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Pocket Watches Facts And Tips

“What’s It Worth” Antiques Minute
By Mike Ivankovich
Ashley King, “the Clock
Trader” from Quakertown, Pa.,
has repaired more than 12,000
clocks and watches and was
recently on my “What’s It Worth?
radio show talking about pocket
watches. It is thought that the
pocket watch was first invented
in the 16th century, and its usage
became widespread with the
help of the later transportation
industry, in particular the rail-
roads and the need to keep the
trains running safely and on
time.
Pocket watches include a
case and movement, which were
Continued on page 1

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2021 • VOL. 52, NO. 5

Special Folk Art Ceramic Vase Made At The Maurice Knight Chemical
Stoneware Plant In Akron, Ohio
Carl Funk's Sewer Tile Vase Is Dated 1935
By Justin W. Thomas after-hours creativi-
ty was very much a
In the late 19th and 20th centu- part of that indus-
ry, people who worked in sewer try, as well.
pipe factories used leftover clay at The decorating
the end of the day to make a wide techniques found
assortment of decorative objects, on some of these
some of which were given as gifts. pieces include
These pipe factories were found all applied decora-
over the United States, although tions, embossing Carl Funk (right), ca. 1930s.
the most prominent production and incising. Some there in the late present made by Carl Funk for his
seems to have taken place in west- of the objects also 1920s or early first wife, Marie, in 1935. Rarely is
ern Pennsylvania and Ohio, most drew inspiration 1930s (which is there any pottery that survives
actively from 1890 to 1950. The from similar objects where this today that can be connected with
forms that were made include fig- This sewer tile vase made by Carl Funk piece was cer- such a special meaning. This is a
manufactured in
ures of animals, banks, vases, mugs, for his wife, Marie Funk, dated tainly made). hand-thrown vase adorned in
England, such as
flowerpots, birdhouses, doorstops, “December 21, 1935,” made at the Later in life, he applied birds, flowers and leaves,
molded spaniels.
bookends, and other shapes. Maurice Knight Chemical Stoneware was a gospel as well as molded handles. There
These pieces can
Many of the sewer pipe pieces Plant in Akron, Ohio. singer on tele- are other whimsical sewer tile pieces
also be found
were created as personal items for marked, whether it be signed with vision and radio in Louisville, Ohio. that survive from Funk today, but I
family members and friends. They initials, a name, and a date or even He is buried next to his second wife have not seen anything that would
were given to children, likely as stamped with the mark of a sewer in Forte Meade, Fla. indicate there is other pottery known
birthday presents and for other tile factory. The most special pieces Funkʼs occupation is listed in the where these same type of applied
holiday celebrations. Some of these are usually those that can be associ- 1940 U.S. Federal Census as an “Ovens decorations were used. These may
special objects were even created ated with a specific person and the Tender, Clay Factory.” It would seem have been special decorations that
as wedding gifts. These pieces often meaning for why that object was that he began in the pottery industry Funk created just for this piece that
reflect the personality and creativi- made in the first place. at a young age based on the fact that he very likely gave to Marie when
My niece, Alexis, pictured with the sewer they were newlyweds, seeing that
ty of the person who manufactured A Sewer Tile Vase Made his highest level of education
tile vase made by Carl Funk for his wife, when this piece was created when he
them, which goes outside the norm By Carl Funk In Akron, Ohio achieved was eighth grade. His father,
Marie Funk. was only 22 and she was just 17 years
of the traditional everyday utilitari- In the fall of 2020, I acquired a Howard Thurlow Funk (b. July 25,
an potter, who manufactured spe- of the country, which in the end gave 20th century sewer tile vase decorat- 1881), was also a German potter old.
cific household forms that were then these clay workers the opportunity to ed with applied birds and various working in Akron, listed as a “maker
sold to the general public. show their creative side with leftover flowers. I purchased it out of Illinois, of chemical stoneware.” Sources
The man- clay. but it was thought to have been The Maurice Knight Chemical Adamson, Jack E. “Illustrated
ufacture of However, found prior to that in Ohio. Even Stoneware Plant was established in Hand Book of Ohio Sewer Pipe Folk
these whimsi- sewer tile though the form and decoration was 1910, and the company was the first Art.” self published, 1973.
cal and spe- production is appealing, it was an inscribed writing United States maker of acid-resistant Gold, Anita. “Pipe Factory Workers
cial objects in some ways on the base that captured my atten- ceramics that could be used in chem- Made Their Mark With Whimsical
was largely an extension tion. The inscription read,”Marie Funk ical processing. Among the products Sculptures.” Chicago Tribune, June 14,
the result of of the / Dec. 21, 1935 / Carl Funk.” manufactured were huge ceramic 1985.
technology American Carl Elton Funk (1913-2005) was of urns used to move corrosive liquids Kelley, Patrick G. “Industrial
and urbaniza- s t o n e w a r e German descent, born in Akron, Ohio, before tanker trucks and rail cars Ceramic Maker Marks 100 Years.”
tion. With the industry, see- on Feb. 26, 1913. His first wife, Marie were developed to transport acids. In Canton Rep, July 5, 2010.
onset of 19th ing that when Funk, was born in 1918; they divorced the 1920s, a typical large container
c e n t u r y Workers from the Maurice Knight Chemical many stone- March 27, 1947, although, he married used to treat acid and convert sulfur
urbanization Stoneware Plant surrounding large urns manu- ware kilns a second time in 1951 to Vera Genevee dioxide would have been five feet in
in America, factured about World War II. closed in the Parsons (1919-2011). diameter and 20 to 25 feet tall. There
especially late 19th cen- Funk worked at the Maurice are pictures that survive today from
during the Industrial Revolution, tury, a number of the potters transi- Knight Chemical Stoneware Plant in the World War II period showing this
came a larger disease issue, specifi- tioned to work at the sewer tile Ohio, very factoryʼs clay workers sur-
cally in metropolitan areas. Because factories. They brought along with likely starting rounding some of these
of this, sewer technology progressed them the giant urns. These are the
rapidly, and by the late 1800s, vitri- novelty and type of workers who would
fied clay or sewer pipe became the craft they had have been among the peo-
choice material for most American learned work- ple who manufactured end-
cities. This is what ultimately led to a ing for stone- of-the-day sewer tile pieces.
boom in the industry, creating a ware compa- There is even at least one
thriving job market in many regions nies, where photograph of a young Carl
Funk taken around the time The base is inscribed “Marie Funk /
this vase was made. December 21, 1935 / Carl Funk.”
In Retrospect
The inscription is what
makes this piece so special,
showing that this was
In This Issue
undoubtedly a piece manu-
factured in Carl Funkʼs
downtime, possibly at lunch
or at the end of the day. I SHOPS, SHOWS
An owl sewer tile bookend suspect that because of the & MARKETS . . . . . . starting on page 3
This is a sewer tile palm tree stamped inscribed on the back, “Carl
December date that SHOPS DIRECTORY . . . . on page 4
Maurice A. Knight's first plant was on Kelly Avenue in “Carl Funk.” Courtesy Garth's Funk 1943.” Courtesy eBay.
this was likely a Christmas
Akron, Ohio. Auctions. EVENT & AUCTION CALENDAR on page 7
AUCTION SALE BILLS starting on page 7

FEATURE RESULTS: Zettlemoyer Online-Only Auction - Page 6 AUCTIONEER DIRECTORY on page 7

CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . on page 11