Pfaltzgraff
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Pfaltzgraff is one of the oldest pottery manufacturers in the United States, tracing its roots to a small kiln and potter's wheel set up by the Pfaltzgraff family on their homestead in York County, Pennsylvania after they immigrated in the early 1800s. Johann George Pfaltzgraff (1808–1873) was a German-American potter recognized as the first potter in the Pfaltzgraff family of potters in the United States, and after his death his five sons took control of the pottery and introduced a line of salt-glazed stoneware storage crocks and jugs. In 1889 two of his sons formalized the business, and in 1894, Henry and George Pfaltzgraff built a new plant next to a railroad line, allowing the firm to ship its wares far beyond the local market it had once served.
Over the following century the company continually reinvented itself to survive changing tastes and economic conditions. When the demand for stoneware diminished, the company shifted its production to animal and poultry feeders and red clay flowerpots, and later, in the 1930s Depression, the company created art wares such as colorful vases and planters. In the late 1940s and early 1950s Pfaltzgraff produced more household products, including its first dinnerware line and giftwares, and in 1964 the company became The Pfaltzgraff Company, going on to become one of America's best-known makers of stoneware dinnerware.
Pfaltzgraff pieces are prized by collectors for their long, continuous production history and recognizable stamped marks, typically a Pfaltzgraff stamp on the bottom or back of the dishes, with vintage stamps consisting of the words "Pfaltzgraff USA" accompanied by a castle motif. The company is known for its stoneware collections and has released many patterns, some of the most popular including Folk Art, Yorktowne, Village, and America patterns, and several lines of Pfaltzgraff glazed earthenwares have featured among the 100 most popular ceramic designs, making authentic period examples enduringly collectible among American pottery enthusiasts.
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