Introducing Roseville Pottery

by Mark Bassett

(Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1999, 288 pp., hardbound, $39.95 from Schiffer Publishing, 4880 Lower Valley Rd., Atglen, PA 19310; (610) 593-1777; include $3.95 S/H, Pennsylvania residents add sales tax).

Among the several collectors' books with price guides offered recently by Schiffer, Bassett's comprehensive presentation of Roseville pottery is exemplary. If you are a novice collector of Roseville, this is a wonderful place to start your research and indulge your enthusiasm. If you have collected for some time, this book could add to your knowledge, since Bassett has included original research from factory documents at the Ohio Historical Society. Best of all, it is written well and presented beautifully.

The main body of the book is chapter six, "Roseville Pottery Lines, A to Z." The product line is shown with examples in color. As Bassett states in this chapter's introduction, "Because this book is intended primarily for beginners, I opted for breadth over depth of coverage. For unusual pieces and more new shapes, watch for my next book, Understanding Roseville Pottery." He nevertheless offers complete lists of shapes, their numbers and descriptions with reference notes, not to mention cautions and other valuable collectors' information. Other chapters, written assuredly and with a teacher's touch, explain such niceties as "Collector's Etiquette" and "Reproductions, Fakes, and Fantasy Pieces." This book is highly recommended for collectors of Roseville.

Also see Cowan Pottery and the Cleveland School, co-authored by this author.

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