STANGL BIRDS AND DINNERWARE

Filed in Antiques and Collectibles Info and Tidbits on Jul.25, 2009

(All Auctions Shown are Ebay Results)

Stangl Pottery is known for its bright, colorful bird figurines and hand-painted dinnerware in floral and fruit patterns. The company was by Samuel Hill in 1814 in Flemington, New Jersey, and known as Hill Pottery. Hill was a utilitarian potter, producing drain pipes and storage crocks and jars from Flemington’s red earthenware clay. By the 1860s, the company had been acquired by Abram Fulper, who continued creating utilitarian pottery primarily from stoneware. Abram Fulper’s grandson, William H. Fulper II was responsible for the development and introduction of Fulper Pottery Co.’s now renowned Vasekraft art pottery in 1909.

In 1910, Fulper hired ceramic engineer Martin Stangl to develop new shapes and glazes. By 1924, Martin Stangl was vice president of the company, and was responsible for the introduction of America’s first open stock solid-color dinnerware. The firm name was changed to Stangl Pottery in 1929.

Stangl also became well-known for its Birds of America line of pottery statues, which were styled after Audubon, and these bird sculptures are prized by collectors. By the 1940s, hand-painted dinnerware had become popular, augmented in 1942 with the introduction of Stangl’s best-known product, hand-carved, hand-painted dinnerware in vibrant floral and fruit patterns.

stangl pottery vase