Because a majority of the California Pottery I find comes from thrift stores, more often than not it’s not in exactly the best shape. This is one reason why I’ve started taking pictures of items instead of buying them. I figure that way at least they are recorded for the site.

However, I was sorely disappointed to find this rare Robertson Pottery vase that had been cracked in half. To add insult to injury, a worker had jammed a bunch of crappy utensils into the mouth of the vase and then taped it all over. Still, I nearly bought it just because I didn’t yet have an example of it for the website. It’s a rather unusual shape for vases, a highly skewed parallelogram with a really nice blue crackle glaze. Fred and George Robertson were known for this crackle glaze, and passed on the knowledge to other potteries (including La Mirada). The history of the Robertson Pottery in Hollywood traces all the way back to England in the 1850s.

In the end, I just took a lot of camera phone pictures. I wish I’d had my normal camera instead. I tried not to make a commotion, but after awhile a small crowd had gathered to see what it was I was taking pictures of. I ended up explaining some of the history of California potteries (what I could remember, at least) to some of the people. That’s always kind of fun seeing other people interested in it. Although, I’m sure one or two of them in the bunch were resellers. Indeed, when I went back the next time, the vase was gone. I’m not sure if it has much value, however, as it was in really bad shape. I’m just happy that I was able to record this find for the site.