Edwin M. Knowles China Company
Description
1900-1962
Edwin M. Knowles was born in 1869, the son of Isaac Watt Knowles, founder of Knowles, Taylor & Knowles Co. (one of the largest American pottery companies at the turn of the 20th century). A graduate of Harvard, Edwin took control of Potters Supply Company in East Liverpool, Ohio in 1890. Ten years later, Knowles founded Knowles China Company, which became Edwin M. Knowles China Co; the manufacturing was centered in Chester, West Virginia, but expanded to Newell, WV a decade later. In 1931, the company would consolidate to a single plant in Newell. These two plants, operating at once, helped cement West Virginia’s place as the third-largest state producing pottery in the United States, behind Ohio and New Jersey. Though the pottery was made in West Virginia, the company advertised its location as East Liverpool, Ohio, as exhibited in the 1910 advertisement below. Edwin died in 1943, and the company folded in 1962. In the 1980s and ‘90s, the Edwin M. Knowles name resurfaced, copyrighted by a group with no connection to the original company; this new iteration of Edwin M. Knowles created and sold collectible plates, often depicting scenes from famous films like Gone With the Wind or The Sound of Music.
RRH
Edwin M. Knowles was born in 1869, the son of Isaac Watt Knowles, founder of Knowles, Taylor & Knowles Co. (one of the largest American pottery companies at the turn of the 20th century). A graduate of Harvard, Edwin took control of Potters Supply Company in East Liverpool, Ohio in 1890. Ten years later, Knowles founded Knowles China Company, which became Edwin M. Knowles China Co; the manufacturing was centered in Chester, West Virginia, but expanded to Newell, WV a decade later. In 1931, the company would consolidate to a single plant in Newell. These two plants, operating at once, helped cement West Virginia’s place as the third-largest state producing pottery in the United States, behind Ohio and New Jersey. Though the pottery was made in West Virginia, the company advertised its location as East Liverpool, Ohio, as exhibited in the 1910 advertisement below. Edwin died in 1943, and the company folded in 1962. In the 1980s and ‘90s, the Edwin M. Knowles name resurfaced, copyrighted by a group with no connection to the original company; this new iteration of Edwin M. Knowles created and sold collectible plates, often depicting scenes from famous films like Gone With the Wind or The Sound of Music.
RRH
Rights
Public Domain
Source
The Pottery and Glass Salesman. New York: O’Gorman Publishing Company. Volume 24. 1910.