Description
1920's Fulper Porcelain perfume lamp. 6" tall x 5" wide in working condition<br>with no cracks, chips, or restorations. Embossed fulper on base. The same Fulper<br>American art pottery company from New Jersey.<br>tw212<br><br>The Fulper Pottery Company was founded in Flemington, New Jersey in 1899 by<br>Charles Fulper and his sons. However, the pottery had existed since 1815 when<br>the first pottery was created by Samuel Hill. The pottery initially produced a<br>wide variety of utilitarian ware, and drain tiles and storage crocks and jars<br>from Flemington’s red earthenware clay. In 1847 Dutchman Abraham Fulper, an<br>employee since the 1820s became Hill’s partner. He later took over the company.<br><br>It was not until the early 1900s when William Hill Fulper II (1870-1953) started<br>to experiment with colored glazes and the company started to create some of the<br>art pottery it is famed for. Fulper is credited with inventing the dry-body slip<br>glaze, which was used to create colorful designs on his pottery. He also<br>developed a method of using electric kilns to fire his glazes, which resulted in<br>brighter and more consistent colors.<br><br>Fulper Pottery’s Vasekraft line was inspired by the work of German potter John<br>Martin Strangl. The line includes a wide variety of vases, bowls, and other<br>vessels, all with Strangl’s signature clean lines and simple forms.<br><br>The company is especially known for the Fulper lamps-with glazed pottery shades<br>inset with colored glass-were truly innovative forms. The firm’s most<br>spectacular and innovative accomplishments are the table lamps made with glazed<br>pottery bases and shades, which were inset with pieces of colored opalescent<br>glass. These were produced from about 1910-1915 and are very rare, especially in<br>perfect order.<br><br>William Hill Fulper II was also an excellent advertiser and marketeer and<br>Fulper’s Vasekraft products were sold throughout the United States in the most<br>prestigious department stores and gift shops. Fulper’s pottery was exhibited at<br>the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, where it<br>received a gold medal. His work is also included in the collections of the<br>Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Philadelphia<br>Museum of Art.<br><br>During its first twenty-five years, Fulper Pottery was particularly known for<br>its flambé glazes, which were heavily influenced by Chinese and Japanese ceramic<br>traditions. These glazes, which resulted in vibrant and often unexpected colors,<br>helped to establish Fulper Pottery’s reputation for innovative and high-quality<br>art pottery.<br><br>After World War I, Fulper Pottery began to shift away from its Germanic roots<br>and move towards more Oriental-inspired forms. The company’s designers began to<br>experiment with new shapes and glazes, inspired by the Art Deco movement that<br>was sweeping Europe at the time. The Vasekraft name was changed to Fulper<br>Pottery Artware. These new pieces were softer and more graceful than the<br>functional stoneware that Fulper had been producing up until that point, and<br>they proved to be very popular with the public.<br><br>In the 1920s, Fulper Pottery was one of the leading producers of Art Deco<br>ceramics in the United States. The company’s designers created a wide range of<br>vases, lamps, and other objects that were both beautiful and stylish. Fulper’s<br>pieces were featured in some of the most prestigious design magazines of the<br>day, and they were popular with both collectors and everyday consumers.<br><br>In 1925, Charles Fulper died, and his sons took over the operation of the<br>pottery. Under their leadership, Fulper Pottery continued to experiment with new<br>glazes and firing techniques. They also began to produce a line of dinnerware,<br>which was very popular during the Depression-era.<br><br>The Great Depression hit Fulper Pottery hard, as it did many other businesses.<br>The company was forced to lay off a large number of employees and cut back on<br>production. However, Fulper’s designers continued to experiment with new ideas,<br>and the company managed to survive the difficult economic times.<br><br><br>William Hill Fulper II died suddenly in 1928. The company continued to be run<br>with Martin Stangl as President. In 1935, Fulper Pottery Artware production was<br>ceased at the small remaining Flemington location, and that building was<br>utilized solely as a retail showroom for the company’s ceramic products. After<br>1935, the company continued to be Fulper Pottery, but produced only Stangl<br>Pottery brand dinnerware and artware.
