The intriguing history behind the simple, tasteful designs and eye-catching color of Alamo pottery - a classic mid-century modern American pottery - is told definitively for the first time. The author skillfully takes us back in time to tell us of the dream and the men behind that dream that created Alamo Pottery, of their failures that led to great success and of great success that spawned greed and disintegration.
This book contains a description of the process by which Alamo pottery was made along with descriptions and photographs of the art ware. Included also, is a guide on how to distinguish Alamo pottery from similar forms of art ware, such as Gilmer pottery, and how to identify the rare and unmarked pieces of Alamo pottery. Copies of Alamo Pottery and Gilmer Pottery catalogs are presented. Collectors and dealers, in particular, will benefit from the Price Guide which features a color photograph of each piece of pottery identified by its model number and dimensions..
The author’s years of research, which included conversations and communications with principals of the company, bring to the public this clear, easy-to-read, complete guide. Collectors, dealers, and readers interested in mid-century modern American pottery as well as Texas history will find this book an invaluable resource and a delightful read.
The author, a native of Houston, Texas, holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Baylor University and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Baylor College of Medicine. He received six years of surgical training at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, and served two years in the United States Public Health Service at the National Heart Institute of the National Institutes of Health. He was affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and at the time he retired from private practice, held the position of Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery. He is the author of surgical articles published in national peer reviewed journals.
During his thirty- three years of practice as a thoracic surgeon in Houston, he began studying and collecting American art pottery. His studies included six years at the Glassell School of Art of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. He and his wife live in Houston. They have four children and seven grand children.
On a visit to the Texas Hill Country in 1999, my wife and I and went into an antique store in Boerne. Two pieces of pottery sat side by side on the same shelf – both advertised as Alamo Pottery. One piece had “Alamo Pottery” clearly stamped on the bottom; the other was unmarked. I knew for certain that the unmarked piece was not Alamo. The shopkeeper had made an understandable error. I had been collecting information on Alamo Pottery since 1985. I, too, would have identified both pieces as Alamo prior to my research. I had hoped one day to piece together Alamo’s untold story. The experience in Boerne spurred me to act.
I purchased my first pieces of Alamo pottery in 1985. The lack of information, other than the identifying stamp on the bottom of each piece, increased my curiosity about the pottery. In time, I developed a rough catalog based on the model numbers of the marked pieces that I had collected. During this time, I also purchased several pieces of unmarked pottery that I thought were Alamo. When I noticed that the model numbers of the unmarked pieces were significantly different from those that were clearly Alamo, I realized that I was dealing with two different potteries. In time, I learned that those unmarked pieces were Gilmer pottery. I then knew that any discussion of Alamo would have to include information on Gilmer pottery.
The following story of Alamo Pottery is based on the compilation of information gathered from various sources. I have made every effort to be as factual as possible. My initial research included interviews with those principals of the company I was able to locate: Leroy Miller, Frank Price, Carlton “Jake” Rowe, Richard Potter, George Retherford and Oscar Arnim and his sister, Alice (not an employee), who helped me with some of Arnim’s information after his health failed. Much later, I was able to track down Mike Bali, Harry Mueller, James Richter, and Jimmy Rogers, all of whom were at Alamo Pottery at the time it was sold.
The demand for mid-century modern American decorative arts, such as Alamo Pottery, has increased as more people are collecting these items. A clear definition and understanding of Alamo Pottery will benefit collectors, dealers, owners of antique stores, and anyone who has an interest in Texas potteries as well as Texas history.
Alamo Pottery is more than a Texas pottery that flashed onto the scene in mid-century. It is about a man with a dream who convinced others to step into that dream. It is about the trials and hard work, failure and success of those men who had the courage to take the risk. It is the record of work left behind by these men. Alamo pottery, scattered across the country, appears in collections, antique shops, flea markets and on the Internet. To have a piece of this pottery is to have a slice of Texas history and a small window into the lives of those who produced it.