In 1872, when Samuel Augustus Weller (1851−1925) was 21, he founded a pottery in Fultonham, Ohio. Initially, his business consisted of a small hut where he produced pots, bowls, crockery and vases. Over time, production expanded, the factory was transferred to Zanesville, and by 1905 it was already one of the largest ceramic productions in the country. The factory began producing artistic ceramics, which continued until the 1930s. In 1893, Weller saw William Long’s “Lonhuda” series at the Chicago World’s Fair and invited him to work. Their collaboration did not last long, less than a year. After that, Weller renamed the faience line “Lonhuda” to “Louwelsa” in honor of his daughter Louise, born in 1896.
At an exhibition in St. Louis in 1904, Weller presented a huge display, including a vase 2.3 m high, and a working studio with an oven.
In the autumn of 1903, the Wellers pottery launched a line of Sicardo products with metallic glazes similar to those of Clément Massier, which he introduced in France in 1889 under the name Reflets Metalliques. The production process for the products of the Sicardo line, with glazes developed by Jacques Sicard (1865-1923) and Henri Gelly, was difficult and the defect rate was very high, only about 30% of the finished products were salable.
From 1895 to 1904, Charles Babcock Upjohn was Weller’s chief designer, designing the Dickensware, Eocean and Corleone lines. The style of the wares of the Dickens line, based on characters from the novels of Charles Dickens, was copied from the very successful line of ceramics produced by Dalton in England. Weller was amused by the coincidence of his name with that of Sam Weller, the servant in the Pickwick Papers. He said: “If Dickens could create a character called Sam Weller, the least I can do is reciprocate and name the line after Dickens.”
The Frou-Rousset series of ceramics, produced until 1904, is distinguished by its relief decor.
The famous American ceramist Frederick Herten Red worked at Weller Pottery in 1903-1904, designing the Jap Birdimal line.
Series of hand-painted art pottery produced before 1910 were expensive and brought “more prestige than profit”. Weller continued to produce art pottery after 1910, but production declined. And after the First World War, the factory switched to the production of commercial molded products with minor artistic additions.
After the death of Samuel August Weller, the production remained a family business under the control of his heirs until 1948, when the company was sold and the ceramics production was closed. Artistic pottery was produced until 1935, the last hand-painted lines being Stellar, Geode, Cretone, Raceme and Bonito.