Cliftwood Art Pottery owed its success to Matthew Rapp and his four sons, John, Carl, Lawrence and Theodore. Matthew's experience with pottery making went back to the very first earthenware operation in Morton. He and his five brothers were founders of the Rapp Brothers Brick and Tile Company in 1877, and the Morton Pottery Works in 1878. Sons and daughters of all six brothers were apprenticed to the tile works and the pottery as soon as they were old enough to work. Therefore, the organizers of the Cliftwood Pottery were not novices. They had impressive credentials to carry along with them.
Production at the old pottery had stopped in 1917 when America entered World War I. Manpower shortages and the inability to procure some of the chemicals needed for production forced the closure of the pottery. Some limited experimental work was done during the war, but full production ceased.
By 1920, Matthew and his sons, eager to get back into the pottery business, began negotiating the takeover of the vacant pottery building where they had worked before the war. Extensive renovation work had to be done to the building. Machinery had to be inspected and repaired. New equipment had to be ordered. During the spring of 1920, the Rapps worked hard to put the pottery back into operation. Their activities were watched with interest by townspeople who were anxious for the return of pottery production in Morton.
From the very beginning of their new endeavor, the Rapps had a mission. That mission was to produce beautiful pottery thay they and their community would be proud to acclaim. Matthew became the paragon of the art pottery activity that was to come from his newly organized pottery, M. Rapp and Sons. He was not a trained artist, but his inherent ability allowed him to re-direct the pottery industry from the drab, functional wares that he and his brothers had produced at the Morton Pottery Works, to a new color explosion and art deco forms that the 1920's ushered onto the American scene. He was constantly at work designing new pieces with beautiful lines. The effect of his designs was enhanced by new and colorful glazes that he and his son John developed. The drip glazes used at this pottery were different from any being used in the United States in the 1920s. Operating as M. Rapp and Sons, the pottery was successful from its beginning.
Clay pits, located on the property, provided the primary ingredient for the miniature animals, toys and novelties that were made. In addition to having an ample supply of clay on the property, the Rapps were also blessed with deep wells of natural gas on the site. That gas was used for firing the kilns. With an abundance of natural gas, the Cliftwood kilns could be regulated to exact temperatures. Those even temperatures limited the number of spoiled wares that often result from wide ranges of temperature during the firing process.
Three kilns were built at the Cliftwood. Each was specially adapted to a particular purpose. One was used to fire green ware which baked at 1500 degrees f. At that temperature, the clay hardened, and the result was a medium beige colored bisque. The second kiln was used to fire glazed ware at 2100 degrees f. The third kiln was smaller, and was used for gold and platinum decorated ware. That kiln was fired at 1200 degrees f. in order to set the liquefied finish that was hand applied by brush. Art ware, decorated in that manner, underwent three different kiln firings. All items that were made in solid gold or platinum, were glazed in a special white glaze before undergoing the decorator's brush. Pastel colors were also used for gold and platinum decorations. Only emphasis lines and high lighting effects were done on the colored items.
The gold room was an old building near the pottery that the employees referred to as the shack. It was so small that only two decorators had room to work. The output from that department was limited, and examples are not easily found today. When any are found, it is very unusual for them to be in mint condition. The thin covering of gold or platinum has succumbed to the harsh detergents that have been used to clean them over the years. They were sold with a warning that they should be cleaned with a soft cloth soaked in warm water, then dried and polished immediately. Those warnings, often lost early on, were not heeded. The result was worn or damaged decoration on the art object.
In June 1922, M. Rapp and Sons incorporated and was named Cliftwood Art Potteries, Inc. At that time twenty-one different shapes were being made. The Cliftwood line included vases, lamps, flower bowls, and single figurine designs. The figurines were animals, birds, and a limited number of human forms. Matthew was determined to bring beauty, charm and loveliness out of Morton's clay pits and put quality merchandise on his showroom shelves.
In addition to the trendy designs, the Cliftwood glazes became a status symbol of the pottery. All glazes were developed by Matthew and John. One glaze in particular was met with much enthusiasm. It was Matthew's pride. He called it chocolate-brown drip, and it was the only glaze formula that he ever kept secret. He was the first potter in America to perfect that type of glaze and he did not intend to share it. It was a combination of transparent glaze over the golden ochre clay that was processed from the pits on the pottery property. Brown glaze was air brushed on the object. That color flowed over the transparent glaze during kiln firing. That combination gave a pleasant brown and tan effect with traces of white highlights. The end result resembles chocolate syrup flowing over a dipper of vanilla ice cream. Frequently the rich brown glaze flowed in heavy drips that held the object to the sagger block. The remains of the sagger as well as the brown drip had to be ground on an abrasive power wheel. Today the grinding marks on the base of an object is a real help in the identification of Cliftwood pottery.
Matthew kept the chocolate brown formula stored in his mind. He did not write it down, nor did he ever share it with John. The glaze was never produced again after Matthew's death in 1938. John experimented for many years in an effort to recreate the glaze. Though he produced a rather good brown glaze that flowed, he was never able to achieve the quality that his father had developed.
Hindsight has allowed us to analyze the problem for the glaze differences, and to offer a logical reason for John's dilemma. Matthew had used the local clay that was dug on site throughout his lifetime. By 1940, that supply of local clay was depleted. Commercial clay had to be shipped in from Indiana and South Carolina. The new clay fired out white, instead of the rich golden ochre color the pottery had produced since its inception. The white clay base was a sharp deviation from the yellow clay that Matthew had used. Had John been able to experiment with the local clay, he might well have been able to duplicate his father's discovery and continue with the production of the chocolate brown drip glaze.
John created an interesting new glaze that was added to the Cliftwood's rainbow of color in 1926. It was called jade green. The local newspaper, The Morton News, credited John's achievement in it's October 26th issue. "jade green, a color which heretofore could not be used with the Cliftwood clay, has been developed and is meeting with great favor among pottery buyers. The color, the twentieth used by the company, has been produced by John Rapp, color and chemical man for the pottery." That glaze has never been reproduced either. The identifying secret of that beautiful jade green color is the iridescence that is noted when an object in that color is slowly turned in bright light. The glaze gives off a myriad of rainbow colors that are often found on rain-drenched streets where gasoline and oil have been trapped in puddles.
Another color attributed to John was Cliftwood's cobalt blue. It is a high gloss glaze that appears to be black at first glance. Only in very bright sunlight can the deep blue color be detected. Another method of verifying the color is to examine the bottom of an object, or the inside if there is an orifice. More pronounced tints of blue will be found in those places. The bottom of Cliftwood's products were not glazed, but paraffined. Lighter traces of the blue can be found where the waxed bottom was sponged before firing. Because cobalt was expensive, vases and other objects that could be glazed inside were frequently hand submerged in the glaze barrel after the inside had been given a transparent glaze treatment. By submerging, only the outside was glazed in the cobalt blue with about an inch overrun on the lip. That overrun often flowed down into the transparent glaze, so traces of lighter blue can sometimes be detected on the inside of an object being examined.
Five years after the Cliftwood started production, the Rapps began producing their first examples of art pottery. J.E. Gerber was hired to head the sales division and promote the new line of art pottery. A contract was also signed with the newly organized Morton Pottery Company, whereby its sales representatives would also sell for Cliftwood. Sales reps carried large trunks full of samples and a complete portfolio of photographs showing the art ware that was being produced in Morton. Those sales persons called on gift shops and floral supply companies throughout the entire United States. Records from the mid 1920's show orders coming from such diverse locations as Chicago, Illinois; Seattle, Washington; Rutland, Vermont; Waco, Texas; San Francisco, California; and Minneapolis, Minnesota, to name a few. Gerber also hired locals to work on a part time schedule. They went door to door in Morton and surrounding communities, and generated a good amount of business for the pottery. The very first piece of Cliftwood pottery in the author's collection was purchased from a "door knocker."
To further expand the sales of the Cliftwood Art Potteries, arrangements were made with the Fred C. Reimer Company at 49 West 23rd Street, New York City, to become a representative for the pottery. A showroom was opened at that New York location and Reimer advertised extensively in the Crockery and Glass Journal in the 1920's. Reimer's successful merchandising of Cliftwood Art Pottery led the company to consider Chicago as a midwestern location to display its pottery. A sample room was opened at 54 West Lake Street in December 1929. In June 1930 that showroom was moved to the newly opened Merchandise Mart building on Wacker Drive. The pottery leased space for a year. At that time, the building had more floor space than any other building in the world. In Room 15106, Cliftwood had a complete display of all products, showing every color and combination of colors at the pottery. Business was flourishing. The pottery was receiving national recognition. The local newspaper reported it in this manner: "Matthew Rapp, who is the principal originator of all design, has been commended very highly by some of the large depatment store heads throughout the country."
Encouraged by the popularity of the art ware line and by the volume of orders that were coming to the pottery, two related businesses were begun by Matthew Rapp and his sons at two separate locations in Morton. On August 15, 1931, the Cliftwood Inn had its grand opening. Located on a busy highway at the west edge of Morton, it was a short order restaurant with a soda fountain, and a display area for the pottery. The Inn had evening and Sunday hours to allow time to man the operation after the day's work was done at the pottery. It was the wives of the Rapps who worked at the Cliftwood Inn, but the men helped out when time allowed. That venture was never a good money maker for the Rapps. At the end of two and a half years it was sold. The new owners removed the pottery display in order to increase seating capacity in the restaurant. Since that first sale there have been many others. Ironically, every new owner retained the name Cliftwood. A restaurant is still in operation at the original location on the west side of Morton, but the name Cliftwood was finally dropped by new owners late in 1998.
In January 1932 the second satellite business, The Cliftwood Studio, was established by the Rapps in the 200 block of South Main Street. That new decorating department occupied the Waldbeser Building which was razed in the 1950's to make space for a modern new building that houses General Telephone Company. Maud Downes, from Chicago, was in charge of the studio. Two artists, Audrey York, from Texas, and Richard Betline, from Chicago, assisted Mrs. Downes. Several local women were employed as apprentices at the studio.
By establishing the Cliftwood Studio, decorated lamps and made-to-order shades were added to Cliftwood's expanding line of pottery. The lamps and shades were decorated with birds, flowers, and geometric patterns. Special orders could be placed at the studio if more elaborate decoration was desired, or if a customer wanted to coordinate the lamps to a particular decorating scheme in the home. Local townspeople frequently referred to the studio as the lamp shade factory. To accomodate them, the pottery occasionally used that identity in its advertising. Thousands of lamps were decorated and left the studio in the 1930's. Today, they are the most elusive of any of the art wares made by the Cliftwood.
PDuring the thirties, the pottery operated at full force, experiencing the general pitfalls of most potteries - kiln explosions, minor fires, and injuries - but 1938 was the most tragic year for the Cliftwood Art Potteries. After a short illness, Matthew Rapp died on January 8. His obituary honored him for the respect and appreciation he had in his community. It also recognized his skill as an artist. That spark that had made Cliftwood a leader in the art pottery world was gone.
As young men, Matthew's sons had been good apprentices. They were very competent to continue the business after his death, but Matthew's enthusiasm and drive was no longer there to propel the operation. Each of his sons were specialists in their own right. John had worked closely with his father to learn the intricacies of glazing. Not only had he been trained in the art of glaze chemistry, he had also been taught glazing and firing technques. Lawrence emerged as trhe designer-artist and mold maker. Theodore, or "Ted," as everyone knew him, was responsible for clay preparation and for the molding and finishing departments at the pottery. Carl had always supervised the sales force and was responsible for packing and shipping orders as they came into the factory. Despite their expertise, not one of them was interested in the business transactions that were needed to keep the pottery financially sound. None of them were willing to assume the presidency and manage the overall operation of the pottery.
A business manager was brought in , but the magnetism of Matthew was no longer their guiding force. Within the year following Matthew's death, it was apparent that radical change was needed if the pottery was to continue as a profitable operation. The brothers investigated several options, but finally made the difficult decision to sell the Cliftwood Art Pottery. The sale was finalized in early February 1940. The glory that had been Cliftwood was gone.
