Collector: Jerry Kunz
Location: Private Residence
Featured Items: An ashtray with a figure of a seal with the names Eula and Carl engraved on the front, an ashtray that's shaped like a fish and a pipe holder with a figure of a sleeping man in a sombrero and scarf--called a siesta ashtray, a pelican figure fashioned from rough, red clay that can be seen beneath the glaze--the red clay is indicative of earlier Catalina pottery and therefore the pelican figure is more valuable than a humidor that is made of white clay, a bear figure and a baseball-themed mug--both of which were made in honor of Wrigley's Chicago Cubs. The mug is worth $700, and the bear and a clay baseball glove are worth $2,000 each, accessible island pieces are tableware's--most can be found for under $100, some for as little as $10 each, a wall pocket with delicate blue flowers is valued around $300, a green basket with colorful decorative flowers and matching bookends, chamber candlesticks--formed and colored like open flowers, a flying fish ashtray marked and signed on the back by Lucie. Kunz believes the piece to be one of a kind. He bought if for $4, and it is now worth (by Kunz's best estimate) $1,000, other rarities in the $1,000 range include a pair of art deco lamps and a decorative plate of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Details: Collector Jerry Kunz spends a great deal of time searching for these colorful wares. He discovered Catalina pottery while visiting the island in the 1970s and he's been a collector ever since.
Catalina is a colorful pottery with an equally colorful history. Catalina Island pottery was made for ten short years, from 1927 to 1937, on the island of Santa Catalina. The island itself lies 22 miles off the coast of California, and in the years before air travel, the island and its picturesque city of Avalon were popular destinations for the rich and Hollywood's elite.
While the first pieces of pottery were turned out in 1927, the story of Catalina Island pottery really begins in 1919, when billionaire tycoon William Wrigley Jr. of chewing gum fame bought the island sight unseen. He quickly began the process of developing it, realizing early on that one of the island's great resources was its clay, which led to the opening of a pottery factory that turned out a wide variety of decorative and utilitarian wares.
Unlike an 18th century tea bowl that is held daintily, Catalina pottery can be handled and touched according to Kunz. He says that the other thing he feels is important in collecting is context. Where did the piece come from and what is its history? Catalina is a part of his history because it is a part of Southern California history. Early on, Catalina's main focus was tiles; they were used in home decor and in tables. Along the way, a wide variety of wares was introduced, everything from giant jars to tiny salt-and-pepper shakers. If you visited Catalina Island you could pick up a souvenir piece that often reflected life on the island, or maybe the wildlife that lived there.
Rarity, condition and glaze color all effect the value of Catalina Island pottery. Kunz says the rarest colors are sea foam, Monterey brown, black and blended pieces--which are some of the earliest examples of Catalina. With the exception of the decorative plates, very few of the Catalina pieces were signed or marked by individual artists. Lucie Watkins's worked for the pottery factory and produced unusual and popular items at the time and her work is still popular with today's collectors.
Catalina pottery is most known for its bright glazes. In 1936, those colors changed with the fashion, and softer pastel glazes became en vogue. And in 1937 Gladding McBean, a competing pottery company, bought the name but closed the plant, forever ending the pottery's production on the island. More than 60 years later, Catalina is still on the minds of travelers and collectors, but Kunz says you don't have to book a flight to get there. He feels you can you can return to that sun-drenched island anytime you want by simply holding a piece of Catalina pottery in your hands.
