Misconceptions

Misconceptions lead to misinformation. Misinformation spreads like an out of control wildfire and is nearly impossible to get back into control or in this case having the real information corrected. Over time the misinformation grows to be truth.

Misconception #1 One of the biggest misconceptions in the Blue Mountain Pottery is that any pottery piece in green glaze is Blue Mountain. Just off the top of my head I could name at least 6 other potteries that used a very similar green glaze, was it to copy the BMP popularity?, a chance to gain an advantage in the market? Only the potteries could actually answer these questions.

Misconception #2 It has come to my attention that certain Collector Club members assume that this website and blog are part of their club. This I can answer, this web site and blog are not connected to any club or other website. This is a personal website and some contributions are from Collectors Club members from their own collection, not all collectors need to belong to a club or associate with any club. Information published on this website is from many years and hours of research, searching for information through personal connections and interviewing many people previously associated with Blue Mountain Pottery and other potteries of the same area.

Misconception #3 Again certain members of the Collectors Club believe that any new information, hard to find items or photos belong to their club. Again another erroneous assumption by a few certain people. Any information obtained from research in my possession is my personal property, nothing has been copied or obtained without proper consent or provided by the actual owner of such information or content.

Misconception #4 Copying any content, photos or other material from this website or any website without proper consent is Copyright Infringement by any means such as direct copying or manipulation of photos or content.

It has come to my attention that the catalog proofs loaned out for the Collector Club convention are now gracing the pages of another website as photos taken at the convention. Obtaining proper consent to publish these photos would have been a nice gesture instead of just posting on the site and passing on misinformation as to whom the actual owner of these proofs is. Any and all information on this site is published for informational purposes for all, any content or photos used on another website should have consent for use and credit to the owner of the content.

Small Treasures

On another trip through an antique mall we found 2 lovely early pieces of Blue Mountain Pottery. The small spittoon vase number 32B and the number 11 bowl. Both showing early marks, the spittoon vase with a raised mold mark with the grinding marks to remove the excess glaze drip after firing and also leveling the bottom surface, the small tapered bowl shows the early incised mark scribed into the base before firing. Glaze coloring and drip would also date both pieces to an early production time. A dark olive green around the top of the spittoon vase with light green-blue in the drip. A heavy glaze with larger drip effect on the tapered bowl. Two excellent examples of the early craftsmanship which continued over the years to bring a small local pottery to worldwide distribution.

Why is collecting the earlier pieces more of a challenge? Two of the most common reasons would be the early items were in a more limited production due to a small demand and production facilities being smaller. The second reason would be that over the years items would have been damaged in household moves and discarded. Finding excellent condition pieces is getting harder all the time as some savvy collectors have turned their interest towards the more vintage pieces.

Most of the very early Blue Mountain Pottery can be found in basically only 3 colors, green, blue or the more uncommon plum glaze. Red,mocha, slate and harvest gold glazes were used later.

On your next trip through your favorite mall or antique shop remember to check the uncommon or interesting green glaze pieces for the earlier mark.

Good luck with your collecting and searching for the uncommon pieces to expand your collection.

Surprises at the smaller Antique Malls

You never know where or what you will find when out strolling through some of the smaller antique malls. On a recent trip through one of the smaller antique malls I found this earlier glaze on a #54 10 inch vase. Nothing unusual about it sitting on the shelf amongst the other green pieces offered in this booth. After a close examination for damage or flaws a very interesting surprise surfaced on the bottom. Impressed near the outer edge was a small rectangular mark "BMP Canada", with some searching it is obviously the mark used in the Studio Pottery where the public could view the making of hand thrown pieces in the same forms as molded pieces produced by Blue Mountain. This same mark was used on many pieces thrown by "Domenic Stanzione" accompanied by his signature. This vase is unsigned and probably made by another potter in the studio. Running a hand inside the vase the ribbing from the pulling of the clay is very definite. Would this piece command the same price as a signed piece? In all probability it would fall well short of the highly collectible signed "Stanzione" pieces. Still an interesting find. My small personal collection is made up of the early incised marks and early raised marks in green, blue and plum glaze. I will eventually dust off my collection and add it to the website for all to view.

Some Help With Identifying Blue Mountain Pottery

On many occasions you will find dealers/sellers that misidentify other Canadian pottery as Blue Mountain Pottery. Potteries such as McMaster, Beauce, Evangeline, Laurentien and Canadian Ceramic Crafts also produced a green glaze on their pieces, color and application would easily identify any unmarked pieces.

The simplest and easiest is by the markings on the base if any. I have seen many pieces by Evangeline (well marked) advertised as Blue Mountain. The uneducated/misinformed dealer/seller attempts to sell most green pottery pieces as Blue Mountain solely because of the price difference. Flea Markets, Antique Shops or any Online Sales venue will have a few misidentified pieces. The stickers on the bottom or inside an open base does not guarantee authentic Blue Mountain as some stickers could have been applied to these pieces to misrepresent the piece. Another issue is pieces advertised as "RARE", if this was the only piece still in existence then it would be rare. In most cases a "Rare" piece is soon followed by 6 or 8 more "Rare" pieces. It is astonishing how you can browse through an Antique Mall finding an item marked as "Rare" and then finding 2 or 3 more of the same item within the mall. A cautious buyer is a knowledgeable buyer.

A Slow Start

Following a few technical problems our website has started to propagate in cyberspace. We will be adding to the site continually as we build on new information. Check back often to view our updates.

Check out our site:
http://www.thebmpcc.com/

The Beginning

With the growing popularity of collecting Canadian Pottery, there is a need for information being made available to the new or veteran collector. Bringing news and information to all is our goal. Our website will be published soon to help identify different makers in the Georgian Bay area of Ontario. Potteries such as Blue Mountain, CCC (Canadian Ceramic Crafts, later known as Rainbow Ceramics) Huronia Pottery, Pine Pottery and Rainbow Pottery (not to be confused with Rainbow Ceramics). Watch for our website.