This collection consists of research materials on Arkansas potteries. Arkansas history, from the 1860s to the 1940s, is rich in ceramic manufacturing heritage. Although many locations afforded opportunities for pottery operations, there were three sites where ample quantities of clay provided the means for the production of art pottery.
The three principal pottery companies were the Ouachita Pottery Company of Hot Springs in Garland County, Niloak Pottery Company of Benton in Saline County, and the Camark Art Tile and Pottery Company of Camden in Ouachita County. A lesser known art pottery operated briefly at Eureka Springs in Carroll County called Ozark Pottery. In addition, George Rumrill from North Little Rock ran a successful company where he and others designed pottery and had out-of-state companies make it.
The core of this collection is the result of the publication by the UCA Archives of the Arkansas Art Pottery Bibliography, compiled by David Edwin Gifford. Supplementing these materials with new primary and secondary sources on Ozark and Rumrill potteries, this collection will provide interested parties the opportunity to learn more about Arkansas’ unique artistic/ceramic heritage. This collection, with its wide range of printed matter, includes books, periodicals, government documents, catalogs, and company literature like portion advertisements and pamphlets. Moreover there are copies of original photographs which appeared in various publications and in the Old State House’s exhibit Niloak: An Arkansas Art and Tradition, in 1989. This particular collection is expandable; and as new printed and photographic sources surface, it will be updated.
Arrangement
This collection is divided into six (6) series. The first five are in the chronological order of when the companies were established: OUACHITA (1906), NILOAK (1926), CAMARK (1927), and RUMRILL (1933?). The sixth series, GENERAL MATERIALS, contains information that pertains to some of the above companies and/or the Arkansas clay industry itself. Each series is then divided into sub series in the following order: PRI- MARY SOURCES, SECONDARY SOURCES, CATALOGS, and PHOTOGRAPHS. With the exception of NILOAK, some series do not have catalogs and/or photographs sub series since none are known to exist at this time
Tracings: Arkansas Art Pottery Resource Material Business and Industry – Camark Pottery Company
Business and Industry – Niloak Pottery Company
Business and Industry – Ouachita Pottery Company
Business and Industry – Ozark Pottery Company
Business and Industry – Rumrill Pottery Company
Carnes, Samuel J. (Jack)
Ceramics
Cities and Towns – Benton
Cities and Towns – Camden
Cities and Towns – Eureka Springs
Cities and Towns – Hot Springs
Cities and Towns – North Little Rock
Counties – Carroll
Counties – Garland
Counties – Ouachita
Counties – Pulaski
Counties – Saline
Gifford, David Edwin
Hyten, Charles D.
Porcelain
Pottery
Rumrill, George
Stehm, Charles; Winburn, Hardy L., III
Photograph Tracings: Business and Industry – Niloak Pottery
Business and Industry – Ouachita
Cities and Towns – Benton
Cities and Towns – Hot Springs
Counties – Saline
Counties – Garland
Hylen, Charles D. Pottery
Series I – Ouachita Pottery
Sub-series I – Primary Sources
Box 1
File 1 – Ouachita Pottery Advertisement, Little Rock Sketch Book, October 1906
File 2 – Ouachita Pottery Advertisement, Cutter’s Guide to Hot Springs, 1907
File 3 – Incorporation Announcement for Hot Springs Clay Products Company, The Clay-Worker, May 1908
File 4 – Biographical sketch of Lee Worthington, in Fay Hempstead’s Historical Review of Arkansas, 1911
End of Sub-series 1
Series I – Ouachita Pottery
Sub-series II – Secondary Sources
Box 1 (Continued)
File 1 – Letter addressing the Ouachita and Rockwood connection, 1972
File 2 – Brief notation on Ouachita, Novel’s Collector’s Guide to America Pottery, 1974
File 3 – Request for information on Ouachita and some history, The Record, 1976
File 4 – “Ouachita Pottery,” by Paul Evans, Spinning Wheel, 1977
File 5 – Paraphrase of Evans’ article by Mary Hudgin’s, The Record, 1978
File 6 – Inaccurate information on Ouachita by Lois Lehner, 1988
File 7 – Information on Arthur Dovey’s association with Ouachita, 1988
File 8 – Ouachita chapter in Evan’s Art Pottery of the U.S., 1988
End of Sub-series II
Series I – Ouachita Pottery
Sub series III – Photographs
Box 1 (Continued)
File 1 – Ouachita Exhibit at Arkansas’ First State Fair, Hot Springs, 1906
File 2 – Office and Salesroom, Interior, 1906
File 3 – Workshop, Interior, 1906
End of Sub-series III
End of Series I
Series II – Niloak Pottery
Sub-series I – Primary Sources
Box 1 (Continued)
File 1 – Niloak Pottery Company, Announcement of organization, The Clay-Worker, February 1909
File 2 – “The Famous Niloak Pottery, Benton, Using Arkansas Kaolin,” (May 1911)
File 3 – “Articles of Agreement and Incorporation of the Niloak Pottery,” July 1911
File 4 – “A New American Pottery,” The Clay-Worker, May 1913
File 5 – Niloak of the Ozark, by Allen Sawyer, April 1916
File 6 – “Famous Niloak Pottery,” by Mrs. Bernie Babcock, Yesterday and Today, 1917
File 7 – Niloak Pottery Company, surrendering of corporation, January 1918
File 8 – “Famous Niloak Pottery,” Arkansas Gazette 1919, (same as file 6 above)
File 9 – Niloak Pottery Advertisement, National Editor’s Magazine, 1919
File 10- “Beautiful Niloak Pottery: An Exclusive Product of Arkansas Clay Deposits,” Arkansas Democrat, November 6, 1921
File 11- Niloak Pottery Advertisement, Arkansas Democrat, November 6, 1921
File 12- “Niloak Pottery Because of Its Color Patterns Is Unique in Art,” Arkansas Democrat, April 17, 1921
File 13- “Charles D. Hyten,” Centennial History of Arkansas, Volume II, 1922
File 14- “It’s Now the Potter’s Turn,” by Lillian H. Crowley, International Studio, September 1922
File 15- “The Niloak Pottery, Benton, Ark.,” by Leo P. Bott, Jr., Ceramic Age, 1928
File 16- “Pottery,” Directory of Arkansas Industries, 1924
File 17- “Niloak Pottery Is Unique Product,” Arkansas Gazette, July 19, 1926
File 18- Niloak Pottery Advertisement, Horseback and Hiking Trails, 1926
File 19- “Here, There, and Everywhere,” The Clay-Worker, 1927
File 20- “Ceramic Art Flourishes in Little Arkansas Town Where Beauty of Clay Alone Works Magic Results,” by Carolyn Bell, Houston Post, 1927
File 21- “Pottery Patent,” Official Gazette of the Patent and Trademark Office, January 31, 1928
File 22- Patent Announcement, Ceramic Abstracts, April 1928
File 23- Niloak Pottery Advertisement, Arkansas: A Presentation of Facts on Arkansas, 1928
File 24- Niloak Pottery Advertisement, Arkansas Gazette, June 5, 1929
File 25- “Charles D. Hyten,” D.Y. Thomas, Arkansas and Its People, Volume III, 1930
File 26- “Workers in Clay,” Arkansas Gazette, September 11, 1932
File 27- “Niloak Pottery,” by Sarah Mizelle Morgan, The Ozark Magazine, 1936
File 28- “You and Tomorrow and Ceramics,” by Hardy L. Winburn, Arkansas Education, 1943
File 29- “Arkansas Clay Goes to War,” by Diana Sherwood, Arkansas Gazette, March 28, 1943
File 30- “Famed Potter, C.D. Hyten, of Benton, Drowns,” Arkansas Democrat, September 7,1944
File 31- Pottery Originator Drowns Near Benton,” Arkansas Gazette, September 7, 1944
End of Sub-series I
Series II – Niloak Pottery
Sub-series II – Secondary Sources
Box 1 (Continued)
File 1 – Typescript of article from, Dixie Magazine, January 1926
File 2 – “Benton-Saline County: Niloak Pottery,” Lex Davis, Know Arkansas, 1926-1927
File 3 – “Niloak Art Pottery,” Centennial Edition of the Benton Courier, 1936
File 4 – Seventy Years of Saline County Pottery, by Hardy L. Winburn, Jr., 1938
File 5 – Saline County Pottery Since 1868, by Hardy L. Winburn, Jr., 1940 (revised edition of “Seventy Years” (see file 4)
File 6 – “Made From Arkansas Clay,” by Pat Dunnahoo, Arkansas Democrat Magazine, January 7, 1962
File 7 – “Saline County Clay and a Secret Process,” by David O. Demuth, Arkansas Democrat Magazine, July 6, 1969
File 8 – “Niloak Pottery,” by Elwin Goolsby, Old Bottle Magazine, April 1970
File 9 – Cheap Glass Killed Once-Thriving Pottery Industry,” by Pat Dunnahoo, Arkansas Gazette, June 28, 1970
File 10- “The Niloak Pottery,” by Paul F. Evans, Spinning Wheel, October 1970
File 11- Niloak Pottery Little Known Ware of Art Nouveau Period,” by Orva Heissenbuttel, TriState Trader, March 13, 1971
File 12- “Letters on Niloak,” Spinning Wheel, June 1971
File 13- “Arkansas Group Collects Niloak Pottery Products,” by Jo Ann Rogers, Collector’s Weekly, October 19, 1971
File 14- “Niloak Pottery,” by Jeannette H. Dixon, Hobbies, March 1973
File 15- “The History of Niloak Pottery,” A fourpart series by Arlene Hyten Rainey, Saline County Pacesetter, March 1971
File 16- “Niloak Pottery,” by Virginia Coleman Johnson, The Antiques Journal, July 1973
File 17- Niloak Pottery,” by Grace Weiss, The Antique Trader Annual of Articles, 1973
File 18- “Facts About Niloak,” by Kenneth Mauney, circa 1973
File 19- Niloak Pottery: Benton, Arkansas, Paul Evans, Art Pottery of the United States (1st ed.), 1974
File 20- Niloak Pottery, Deb and Gini Johnsons, Beginner’s Book to American Pottery, 1974
File 21- Niloak Pottery, Ralph and Terry Kovel, Kovels’ Collector’s Guide to American Art Pottery, 1974
File 22- “Niloak Pottery Benton, Arkansas,” by Judy Smith, Pottery Collectors Newsletter, November 1976
File 23- “Circus Parade of Niloak Animals,” by Jo Irwin, The Antique Trader Annual of Articles, 1978
File 24- “Important Niloak Collection in Storage,” by Duke Coleman, American Art Pottery, September 1981
File 25- “Hacienda is home for Niloak,” by Jane Dearing, Arkansas Democrat, March 21, 1982
File 26- Niloak Pottery, 1909-1946, Lucile Henzke, Art Pottery of America, 1982
File 27- “Niloak Swirl Vase: Signed and Dated,” by R.S.Doherty, American Clay Exchange, April 1982
File 28- “Now-obscure Niloak pottery forms exhibit at LR museum,” by Cindy Fribourgh, Arkansas Democrat, August 14, 1983
File 29- “First-ever Exhibition of Niloak Pottery Open at Museum of Science, History,” by Dorothy Palmer, Arkansas Gazette, August 19, 1983
File 30- “Noteworthy: New Niloak Paper stickers,” American Clay Exchange, January 1984
File 31- “Niloak Swirl Pottery Production, “by Bob Doherty, American Clay Exchange, March 1984
File 32- “Niloak Swirl Candlesticks,” by Bob Doherty, American Clay Exchange, July 1984
File 33- “Niloak’s Hywood,” by Bob Doherty, American Clay Exchange, September, 1984
File 34- “Woman Recalls Father Making Pottery,” by Libby Smith, The Dumas Clarion, February 19, 1986
File 35- “Niloak Pottery Company Of Benton, Arkansas,” by David Edwin Gifford, Spring 1986
File 36- Niloak Pottery Co., Elisabeth Cameron, Encyclopedia for Pottery and Porcelain, 1986
File 37- Addenda: Niloak Pottery, Paul Evans, Art Pottery of the United States (2nd ed.), 1987
File 38- Niloak Pottery Company/Hyten-Eagle Pottery Company, Lois Lehner, Lehner’s Encyclopedia of U.S. Marks on Pottery, Porcelain, and Clay, 1988
File 39- “All that Swirls is Not Necessarily Niloak” – Journal of the American Art Pottery Association, Jan./Feb. 1993
End of Sub-series II
Series II – Niloak Pottery
Sub-series III – Catalogs
Box 1 (Continued)
File 1 – Niloak Potter: Made in Arkansas, c.1920
File 2 – Niloak of the Ozarks, 1921
File 3 – Niloak Pottery Catalog, 1921
File 4 – Niloak Pottery, 1929
File 5 – Hywood Art Pottery, 1933
File 6 – Niloak of the Ozarks, c. 1934
End of Sub-series III
Series II – Niloak Pottery
Sub-series IV – Photographs
Box I (Continued)
File 1 – Eagle Pottery Employees, c.1910
File 2 – Interior of Niloak Pottery, c.1925
File 3 – Niloak’s “clay wagon,” c. 1937
File 4 – Niloak’s storefront, Asher Avenue in Little Rock, c. 1937
File 5 – Niloak’s company truck with Jules Palmer, c. 1937
File 6 – Charles Hyten at pottery wheel, c.1937
End of Sub-series IV
End of Series II
Series III – Ozark Pottery – Primary Sources
Box 1 (Continued)
File 1 – “Handmade `Ozark Pottery’ Made from Native Clays,” Fayetteville Daily Democrat February 19, 1926
File 2 – “Pottery To Be Established In Arkansas,” The Clay-Worker, October 1926
End of Series III
Series IV – Camark Pottery
Sub-series I – Primary Sources
Box I (Continued)
File 1 – “Gift and Art Journal Introduces Camark,” Camden News, 1927
File 2 – “Camark Pottery Sold Everywhere,” Camden News, 1936
File 3 – “New Kiln at Camark Pottery Plant,” Camden News, 1937
File 4 – Camark Pottery, Helen E. Stiles, Pottery in The United States, 1941
File 5 – “Camark Pottery Plant,” Arkansas: A Guide to the State, 1941
File 6 – “Rhapsodies in Clay,” Arkansas Democrat, July 17, 1947
File 7 – Rhapsodies in clay…, Camark pamphlet, c.1950
File 8 – “The Potters of Camden,” The Delphian Quarterly, 1953
File 9 – Camark Pottery, O.E. McKnight and Boyd W. Johnson, The Arkansas Story, 1955
File 10- “Death Claims Jack Carnes,” Arkansas Gazette, December 26, 1958
File 11- “Jack Carnes, Camden, Dies at 62,” Arkansas Democrat, December 26, 1958
File 12- “Camark Pottery Represents Early Industry,” by Ernie Deane, Arkansas Gazette, July 11, 1965
End of Sub-series I
Series IV – Camark Pottery
Sub-series II – Secondary Sources
Box 1 (Continued)
File 1 – “Camark,” Jo Cunningham, c. 1970
File 2 – Camark, Deb and Gini Johnson, Beginner’s Book of American Pottery, 1974
File 3 – An Early Look at Camark…and a word to the wise,” American Art Pottery, April 1978
File 4 – Out of the mold,” by Rena London, National Glass, Pottery, and Collectables Journal, June 1979
File 5 – “Camark,” by Don Brewer, Depression Glass Daze, June 1982
File 6 – Camark Pottery: 1926, Lucile Henzke, Art Pottery of America, 1982
File 7 – Camark: A Legendary Name In American Pottery,” Newcomer’s Guide to Camden, El Dorado and Smackover, 1983
File 8 – “Weller??, No, Camark,” American Clay Exchange, May 15, 1984
File 9 – “Camark-Coors,” American Clay Exchange, May 30, 1984
File 10- Camark Pottery Company: Camden, Arkansas, Jenny Derwich and Mary Latos, Dictionary Guide to United States Pottery and Porcelain: Nineteen and Twentieth Century, 1984
File 11- “Camark: A Legendary Name in American Pottery” by Joseph D. Alsbrook (reprint of file #7 above), American Clay Exchange, June 15, 1985
File 12- “Camark Metamorphosis,” by Doris and Burdell Hall, American Clay Exchange, October 30, 1986
File 13- “The History of Camark Pottery,” by Clay Cook, Patterns: A Social History of Camden,1986
File 14- Camark Pottery, Lois Lehner, Lehner’s Encyclopedia of U.S. MARKS ON Pottery, Porcelain and Clay, 1988
End of Sub-series II
Series IV – Camark Pottery
Sub-series III – Catalogs
Box 1 (Continued)
File 1 – Camark Pottery, 1942
File 2 – Camark Pottery, c. 1945
File 3 – Camark Pottery, c. 1950
File 4 – Camark Potter-One sheet, c. 1960
End of Sub-series III
Series V – Rumrill Pottery
Sub-series I – Primary Sources
Box 1 (Continued)
File 1 – Rumrill listing, Little Rock telephone directory, 1933
End of Sub-series I
Series V – Rumrill Pottery
Sub-series II – Secondary Sources
Box 1 (Continued)
File 1 – Red Wing, Marion Nelson, Art Pottery of the Midwest, 1988
End of Sub-series II
End of Series V
Series VI – General Materials
Sub-series I – Primary Sources
Box 1 (Continued)
File 1 – The Clays of Arkansas by John C. Banner, 1908
File 2 – Arkansas, 1836-1936, Senate Document #191, 2nd Session of the 74th Congress, 1936
End of Sub-series I
Series VI – General Materials
Sub-series II – Secondary Sources
Box 1 (Continued)
File 1 – “The Art Pottery Era in the United States, 1870 to 1920 – Part 2,” by Paul Evans, Spinning Wheel, October 1970
File 2 – [Swirl Imitators], Deb and Gini Johnson, Beginner’s Book of American Pottery, 1974
File 3 – “Hy Long by Niloak?, No! Hy Long by Frank and Ola Long,” by Marilyn Jones, American Art Pottery, January 1979
File 4 – To Be Niloak Or Not To Be Niloak,” by R.S. Doherty, American Clay Exchange,December 1982
File 5 – “Some Notes on Southern Pottery,” by Ken Forster, Journal of the American Art Pottery Association, September/October 1987
File 6 – Dickota, Marion Nelson, Art Pottery of the Midwest, 1988
File 7 – Ouachita, Marion Nelson, Art Pottery of the Midwest, 1988
File 8 – Niloak Potter Showroom and Sales Office, Military Avenue, c. 1937
File 9 – Additional Materials
End of Box 1
End of Sub-series II
End of Series VI
Box 2
File 1- Collector’s Guide to Camark Pottery Identification and Values- by David Edwin Gifford, 1997
File 2- Collector’s Guide to Camark Pottery Identification and Values- by David Edwin Gifford, 1999
File 3- Book- Collector’s Encyclopedia of Niloak- by David Edwin Gifford, 1993
File 4- Book- Collector’s Encyclopedia of Niloak 2nd Edition- by David Edwin Gifford, 2001
File 5- Magazine- Little Rock City Guide, January 2004
File 6- Little Rock Monthly, November-December 2002
File 7- Little Rock Monthly, January-May 2003
File 8- Little Rock Monthly, July-September 2003
File 9- Little Rock Monthly, October-December 2003
File 10- Little Rock Monthly, February-April 2004
File 11- Little Rock Monthly, May-August 2004
End of Box 2
End of Collection