Featured Hull Art Pottery: The Least Loved Of The Major Ohio Art Potteries?

I remember 15 years ago when the more common production pieces of Hull Pottery (like the ones in my collection shown below) used to realize respectable sums when sold, especially the bow knot line which was fairly sought after.

When I was a child, my parents collected a few pieces of Hull when they were first getting started collecting and didn't have the courage to pay up for Roseville Pottery yet. I remember most of the more common production pieces selling in the $40-150 range with a few outliers selling higher or lower than that. I attended a few estate auctions (in 2005ish) were the there were 100's of pieces for sale where the deceased was obviously a major admirer of Hull. Collectors drove in from hundreds of miles away for those sales and prices were very high.

Today prices are very low with some of the more common pieces selling for $10-15 at estate auction and $15-25 in many antique malls. Even at these levels they just don't seem to sell very quickly. Is Hull Pottery the least loved of the major Ohio art potteries? I think this may be true since Roseville & Weller both seem to sell decently well outside of the more common later lines, still a down market for them but still desirable with devoted collectors. Antique Rookwood Pottery seems to have weathered the downturn in art pottery better than most seeing its prices down a little but not as far as other makers.

Hull Pottery, with an exception for the rare earlier lines seems to be practically unsellable these days. Ugly imported Chinese décor pottery being sold at Pier One Imports are likely realizing better prices then Hull Art Pottery.

I still like Hull and have purchased the majority of my small collection of 20-25 pieces at rather affordable sums but I will not be rushing out to purchase more unless at bargain basement levels.

 

I think all of your comments are spot-on Joe.

 

Example: The piece below used to be a $150-200 dollar piece in the desirable Bow Knot line. Now the buy it now is $55 plus some change. I have one I purchased 8 years ago at what I thought was a bargain at $60.

VINTAGE HULL BOW KNOT B-8- 8 1/2" 2 HANDLED VASE | eBay

 

Thanks Joe2007, it was good to take a look at Hull, which I know only from some pigs in my Mum's collection. It's curious how pottery goes in and out of fashion. I'm "spending" Covid on the odd bargains I really don't need, but which will be safe and appreciated here and may even turn a profit in my lifetime. If they're still safe when I kark it and the dogs' home benefits, that's fine too.

So some Hull would be coming home with me.

 

I have had only one Hull piece that I found at an estate sale years ago. I believe it was the same pattern as your first photo. It was a bowl. It had some nicks and chips or flaws, so it sold at a not so high price.

 

Hull Pottery didn't seem to just decline, it seemed to plummet downwards in price. Personally, I blame it on the pastel colors and the relative sameness across all patterns, so you can hardly tell one pattern from another. I never bought much of it for resale because (no disrespect, everyone's different), I just don't like it much. It's odd how things come and go. But I don't see it coming back any time soon because it looks too "granny".

 

I agree, Ola. The only Hull pieces I cared to buy are ones that fit in with my "Green Collection." And they are planter shapes, not "vases."

 

Can't say I have ever liked it for the same reasons ola402 gives. Have sold it sporadically when I could buy right. Recently picked up a quite large vase in perfect condition for a few bucks. Can not sell it even at $12.00 in my retail space. Now at half that and it still has not sold. Going to 75% off this week. Won't be buying more at any price.

 

Recently a local auctioneer has been liquidating a large collection of Ohio Art Pottery, breaking it up in about 50 pieces each sale in multiple sales with other antiques. He has had 4-5 of these sales, of which I have been to two of them. There is some Roseville, Rookwood, Hull, and McCoy but over 50% is damaged with a lot of noticeable hairlines. No really rare or large pieces, just run of the mill stuff.

The prices are no longer dead; just soft to doing moderately well. The Roseville, lesser in quantity has sold really well for common pieces ($50-100 range undamaged/$20-30 damaged), I haven't bought any since I am looking for rock bottom prices and better lines in good condition. All the pieces I would have wanted are damaged. Today there were 4 pieces of Roseville with only one undamaged. Someone bought the lot for $85, not sure what they were doing - There was a nice small Thornapple piece in there that had two hairlines - but the condition was a dealbreaker in my mind.

The Rookwood was common production pieces and sold for middle of the road prices. McCoy always has done well and has never seen the large dip in prices that other pottery has.

The Hull was a mixed bag with most doing well with smaller pieces in the $15-30 range but others at the end of the sale in the $5-15 range. There were a lot more bidders than I expected, several new faces buying 10-20 pieces, obviously amateurs because they were picking some of the damaged pieces. I picked up a half dozen undamaged pieces of Hull at the end of the sale. I can't yet pass up $5-7 vases.

A few years ago, I would have had choice of the lot with a lot less competition.

 

That sounds about like here. People who price in charity thrifts think it's still Oh So Special and price at Brad's prices and then wonder why it sits with no takers. Roseville goes sometimes, but you have to mark Shawnee, Hull etc at about 10% of 1980s prices.

 

We had two small Hull vases sell at our last auction and both were below $15. One problem I personally obseved with Hull was that there really wasn't much variety compared to Weller, McCoy, or Roseville. Each year, Hull came out with a new line but I can't think of a single line that had much more than fifteen shapes. It's fairly easy to complete a collection. And, as mentioned, the pastel glaze colors don't match modern decorating trends.

And it's the old story of too few collectors for the supply. I do find a few Hull patterns I appreciate (Ebb tide is an example) but I don't like any of them enough to actually collect. I don't buy for resale, although I might pick up a Red Riding Hood piece at the right price. The pieces we do sell at auction mostly go to hopeful flea market traders rather than collectors. That's not a good sign for the immediate market.