brought in to teach the young ladies crafting traditions that he had learned at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Ellsworth called in Mary Sheerer from Cincinnati, one of the most active pottery areas of the time, to teach not only pottery, but also china painting and decoration. Between Sheerer and Woodard, the pottery flourished as the wares were sold at various venues on campus and through stores and shops around the country.

The pottery’s heyday was from around 1900 through the 1920s when the arts and crafts movement had a heavy influence on the designs of the pottery. The designs on the pottery were also influenced by the native southern flora and fauna found around the campus. Truly a southern art form, Newcomb used only clays from the local and regional area to produce the pottery. Many pieces appear as carved florals with typical southern oak trees covered in Spanish Moss.

Joseph Meyer was also brought in to be the head potter as most of the designs were produced by Mary. The students decorated, painted and fired the pottery. This was only a small studio pottery and not a commercial production facility, which makes the pieces even more rare and collectible. The other interesting fact about Newcomb Pottery is that the art department believed that no two pieces should be alike and so each one was unique.

In 1910, the school brought in Mr. Paul Cox to improve the quality of the clay and glazes that were being used at the school. During this time, a matte glaze was in fashion and this period became perhaps the most famous of the pottery’s run. Many other potteries such as Rookwood and Roseville were turning out similar beautiful pottery during this time as well.

As styles and culture changed in the 1930s and ladies became more independent, the idea of producing pottery through the school for the general public fell out of favor and the pottery closed in 1940. After 50 years of production, the Newcomb Pottery had only used 90 graduates and produced more than 50,000 pieces of pottery! I wonder how much has survived over the years? All the pottery was marked “NC” and with a letter and number, so it is easy to figure out what year the piece was made by referring to a pottery website or book that translates the numbers and letters. As I was researching the pottery, I read a story about a lady who found a piece at a thrift store and purchased it for a few dollars and found out it was worth $3,000! Happy collecting!

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