Relevant Posts:
2009.08.07 Madeline Originals Vase
2008.03.25 Madeline Tumbler Vase

The information on this pottery is a little scarce - it’s mentioned in Chipman’s Encyclopedia but only in the index at the back. Madeline Johnson and her husband Paul started off creating their own pottery and ceramics in Pasadena in the late 40s.

Chipman’s Scrapbook goes into a little more detail:

Madeline had previously been a Cleminsons decorator. For ten years her ware was marked “Madeline Ceramics”…

She only dropped the “Ceramics” and added “Originals” at the suggestion of a jobber who thought the name sounded better.

The pieces that I’ve seen so far are very much in the vein of Sascha Brastoff designs, but her other work includes a number of birds like quail and peacocks. I’m wondering about the piece I found below, because it is quite unlike any of her other items I’ve seen on Ebay since it’s a single solid color. I thought perhaps it was an early piece, but it is marked on the bottom as “Madeline Originals” so it must be from at least 1958 or so. The backstamp is also impressed into the bottom, whereas most of her other pieces seem to be inkstamped or stickered, and marked as “Madline Originals Made in U.S.A.”.

I’ve been wondering about what happened to the pottery when it closed. Interestingly, recently I’ve come across items (mostly vases) that look a whole lot like something produced in the 80s. They sort of remind me of Jaru Art Products, the later period items.

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Note: We've tried to provide as much info as possible on this pottery maker or artist. For further info, you may want to research the items they have on Ebay listed under this name. We've tried to hand tailor the searches below so they will bring up the most accurate results. If there are no results, it will list general California pottery.