Production Costs Made Rockwell Kent Plates Scarce
(As run in Antique Week, Central Edition 1/8/07)
by Kathy McKimmie, Tomorrow’s Antique Column



Within the Vernon Kilns' pottery lines (1931-1958) there's a particularly interesting story to tell about controversial painter, illustrator and writer Rockwell Kent. In 1939, the company produced Salamina dinnerware, designed by Kent and based on a book he wrote and illustrated by the same name about a native Inuit woman who was his housekeeper and mistress when he lived in Greenland for a year.

The dinnerware he designed was very expensive for Vernon Kilns to produce, with the cost to buyers almost double the $5.95 price for a set for four for most Modern or Ultra sets produced at the time. Marketing materials called the dinnerware "beautiful enough to be in a museum," and "art for everyone." Unfortunately, it was art that was unaffordable to most and it was quickly discontinued, making it rare and collectible today. The outlines of Kent's designs were transferred on the dinnerware, but seven colors then had to be painted on by hand. Looking at two plates side by side, it's easy to see the differences made by the hand painting. The Salamina design was on the Ultra shape of dinnerware, most distinguished by the upside down handles.

"Serving Art: Rockwell Kent's Salamina Dinnerware," Frederick Weisman Art Museum, University of Minneapolis, 1996, says the metal printing plates for the dishes were melted for war production. The book also takes a brief look at Kent's life and mentions that after many years of being labeled a radical and a communist, unfairly he thought, he donated the bulk of his paintings, drawings and prints to the people of Russia in the 1960s. He died in 1971.

Vernon Kilns also hired Kent to design Moby Dick dinnerware, since he had illustrated the book, and Our America dinnerware, more than 30 different designs of scenes and landmarks across the country. These were also done in Ultra style dishes. Moby Dick was released in 1939 and shared ad space with Salamina dishes, as well as dishes designed by artist Don Blanding. Our America and Moby Dick were done in single color transfer, much cheaper to produce. All three designs have Rockwell Kent's signature printed on the bottom.

All of the Vernon Kilns Rockwell Kent pieces are pricey, with the Moby Dick large chop plate selling for $495 recently on eBay. At online gallery Accessory Hut, prices for the kneeling Salamina design plate ranged from $175 for the 9.5in to $750 for the 16.5in chop plate. A 7.5in Salamina with headscarf design was priced $140.

Cutline: Two different poses of Salamina on Rockwell Kent designed dinnerware, hand painted,Vernon Kilns, 1939.
 
Photos courtesy Alice Krueser, Accessoryhut.com.

Resources:

The Plattsburgh State Art Museum, State University of New York, contains the most complete collection of Rockwell Kent's work in the United States. http://organizations.plattsburgh.edu/museum/rkent1.htm.

Kathy McKimmie is a freelance writer and editor from Indianapolis. Her Tomorrow's Antiques column appears monthly in AntiqueWeek and periodically in AntiqueWest. She also has contributed feature articles, auction and show reports and news stories to both publications. She can be reached at kathy@antiqueweek.com.



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