If you've ever spent an afternoon rummaging via a dusty antique mall, you understand the thrill of spotting rare frankoma pieces tucked away on a bottom part shelf. There's some thing about this heavy, Oklahoma-born pottery that just feels different within your hands. It isn't almost the particular colors or the mid-century aesthetic; it's regarding the history of an organization that declined to quit, even after fires and financial shifts. For a number of us, Frankoma isn't simply "dishware"—it's an association to a specific time and place.
Collecting Frankoma may be a bit of a bunny hole. You start with a simple Lorry Wheel pitcher because it looks cool on the kitchen counter, and before you understand it, you're scouring eBay at two: 00 AM searching for specific clay forms and obscure double glazed patterns. But when you want to move previous the common stuff you find with every garage purchase, you have in order to know what actually makes a piece rare.
The key is in the Dirt
One associated with the biggest shows when hunting for rare frankoma pieces is the particular clay itself. In case you flip a piece over and appear at the unglazed bottom (the "foot"), you'll see the colour of the earth it was made from.
Within the early days—specifically through 1933 to about 1954—John Frank used Ada clay . This clay is lighting, creamy, almost white or a light tan. Because the company eventually changed to a darker, reddish-brown clay found in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, these early Ada pieces are much tougher to find. When a person find an early piece where the particular pale clay peeks through a thin glaze, you've strike a minor jackpot feature. The way the glazes reacted with the light Wujud clay created a luminosity that this later on red clay simply couldn't replicate.
Those Famous Political Mugs
A person can't discuss Frankoma without mentioning the GOP elephant cups. While you can find the normal ones fairly easily, the rare frankoma pieces in this type are the types from specific yrs or those along with experimental glazes.
The custom were only available in the past due 60s, and whilst the Republican Celebration elephants would be the nearly all famous, there were also Democratic dope mugs produced later on. Collectors go crazy for the particular 1968 and 1969 versions because they will were the first in the collection. Also, keep an eye out for the "Nixon" mugs or versions that had been manufactured in extremely limited quantities for specific political events. If you find a good elephant mug inside a glaze that wasn't standard for that year, you might be holding some thing worth a lot more than the five bucks a person paid for it.
The Mystery of the Glazes
Frankoma was identified for its "Desert Gold" and "Prairie Green, " which usually are beautiful yet everywhere. If you want the really rare frankoma pieces , you need in order to search for the short-lived or experimental glazes.
Take Peacock Azure , for illustration. It's a wonderful, vibrant shade that wasn't produced for very long compared in order to the staples. After that there's Flame , the bright red-orange that is notoriously difficult to get without chips (the glaze was a bit finicky).
Another one particular to watch regarding is the Puma glaze. It has this mottled, earthy look that will didn't remain in production for a massive window of time. Sometimes, the "rarity" originates from a mistake. A kiln may have run as well hot, or a batch of glaze might have been mixed somewhat differently, resulting within a "one-off" colour that collectors can pay a premium for since it shouldn't officially exist.
The particular Christmas Plate Infatuation
Starting in 1965, Frankoma started releasing annual Xmas plates. Like the particular political mugs, the early years are where the worth lies. The 1965 plate, featuring the "Good Will" message, may be the Holy Grail for plate enthusiasts.
The particular interesting thing regarding these plates is definitely that they were often given as gifts by companies or kept because family heirlooms, so they've survived in relatively good problem. However, finding all of them with the unique boxes or paperwork is where it gets tricky. If you're in a estate purchase and see a collection of these, check the dates. The particular 60s and really early 70s are the ones that make a collection be noticeable.
Appearance for the "V" Series and Figurines
While most people think of Frankoma as plates, bowls, and mugs, Ruben Frank was a good artist at center. He designed several incredible figurines plus decorative items that were never mass-produced on the exact same scale as the particular dinnerware.
Products like the V-series floral vases or maybe the small animal figurines—think cats, pumas, or use the little salt and pepper shakers shaped like shoes or even wagons—can be amazingly hard to track down. There are also particular "commemorative" pieces produced for local Ok banks or diamond jubilees. These weren't sold in stores; they were commissioned. Since they were dispersed in such a small geographic area, finding them outside of the Midwest is an actual challenge.
Why Condition Matters (Even More Than Usual)
Because Frankoma was meant in order to be used—it has been "the pottery with regard to the people"—most from it had been used. It sat upon dinner tables, had soapy dishwater, and got bumped close to in cabinets. Locating rare frankoma pieces in "mint" condition is difficult.
The particular Sapulpa clay (the red stuff) is in fact quite sturdy, but the glazes can "ping" or craze as time passes if they've been exposed to extreme temperature modifications. When you're taking a look at a rare piece, check the edges from the handles and the rim associated with the base. A little chip might not really be a dealbreaker if the piece is rare good enough, but a hairline crack can drop the value significantly.
Distinguishing the Marks
If you're serious about the look, bring a magnifying glass. Most Frankoma is marked for the bottom with the particular name "Frankoma" and a mold number. However, some early pieces were marked differently, or the glaze was applied so thickly that it stuffed in the stamps.
Understanding the mold amounts is a little bit of a professional move. For example, once you learn that a certain number matches to a limited-run pitcher from the particular 1940s, you may identify a piece even if the "Frankoma" stamp is nearly invisible. There are many extractor books available that list these figures, and having an electronic copy on the telephone while you're away picking is a godsend.
The Pleasure of the Search
At the end of the day, collecting rare frankoma pieces is about the particular stories. It's about this lady at the flea market who else didn't know the girl had a 1950s Wujud clay vase, or even the thrill associated with realizing a dirty bowl is really a piece of mid-century artwork.
Frankoma has a friendliness to it that mass-produced modern pottery just lacks. It feels like the Ok soil it arrived from—rugged, honest, and also a little bit persistent. Whether you're searching for a particular GOP mug to finish a set or you're hunting regarding that elusive Peacock Blue glaze, the particular search is part of the fun. Simply remember to check out the bottoms, look for the light clay, and always, often keep your eyes peeled for those weird, experimental glazes that will shouldn't be presently there. You never understand whenever you might bumble across a piece of history sitting right in entrance of you.