Stangl pottery, made in Trenton from 1929 to 1978, has always been a New Jersey favorite, and the company’s dinnerware was particularly popular, especially as wedding-gift china, during World War II and the post-war 1940s and early ‘50s, because of the scarcity of imported china.
J. Martin Stangl was a German immigrant and a ceramic engineer. In 1910, at the age of 22, he went to work for Fuller Pottery of Flemington, New Jersey, but soon left to work for Haeger Pottery in Illinois.
Stangl returned to Fulper as general manager in 1920, but in 1929, the year of the stock market crash, Fulper’s factory was destroyed in a fire. Stangl bought the pottery company and instead of rebuilding it, he moved the operations to Trenton.
Just as a bit of gossip: Sly Marty Stangl also married Mrs. Fulper, when her husband passed away.
Old Fulper art pottery is among the most sought-after American art pottery on the market, and most collectors agree that Stangl never even came close to matching Fulper’s artistry. What Stangl did have was a keen business sense and a talent for marketing to the popular taste.
Most of Stangl’s dinnerware patterns were actually designed by a woman, Kay Hackett. In-house artists would carve the designs in the clay and then studio artists would paint them in.
At the height of the ware’s popularity, the painting was farmed-out to local artists who would pick up pieces at the factory, paint them at home, and return them to be fired in the kilns. As a result, a little cottage industry developed in and around Trenton. Hackett kept the designs simple, supplied the paints and gave lessons on coloring-in the patterns.
Stangl’s bird figurines and children’s dishes (kiddie ware) have long been popular and their prices reflect the high demand. But the dinnerware, perhaps because it was in such abundance in New Jersey, has been undervalued.
Stangl’s dinnerware will be priced by the pattern and certain patterns, especially Thistle, Provincial, Fruit, Fruit and Flowers, Tulip, etc. will be slightly higher in price because they are more in demand.
Right now it appears that Stangl patterns with white backgrounds, rather than brown or gray, are more popular, especially if the dominant design has bright, cheery colors.
Certain distinctively American designs are already being collected and prices for them have risen steadily over the years. These include Town and County, which resembles old American sponge ware, and County Life, with its images of the farmer, his wife and various farm animals.
Average prices: Ten-inch dinner plates ($15-25); luncheon plates ($10-15), teapots, platters, chop plates and large serving bowl ($45-65), skillets ($50), cup and saucer ($8-20).
Arthur Schwerdt, a certified appraiser, is the author of “The Antique Story Book: Finding the Real Value of Old Things,” and co-owner of The August Farmhouse Antiques on Route 9 in Swainton.
