Trenton Potteries Company (Ideal Pottery)

HOW TO USE THE DATABASE

The Database is organized by location, but you can find a pottery initially by searching for its name, which is at the top of the of the page with dates of operation below. Alternate names and the names of other potteries on the same site are noted at the top of the right-hand column, just above the pottery’s location.

The types of wares made appear below the pottery name in the left-hand column, followed by the references that informed these classifications.

Sample images of maker’s marks may be enlarged by clicking on the image.

Notes include a variety of information compiled from many standard sources and are presented as miscellaneous tidbits.

In the Gallery and Map Gallery in the right-hand column you will see historic images and insurance maps of the pottery’s facilities if available as well as historic advertisements and images of the wares made.

You can download more detailed information in all of these categories by choosing a PDF of the pottery’s full listing, which also includes the documentary sources. The PDF is text only and does not contain any images. Data from the 1860, 1870 and 1880 industrial censuses area also included in the PDF if they exist for a given pottery. This data gives you a picture of the size of the pottery operation and the age and gender makeup of its work force.

You can help expand the database by contributing pictures and information. Contact POTS by the email address at the bottom of the page.

In operation 1900-1928

Wares

Hotel china Sanitary

Bath tubs, laundry tubs, sanitary ware, earthen and chinaware (Industrial Directory 1901)

Pottery ware (Industrial Directory 1906)

Porcelain and sanitary ware (Industrial Directory 1909)

Sanitary earthenware (Industrial Directory 1927)

Selected References

Trenton Board of Trade. 1900. Industrial Trenton and Vicinity. George A. Wolf Publishers, Wilmington, Delaware.

Hayward, W. (United States Attorney). 1922. In the District Court of the United States America, for the Southern District of New York: United States of America vs. the Trenton Potteries Co., et al.: Indictment Filed August 9, 1922. Freemont Payne, Inc., New York, New York.

Trenton Magazine. 1925. “How the Trenton Potteries Company Manufactures ‘Tepeco’ All-Clay Plumbing Products: Showing Care Used in Selection of Materials and Explaining Modern Methods Used in the Manufacture of Sanitary Earthenware.” January, 1925.

The Trenton Potteries Company. 1925. Established 3500 B.C.: A Brief History of the Origin and Development of All Clay Plumbing Fixtures. Trenton, New Jersey.

Harney, W.J. 1929. “Trenton’s First Potteries.” Sunday Times Advertiser, July 7, 14, 21 and 28, 1929.

Stern, Marc Jeffrey. 1994. The Pottery Industry of Trenton: A Skilled Trade in Transition, 1850-1929. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Goldberg, David J. 1998. Preliminary Notes on the Pioneer Potters and Potteries of Trenton, N.J.: The First Thirty Years – 1852 – 1882 (And Beyond). Privately published, Trenton, New Jersey.