Art Pottery Reference Books
Van Briggle closed in 2012, and the old online references keep going offline with it. A good printed reference does not disappear when a website does — which is why, for anything of consequence, we still cross-check the mark, the mold, and the glaze against a book before we make an offer.
Below is the library we actually use, grouped by pottery and topic: identification and marks references, value and price guides, and the histories that put a piece in context. It runs well beyond Van Briggle, because learning the field is the fastest way to get sharper about any one maker. Use the jump links to skip to a section.
Van Briggle
The core references for our own subject. We keep the Sasicki encyclopedia within arm’s reach for any piece of consequence.
The Collector’s Encyclopedia of Van Briggle Art Pottery
Sasicki & Fania
The standard Van Briggle reference: 800+ pieces catalogued by era, with marks and a value guide we cross-check before every offer.
View on Amazon →Collector’s Guide to Van Briggle Pottery
Nelson
An earlier collector’s guide, still useful for forms and shapes the later books skip over. Harder to find now.
View on Amazon →The Story Behind the Clay
Swint
The history of commissioned and specialty pieces, told by someone close to the late-era studio.
View on Amazon →American Art Pottery Surveys
Start here if you collect broadly. These survey the whole American art pottery field rather than a single maker.
Kovels’ American Art Pottery
Kovel
A broad survey of American art potteries with marks for dozens of makers — a good first book if you collect widely.
View on Amazon →Fireworks: New England Art Pottery of the Arts & Crafts Movement
Royka
A richly illustrated look at New England’s Arts and Crafts potteries, strong on Grueby, Marblehead, and Dedham.
View on Amazon →Arts and Crafts: Pottery and Ceramics
A compact, affordable introduction to the movement’s ceramics if you are just getting your bearings.
View on Amazon →Rookwood
Cincinnati’s Rookwood is the giant of American art pottery, and sorting out its glaze lines is half the battle of identifying a piece.
Rookwood Pottery at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Owen
Rookwood through a great museum collection, beautifully photographed and well documented.
View on Amazon →Rookwood Pottery: The Glaze Lines
Ellis
The reference for telling Rookwood’s many glaze lines apart, which is most of the work in identifying one.
View on Amazon →Warman’s Rookwood Pottery: Identification & Price Guide
A practical, quick-lookup guide built for use at a show or a sale.
View on Amazon →Rookwood Pottery: Bookends, Paperweights & Animal Figurals
Focused on Rookwood’s figural pieces, with values for each — a niche but handy guide.
View on Amazon →Roseville
Roseville produced dozens of lines, so learning to tell them apart is the whole game.
Introducing Roseville Pottery
Schiffer
A clear, photo-heavy introduction to Roseville’s many lines, good for learning the differences.
View on Amazon →Warman’s Roseville Pottery: Identification & Price Guide
An affordable identification and price guide that’s easy to carry hunting.
View on Amazon →Weller
Weller was Roseville’s great rival and just as prolific. The Huxford encyclopedia is usually inexpensive used.
Collector’s Encyclopedia of Weller Pottery
Huxford
The standard Weller encyclopedia: line-by-line coverage with values, often a bargain secondhand.
View on Amazon →Weller Pottery
Schiffer
A handsome survey of Weller’s art lines with large color plates.
View on Amazon →Grueby
Grueby’s matte-green glaze defined the Arts and Crafts look that Van Briggle and others built on.
Newcomb
New Orleans’ Newcomb College pottery is among the most scholarly-documented American art potteries.
George Ohr
The “Mad Potter of Biloxi” is the most eccentric figure in the field, and his work has only grown in stature.
Pewabic
Detroit’s Pewabic Pottery is one of the few Arts and Crafts potteries still operating today.
Pewabic Pottery: A History Handcrafted in Detroit
An affordable, readable history of Pewabic and its iridescent glazes.
View on Amazon →Pewabic Pottery: Expressed in Clay
Pewabic placed squarely in the Arts and Crafts movement, with excellent tile and vessel photography.
View on Amazon →Fulper
Fulper’s flambé and crystalline glazes are unmistakable once you have seen a few.
The Arts & Crafts Movement
The ideals behind all of this pottery. Stickley’s own book is the clearest window into them.
Craftsman Homes
Stickley
Gustav Stickley’s own book, the clearest statement of the Arts and Crafts ideals art pottery grew out of.
View on Amazon →The Arts and Crafts Movement
A well-illustrated overview across furniture, metalwork, and ceramics.
View on Amazon →Gustav Stickley and the American Arts & Crafts Movement
A scholarly study of Stickley’s role in shaping American taste.
View on Amazon →General References, Price Guides & Marks
The cross-maker books we reach for when a mark or a maker stumps us.
Warman’s American Pottery & Porcelain
A broad, affordable price guide spanning American art and commercial pottery, handy for cross-checking.
View on Amazon →Lehner’s Encyclopedia of U.S. Marks on Pottery, Porcelain & Clay
Thousands of American marks in one volume — the first book we open on an unfamiliar mark.
View on Amazon →North Carolina Art Pottery 1900–1960
Covers Pisgah Forest, Seagrove, and the Catawba Valley traditions with identification and values.
View on Amazon →Collector’s Encyclopedia of Bauer Pottery
The reference on California’s Bauer Pottery, with identification and values for its colorful lines.
View on Amazon →Encyclopedia of Marks on American, English & European Earthenware 1780–1980
Schiffer
A deep marks reference spanning two centuries and three continents of earthenware.
View on Amazon →How It Was Made
Not a collector’s book, but understanding the craft changes how you see every piece.
Keep Researching
A book gets you the broad picture; our free reference pages get you the Van Briggle specifics. Start with the marks guide, dating guide, and glaze reference, or head back to the complete buying guide.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Links above are affiliate links; prices and availability change, and some older titles can be scarce.