A research paper by Patrick Reynolds
The Camark Pottery Company, which was established in Camden, Arkansas in 1926, was started with an ambition to profit from the booming pottery industry that started in Ohio (Imitating). Through the years that the company operated, changes in artists, production technique, style trends, and economical trends led to drastic changes in the pottery produced, and Camark is known for its perseverance to accommodate the industry of pottery.
In late 1926 jack Carnes, John Lessell, and Stephen Sebaugh collaborated with the Camden Chamber of Commerce to organize the Camden Art Tile and Pottery Company, and after a short time the company, now focusing on pottery, adopted the name Camark, which comes from the first three letters of Camden and Arkansas. Jack Carnes was the force behind the company, and being an Ohio native, he knew very much about the pottery industry. For, Zanesville, Ohio was the beginning of this industry. John Lessell was formerly employed as an artist at the Newark Art China Company and was known for trademark luster and iridescent finishes. Stephen Sebaugh was a friend of Jack Carnes and had worked with Carnes at many pottery companies. Jack Carnes provided the capital for the equipment to found the company, while the Camden Chamber of Commerce donated the land for the plant. Since John Lessell was residing in Ohio at the time, Jack Carnes shipped clay from the Camden area to Lessell for testing. Lessell was satisfied (Camark Gifford). This would be the start of the production of the pottery that would soon be known around the world.
Tragically, John Lessell died shortly after the beginning of production of Camark Pottery, but he left a mark on the company. Being the first artist of the company and the art director, Lessell left trademark styles and finishes at the company. The first pieces ever produced by Camark were designed by Lessell; these pieces with luster and iridescent finishes were signed "Lessell" and are most valuable to collectors (Camark Gifford). All of Lessell's works were definitely art pottery, the type of pottery that the company was intended to produce. They were graced with intricate patterns and delicate finishes. Many of these pieces were accented with gold in one or more places, and this elegant style was rarely seen in later Camark pottery. The impact of John Lessell on the style of Camark Pottery is great, for during his short term as art director; he set the basic style of the company's pottery for the years to come (Art of Camark).
After John Lessell's death, Jennie Lessell, his wife, and was hired as head of the Camark art department, and with the collaborative efforts of Jennie Lessell, Billie Lessell, Stephen Sebaugh, and Charles Sebaugh, the line of pottery known as LeCamark came to be. These pieces were in the style of John Lessell and featured his trademark finishes. However, as the years progressed, the styles of the pottery changed as new faculty entered the art department (Camark Landers).
In the late 1920s, Boris Trifonoff was hired by Jack Carnes as faculty in the art department. He was a glaze ceramist and mold case maker. Being a very skilled craftsman, Trifonoff quickly helped Camark's production technique, and the company had its official beginning in March of 1927, after the opening of the new plant. Camark was the third major pottery company from Arkansas but would soon surpass all of its predecessors.
Though the pottery company was hugely successful, Camark's beginning was surrounded with a mystery. The question pertained to John Lessell's association with the company, for his death on December 22, 1926 occurred well before the company opened in 1927. Furthermore, records do not indicate whether or not Lessell made a trip to Arkansas prior to his death; however, he did produce Camark's first pieces, which were shipped to Camden in December of 1926 and January of 1927. Though surrounded with some mystery, the contributions of Lessell are overshadowed by their artistic quality, and the legacy of the man who began the art would be survived by relatives (Art of Camark).
Lessell's acclaim as an artist began as early as 1905, when he first began to produce his trademark iridescent finishes. He was envied by many of the artists working in Zanesville at the time. Soon after his marriage to Jennie, the couple began to work together on all of John's art pottery, and Jennie's experience with this enabled her to take over the head position in the art department at Camark after John's death. She carried on the tradition of John's luster and iridescent finishes and taught their daughter, Billie, the art by which they would be remembered (Camark Gifford).
As the company expanded, new demands had to be satisfied, and Charles Sebaugh was hired as superintendent of the Camark plant. Sebaugh had joined forces with John Lessell at a previous job at Weller Pottery in 1920; consequently, the Sebaugh and Lessell families had known and worked with each other for many years. Stephen Sebaugh was a kilnburner and Charles was an artist; this allowed Camark to produce their pieces. Stephen is said to have had a "special formula" for his glazes, but many think that this was probably Lessell's techniques (Art of Camark). Later, another member of the Sebaugh family joined Camark; Edmund took the place as the head of packing and shipping. As the company that was founded on the style of Lessell developed in his tradition with the Sebaugh family, the styles of the pottery of Camark slowly began its first major change (Imitating).
Although the wares produced by Camark in the LeCamark years were focused on the luster and iridescent finishes established by Lessell, they started to make completely different glazed wares after the Sebaugh family acquired a new talent. Alfred Tetzschner was also a colleague of Lessell's during the years that he worked at Ohio pottery companies. Having studied art pottery and china decorating for many years, Tetzschner joined Camark as a decorator. The individuality of Alfred became evident as he helped the company produce new styles and designs of pottery ( Art of Camark).
Camark first produced futuristic and modernistic pottery in 1928. With over twelve different designs, Camark's futuristic/ modernistic line was quickly recognized. The unique designs of Tetzcshner was formed around art pottery displayed at the 1925 Paris exposition. The new line of pottery was their first risk, for all the luster and iridescent finishes were based on John Lessell's established finishes. In June of 1928, a popular ceramics magazine, Ceramic Industry, stated, "Camark pottery develops modernistic artware"(Camark Landers). This was excellent for business, since many of the trade professionals and collectors read this magazine. This new line of pottery symbolized Camark's ability to conform to meet the demands of the market and insures that the company would be successful.
With its expanding business, the facilities of Camark were in need of additions. In an expanded article written by Tom Shirus for the Memphis Commercial Appeal, a description of the Camark plant was included. "The equipment of the Camark plant consists of two 14 foot [in diameter] pottery kilns, fired with natural gas. These have a capacity of 4,000 average pieces to the kilns and annual average production capacity of 1,500,000 pieces; there have been times when the entire capacity was needed. Other departments of the plant are a molding room, pattern room, where new designs are turned on a potter's wheel and lathe, and special orders filled, and a decorating room, where all the art work is done by hand." As an increasing number of articles were published about the booming pottery company from Camden, Arkansas, Camark's potential success became much more obvious (Art of Camark).
As the demand for the company's pottery increased to unprecedented levels, the focus on hand made pottery began to decline. The designs of some of the pieces became very simple with two tone color combinations and less intricate finishes. All of these mass produced pieces were cast in molds, which were designed by Boris Trifonoff (Camark Gifford). Trifonoff produced over 800 molds for Camark during the years that he worked there. Though the molded pieces did not have as much aesthetically pleasing features as the earlier pottery, they continued to maintain the title of art pottery with simple designs on each piece ( Art of Camark).
In the 1930s Camark's emphasis on art was changed by force, for this was the beginning of the Great Depression. After this change most of the artistic qualities of the pottery came from the molds, which were decorated with floral patterns, cartoon character, and other cheerful figurines. By the middle 1930s, the pottery became yet more simple. The multiple color floral patterns went to monochromatic, and the glaze was a cheap semi-matte. By the end of the 1930s, the emphasis of the company had switched to mostly novelty figurines. Salt and pepper shakers, humpty dumpty bowls, and small fawns were the bulk of Camark's production. Though the styles of this era were much simpler and cheaper, the pieces are collected just as the earlier (Art of Camark).
Though, the pottery being produced by Camark was declining in quality, business was as healthy as ever, and the company decided to invest in new equipment. Since almost all of their production were molded pieces, a new kiln was needed. The changes that Camark made in the depression must have been disheartening; however, a since of pride must have arose from the fact that the company was surviving in such a time and carrying on the legacy from which it was founded (Camark Landers).
During the end of 1936, Camark purchased its first continuous tunnel kiln. The Camden Evening News reported on this new equipment, which was installed by the Allied Engineering Company of Cleveland. "With a diameter of 26 feet and a height of seven feet, six inches the new improvement had to have a special building of its own... The modern kiln is fueled by gas and the automatic control in the newest feature which will greatly aid the operator. One man is required to operate the kiln and 2,400 pieces of pottery may be [fired] in a single day. The new machinery, including the new building cost approximately $15,000. F. T. Henderson, engineer, said that work would be completed about September 15 and operation would begin immediately thereafter." This expansion would bring pride to the company and more profitable production (Art of Camark).
The switch to molded pottery would be permanent, and as the years progressed, the company produced more and more nondescript pieces. Almost all of the pieces made between the late 1940s and the middle 1970s, when the company closed, were simple, monochromatic pieces. The company reached a stage of mass production, and their pottery spread across America and throughout the world (Camark Gifford).
Small changes in faculty did not reflect in style in the later years of the company. None of these additions to the company were remembered for their contributions, for little could be changed in the mass production company (Art of Camark). The only people remembered at Camark are the founders, the ones who experimented to forge a successful business. People who collect Camark pottery are sure to know the story of the company from its founding to the late 1930s, but they do not know of the later years, for most of the collected pieces are from the earlier period. These pieces are worth far more than the mass produced pieces (Camark Landers). The great company of Camark lived a strong life; however, the tradition of its founding was lost along the line. The swap to simple, monochromatic pottery and figurines was far from the original art pottery. The company of Camark began strong but faded away.
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