The last couple of days I’ve been complaining about a lack of any Calif Pottery Karma at the thrift stores. Sure, there’s sometimes a week where I don’t find any pieces at all. However, getting completely skunked at the PCC Flea Market this weekend really added to my woes. There were plenty of interesting items, but they were all really expensive. Yes, I admit it. I’m the type of cheap-ass pottery collector who enjoys the hunt more than owning every single item from a particular company or line (much to the dismay of dealers out there).

Anyhow, I had pretty much resigned myself to waiting out the drought. Yesterday, I had to go to the bank and market to pick up food for the week. I decided to stop into the local Salvation Army - they occasionally have useful things like Corelle dishes or Pyrex cups that we pick up for our own use.

So I did a quick run down the housewares aisle. Picking up a newer “California Pantry” teapot (by the way, you should note all of those items are new and made in China), I put it down on an innocent looking serving plate. We’ve made somewhat of a vow not to buy any more large serving plates unless they’re exceptional, valuable or it’s a pottery that we don’t yet have listed in the reference. So I almost didn’t pick up this honest to goodness Catalina Island Pottery plate!

I was seriously about to leave, but I decided to check out the backstamp. The thick matte glaze reminded me of something older, but there are a lot of newer items being made recently that try to mimic it. I thought maybe it was some sort of Metlox platter, but when I saw the Catalina Island backstamp I couldn’t believe it.

It’s not surprising that I’ve never come across any Catalina in the thrifts - it’s seriously collectible stuff with a huge following of fans. This is a large 12.5 inch piece of dinnerware in a matte white glaze, I guess it was some sort of charger or server. I’ve no idea what line it might be from, just that I’m sure it’s from the island (as opposed to being made by Gladding on the mainland).

My excitement was somewhat tempered when I got home and discovered a crack in the plate and a few chips. Still, it definitely erased my pottery hunt drought and it was fun to find something that can be dated back to 1932-1937.

And I guess it also wasn’t bad for 88 cents.