Ladder Back Pattern

Recently, a new pattern showed up on eBay for sale.  The owner had 32 pieces which included dinner plates, a platter, salad plates, coffee cups, and soup bowls.  Nancy Patterson contacted the seller on eBay to clarify the pattern name - Ladder Back.  When contacted privately Nancy said she only made a few pieces of this pattern and it was used in advertising for the Henredon furniture manufacturer, located in North Carolina.  Nancy went on to say that the furniture company used these sets as tabletop displays and magazine photo ads.  It was never created for sale, but only as a furniture sales promotion.  It is rare, but when the 32 pieces listed for $500, there were no buyers interested.  The pieces were relisted for $400.

Dinner plate

Platter

 

A sample of the 32 pieces available on eBay

         

Sculpted Salt and Pepper Shakers Origin

Pond Mountain and Whispering Pines patterns

There have been several questions and comments about the creation of the sculpted salt and pepper shakers - one of the three different styles of shakers for the stoneware patterns. According to Nancy Lamb, in a recent conversation this summer, Jim Kaneko designed the sculptured salt and pepper shakers. These shakers depict a boy throwing a ball (pepper) to the girl (salt) with her arms outstretched to catch it.  Typically these shakers are the most expensive of the three available sets available for the patterns found in antique and collectible stores. 

The California Connection for Iron Mountain Stoneware

Measuring 9.5 inches - luncheon plate size

Upon seeing the many pieces of Iron Mountain Stoneware (IMS) for sale on eBay which are shipping from California, I had to believe there was at least one major distribution point there.  This week a distribution store was finally confirmed when I visited a local collector in my area who was selling some of their collection.  While discussing different places where she and her husband had seen pieces of IMS during their travels, they mentioned an exclusive, high-end store in San Francisco, CA called Gumps.  I looked up Gumps (find the store history here) today and while they are still in business, IMS is not.

Recently, as further proof of the stoneware being sold by Gumps, the luncheon-sized plate pictured here was offered for auction.  Purchasing this plate in 1979 from Gumps afforded the new owner the ability to choose Iron Mountain Stoneware pieces in exchange for it as it was listed as a gift certificate.  The plate was personally signed by Nancy, in 1979, signifying that she did the hand application of decorative glaze in the Martha's Flowers colors.  This design is not duplicated on any of the Martha's Flowers plates however--so it could be truly unique to this 'gift certificate.

Signed by Nancy in 1979

Mixing Patterns

Over the Hills and Evegreen patterns together

The more collectors I talk with, the more I discover that they, like me, mix and match patterns if they use their stoneware regularly.  I use Whispering Pines and Pond Mountain together for everyday dishes here at home. Another pattern combination which also looks really nice together is Over the Hills and Evergreen as evidenced in the photo included in this post.  I am not sure if any of the glazes were the same or simply blend well together after having been fired.  Check out the solid as well as the monochromatic patterns to see what you might be able to put together to round out a full collection!

Stoneware Race Cars

Note the raised head of a driver in a one-of-a-kind car

Iron Mountain Stoneware was located in Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee.  Many of the pieces of the stoneware wound up in private collections in nearby towns and small cities.  One such piece, this vehicle sculpture was artist signed by Kaneko--Jim Kaneko.  The auction company which dispersed articles from a Jonesborough, Tennessee estate sold this piece at auction.  Jim Kaneko was a professor from American River College in California and often tooks breaks to come visit as a guest artist with IMS.  The auction company listed this piece as depicting a man in a racing car with unusual Japanese style glaze decoration.  The car was 9" in length and 4.5" high. 

Note the artist's signature--"Kaneko" on the bottom 

Drinking Vessels

There are different sizes of the vessels line of stoneware that Iron Mountain Stoneware created. There has been much confusion about their purpose and often they are all listed as being used for the same purpose--candlestick holders!  When you see these for sale on eBay or in antique stores, there were actually four sizes.  The largest was intended to be a water goblet, the next smaller size was for white wine, and the next for red wine.  The most shallow of the four was actually intended to be a candleholder--but the other three were for serving either water or wine.  Of course, you can use them for any purpose you wish and the catch-all name of vessels does not limit you to how you use them.  I took a photo of the four sizes today of random ones from my personal collection to help you see them when side-by-side.  Hope that helps some of you with identifying what you currently have or identify the ones you might wish to seek out.

l to r: Roan Mountain water goblet, Ice white wine, Blue Ridge red wine, Whispering Pines candleholder, Freedom Blue candleholder