Elephants on parade at Barry County Museum
All of the elephant figurines and mugs were donated by Frances Nicoll, widow of Glen Dale Nicoll, of Cassville. The collection spans several decades of collecting.
September 12, 2018
Prix Gautney
The newest display at Cassville’s Barry County Museum is a collection of elephant figurines and political mugs donated by the widow of Cassville graduate and former Barry County Assessor Glen Dale Nicoll. His collection spans decades, and the elephant mugs at the heart of the collection are the brainchild of Oklahoma artist, John Frank, the first commercial potter in Oklahoma history.
Frank, who had studied at the Chicago School of Art, was invited in 1927 by Dr. Oscar Jacobson to head the new ceramics department at the University of Oklahoma. He had planned to start up his own business in addition to teaching, and in 1933 he established Frank Potteries in Norman, Okla., operating with little more than a small kiln, a butter churn for mixing clay, and jars to hold his glazes.
His goal was to create beautiful everyday dinnerware that would be affordable for most families during the Great Depression, a concept that went over well. Renaming his enterprise Frankoma Pottery in 1934 by combining his last name with that of his state, he continued to teach until choosing to work full-time in his business in 1936.
Frank utilized the knowledge of various Oklahoma geologists when searching for the right regional clay to use in his pottery. He located and experimented with different clays throughout the state until he found a favorable clay in Ada, Okla. When he moved his operation west of Tulsa to Sapulpa, Okla. in 1938, he continued to haul clay from Ada, which required a three-day trip. It wasn’t until 1945 that he discovered clay near Sapulpa that would work well for his pieces.
The change in clay altered the overall effect of the glazes once they were fired in the kiln. Frank had experimented with different glaze formulas and eventually chose to use rutile, a mineral containing titanium dioxide which allows the color of the clay to partially show through the glaze.
Ada clay was light beige when fired, and when he changed to the red, brick-colored clay of Sapulpa, the final coloring of each piece changed with it when the darker clay showed through the glaze. As an added touch, he often gave his glazes nature-based names such as White Sand, Desert Gold, Prairie Green and Dusty Rose.
Frankoma Pottery was known in its early decades for producing utilitarian and decorative kitchenwares, figurines and flowerpots, as well as limited edition and commemorative pieces. The elephant mugs, which were molded from the red Sapulpa clay, came into being when Frank was approached by the National Republican Women’s Club to create a mug to use as a fundraiser. He came up with a suitable design, and the first 5 oz. mugs rolled out in 1968.
Each mug was glazed in a single color annually, and all of the political mugs were embossed with the year and GOP. If released during an inaugural year, they also bore the last names of the President and Vice President. The elephant mugs went over so well that the design was added to the company’s production line the following year, turning it into another collector series.
Frank’s youngest daughter, Joniece Frank, followed her father’s footsteps and worked by his side, becoming an artist herself and designing many pieces. She inherited her father’s company after his death in 1973 and released a Democrat donkey mug in 1975 to complement the Republican elephant line.
Despite two fires that destroyed the plant in 1938 and 1983, Frankoma Pottery remained in operation for many years. Both elephant and donkey political mugs were made and released until 2005 when the plant seemed to close permanently, but in recent years it has been revived and a limited number of pieces are hitting the market, including 2012-2018 political mugs.
For more information on Frankoma Pottery, visit https://frankomacollectors.org or http://www.frankomapottery.com.
Prix Gautney
The newest display at Cassville’s Barry County Museum is a collection of elephant figurines and political mugs donated by the widow of Cassville graduate and former Barry County Assessor Glen Dale Nicoll. His collection spans decades, and the elephant mugs at the heart of the collection are the brainchild of Oklahoma artist, John Frank, the first commercial potter in Oklahoma history.
Frank, who had studied at the Chicago School of Art, was invited in 1927 by Dr. Oscar Jacobson to head the new ceramics department at the University of Oklahoma. He had planned to start up his own business in addition to teaching, and in 1933 he established Frank Potteries in Norman, Okla., operating with little more than a small kiln, a butter churn for mixing clay, and jars to hold his glazes.
His goal was to create beautiful everyday dinnerware that would be affordable for most families during the Great Depression, a concept that went over well. Renaming his enterprise Frankoma Pottery in 1934 by combining his last name with that of his state, he continued to teach until choosing to work full-time in his business in 1936.
Frank utilized the knowledge of various Oklahoma geologists when searching for the right regional clay to use in his pottery. He located and experimented with different clays throughout the state until he found a favorable clay in Ada, Okla. When he moved his operation west of Tulsa to Sapulpa, Okla. in 1938, he continued to haul clay from Ada, which required a three-day trip. It wasn’t until 1945 that he discovered clay near Sapulpa that would work well for his pieces.
The change in clay altered the overall effect of the glazes once they were fired in the kiln. Frank had experimented with different glaze formulas and eventually chose to use rutile, a mineral containing titanium dioxide which allows the color of the clay to partially show through the glaze.
Ada clay was light beige when fired, and when he changed to the red, brick-colored clay of Sapulpa, the final coloring of each piece changed with it when the darker clay showed through the glaze. As an added touch, he often gave his glazes nature-based names such as White Sand, Desert Gold, Prairie Green and Dusty Rose.
Frankoma Pottery was known in its early decades for producing utilitarian and decorative kitchenwares, figurines and flowerpots, as well as limited edition and commemorative pieces. The elephant mugs, which were molded from the red Sapulpa clay, came into being when Frank was approached by the National Republican Women’s Club to create a mug to use as a fundraiser. He came up with a suitable design, and the first 5 oz. mugs rolled out in 1968.
Each mug was glazed in a single color annually, and all of the political mugs were embossed with the year and GOP. If released during an inaugural year, they also bore the last names of the President and Vice President. The elephant mugs went over so well that the design was added to the company’s production line the following year, turning it into another collector series.
Frank’s youngest daughter, Joniece Frank, followed her father’s footsteps and worked by his side, becoming an artist herself and designing many pieces. She inherited her father’s company after his death in 1973 and released a Democrat donkey mug in 1975 to complement the Republican elephant line.
Despite two fires that destroyed the plant in 1938 and 1983, Frankoma Pottery remained in operation for many years. Both elephant and donkey political mugs were made and released until 2005 when the plant seemed to close permanently, but in recent years it has been revived and a limited number of pieces are hitting the market, including 2012-2018 political mugs.
For more information on Frankoma Pottery, visit https://frankomacollectors.org or http://www.frankomapottery.com.