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Broadmoor bird vases are quite nice
and usually not hard to find. We feature this pair
because it shows bird impressions well and has
other points of interest.
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The blue is special because it is
a drip glaze and was signed by Cecil Jones during
his year with Broadmoor; the bisque because we
seldom see Broadmoors without glaze.
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Most of our vases are hard to
photograph because of their glossiness. This bird
vase form would be especially attractive in
Broadmoor's common red (Oxblood) glaze.
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From a more aerial view check out
the irregular hand crafting of the vase rims. |
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Likewise we show two of four of our
vases with irregular hand crafted footing. |
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The base on the right shows Cecil
Jones' prized mark
(click to enlarge).
Also its runny glaze has been properly ground
level after flowing around the base. The unglazed
vase gives us a nice view of Broadmoor's typical
off-white buff fired clay body.
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The girth of each has the same
attractive press molded impression. From opposite
sides the bisque and blue vases show different
bird views. |
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Again our unglazed vase shows
Broadmoor's typical off-white or buff clay body. |
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We now look at two crackle-glazed
bird vases.
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This first has a pretty white
fine-grained crackle glaze. It was introduced by
Cecil Jones to Broadmoor in Colorado Springs in
1934, their first full year of operation.
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After Jones left the following year
Broadmoor was unable to reproduce the white
crackle. Crackle glaze know-how in hand, he began
his own pottery business, La Mirada, in Los
Angeles in 1935, where he made this crackle as
well as a green variation in abundance (future
article).
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So Broadmoor could
only produce a coarser light brown glaze in
Colorado Springs until 1937, before dropping the
crackle effort altogether in Denver.
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So the brown crackle is rare or
non-existent from Broadmoor-Denver. Carltons Colorado Pottery
shows an example with a Denver foil label, but we
believe it may have instead been made in Colorado
Springs. Occasionally Colorado Springs pieces are
re-labeled, re-incised or re-ink stamped with
Denver marks. |
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(More on the Cecil Jones crackle
story in a future article.) |
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(click to
enlarge)
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Returning to the topic of base
finishing, four of the six vases in our group are
footed, while these two have less labor-intensive
flat bases. Broadmoor-Colorado
Springs vases are more often footed while
Broadmoor-Denver vase bases are usually flat. |
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Our lone
Broadmoor vase from Denver has a flat
base. And the
pretty cobalt is almost always a Denver-only
glaze. |
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Broadmoor production
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Also note although Broadmoor Art
Pottery & Tile Co in Colorado Springs operated
twice as many years as Broadmoor Pottery Co in
Denver, Denver pots are much more plentiful. |
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Springs pieces usually have more of
a studio pottery look, e.g. footed bases. And we
find fewer advertising ashtrays and vases than
from Broadmoor-Denver. |
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Broadmoor in Denver
evidently ramped up production and made a serious
go of its new pottery making endeavor beginning in
1937, unfortunately in the midst of the
"depression within the Great Depression" of the
1930s. |
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After a single tourist season
Broadmoor was shut down forever in the spring of
1939. |
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Cecil Jones
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Finally we believe Cecil Jones must
have been the designer of the pretty bird vase.
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He had long been associated with
ceramics going back as a student and later
assistant headmaster at Coalbrookdale School of
Art in England.
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On his arrival to America in 1913,
he was listed as "designer" and worked for
American Encaustic & Tiling Co in Zanesville,
New Jersey and finally Los Angeles as AETCo's
plant manager until the Depression hit. |
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We also have a Broadmoor tile
signed by Cecil Jones as well as several vases in
swirl and floral relief (future articles). We
believe The Brown Palace Hotel's Ship Tavern ashtray
is also a Cecil Jones design.
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Eric Hellman, the other ceramist
with Broadmoor in Colorado Springs was very much
the wheel work specialist as was Jonathan Hunt
later with Broadmoor in Denver. However Cecil
Jones appeared less the thrower and more a raised
design artist.
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After Jones returned to Los
Angeles, his La Mirada Pottery produced much ware
with embossed designs.
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September 2013 additions:
This attractive green drip Broadmoor bird vase was
listed on the eBay auction site. It is footed and
made at Colorado Springs.
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And we found another pretty bird
vase in red. Also footed and from Colorado
Springs.
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