Crock

Creator

Pierron, Louis M., 1853-1926

Date

• 1886-1935

Summary

• Stoneware crock, Louis M. Pierron, Milwaukee, 1886-1935. Cylindrical salt-glazed stoneware crock with rolled rim and two applied lug handles. Interior coated with dark brown slip.
• Maker's mark impressed in oval near base: "Manufactured/ by/ L.M. Pierron/ Milwaukee, Wis."; four-gallon capacity mark stenciled in cobalt blue glaze near rim
• In 1856, Swiss immigrant Charles Hermann established the largest and longest-lived stoneware manufactory in the city. In 1882, Hermann entered a partnership with his stepson Louis M. Pierron, who became sole owner of the company in 1886. That same year, the pottery's 25 workers used clay shipped from Ohio to turn out approximately 500,000 gallons of utilitarian stoneware, including bottles, crocks and jugs. The company was officially incorporated as the Pierron Pottery in 1902 and closed its doors in 1935.