Ideal Potteries
Dallas, Texas (1922-1980's)
Courtesy John Williams Collection
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Ideal Potteries was founded, designed and built by Mr. A. E. Wilbur in 1922. The Wilbur family had been involved in the pottery business prior to their immigrating from Ireland. The first stop on the Wilbur clans trek across America was Zanesville, Ohio followed by a stop in Benton Arkansas where A. E.'s father and grandfather were involved in the pottery business. A. E., the fifth (5th) generation of Wilbur potters left Benton for Denton, Texas where he lived briefly, but eventually he settled and made his home in Dallas, Texas. A. E. was just one in a long line of Wilbur potters.
While Ideal Pottery may not have been his first pottery, one source states that A. E. founded Dallas Potteries in 1920 (destroyed by fire in 1922), but as the name implies he considered it to be of the Ideal design for an efficient modern pottery manufacturing. Unfortunately; while Mr. Wilbur embraced the idea of the assembly line, minimization of redundant steps, and the use of mechanization his designs were fundamentally flawed due to his methods, mode, and the scale of production. The design of the pottery was such that each item moved from one state of production to another in a linear manner. The plant also utilized a natural gas powered truck engine to provide the power needed to run the clay mixers, pug mill, fan and the potters wheels. Natural Gas also powered the lighting in the pottery. Unfortunately, Ideals design was nearly obsolete by the time it was completed. The more efficient method or stamping rather than hand turning and jigger molding was just being introduced to the pottery industry, more sophisticated machinery and electricity were also being utilized in the larger mass production potteries. The fact that the plant remained in actual production until the mid 1940's is a commendation rather than condemnation to the man who implemented his own ideal vision of a modern pottery.
Once America entered WWII and industries of all types were hampered by a shortage of labor and non essential businesses struggled to stay in business. Around 1943 Mr. Wilbur took on a job at the Chance - Vogt Aircraft facility thus signaling the end of the production phase of the pottery. Ideal Pottery became a middle man selling pottery produced by others. Mr. Wilbur continued operating the pottery until the 1970's when he sold it to Mr. and Mrs. Glynn Mitchell. The Mitchell's continued operating the pottery until the late 1980's when they closed it.
Ideal Pottery made flower pots, urns, vases, chimney pipes, crocks, pitchers, bowls and most other utilitarian wares. Unfortunately for the collector Mr. Wilbur and Ideal Pottery never marked their wares with any type of stamp or makers mark. Ideal's products like Love Field, Southern, Dallas, Byrd and many other Texas potteries utilized white clay as the basis of their wares. Love Field and Ideal even used similar designs in at least 2 of their flow pots (identified on this page and History of Love Field Page). While Ideals wares will be hard for collectors to identify the visual history of Ideal and its production facility was preserved due to the for thought of the Mitchell family and John Williams (Trinity Ceramics, Dallas, Texas). All pictures on this page were photographed and provided by John Williams.
Bibliography:
Interviews:
Mr. & Mrs. Glynn Mitchell, Minneola, Texas, October 13 2003. Phone Interview; Notes in my collection, Azle, TX
Leslie Mitchell, Minneola, Texas, October 13 2003. Phone Interview; Notes in my collection, Azle, TX
John Williams, Dallas, Texas, October 13 2003. Phone Interview; Notes in my collection, Azle, TX
Documents:
Smith, Thomas H., The Ideal Pottery: A study, Dallas County Heritage Society, 1982.
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Read it for your self. (Click on image to the left and read their own advertisement.)
Undated calendar or hanging handbill.
