Here's another handsome milk pitcher, this one made by the Robinson-Ransbottom Pottery Company in the Teens or Twenties. It is called "yelloware"—a country kitchen staple material for plates, bowls, crocks, and other utilitarian objets. Bas relief flowers and strapping add a bit of decoration to the otherwise simple vessel.
The company was founded in 1900, in Roseville, Ohio, by Frank Ransbottom and his brothers, Ed, Johnie and Mort. The town of Roseville was a center of ceramics production and Frank had experience working with other ceramics manufacturers in the region. When a pottery factory became available for sale, Frank and his brothers purchased it. By World War II, the Ransbottoms were the largest producers of stoneware crocks and jars in the United States. Around 1920, Ransbottom partnered with Robinson Clay Products, a tile maker. Now called Robison-Ransbottom, the company expanded their line of stoneware products to include more decorative items, beyond the strictly utilitarian.
This yelloware milk pitcher can hold 56 ounces, when filled to the very brim. It would look great on a breakfast table (serving milk, water or orange juice), could be used to hold flowers or handsomely display a potted plant. Click on the photo above to learn more about it.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
We also can be found in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania at The Antique Center of Strabane (www.antiquecenterofstrabane.com).
Or call to arrange to visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only). 917-446-4248