J.B. Owens Pottery

Owens possessed an eagerness to sell which made him a super salesman. He took a position selling a line of stoneware for a pottery company in Roseville, Ohio and rapidly became the highest-salaried man on the sales force. In a short period of time he saved enough money to start a small stoneware pottery company of his own. Owens engaged workmen to make the pottery but he himself took the responsibility of selling. Soon he had enough capital to erect a new plant in Roseville.

In 1891 a new subdivision, Brighton, was being laid out in Zanesville, Ohio. Promoters of this subdivision encouraged Owens to build a new factory at their new location. He promptly induced them to give him the land free of charge, along with $3,500 in cash. A new three-story building was erected, and the Owens Pottery Company was incorporated. Owens was known for being a charismatic and persuasive individual, it was said that he could obtain practically anything he wanted.


Karl Langenbeck was hired to be head chemist for his new Owens Pottery plant. As a boy Karl resided in Cincinnati, Ohio. He earned his spending money by making pen and ink drawings on cards, and decorating desk sets. When he received a set of china-painting colors from an uncle in Frankfort, Germany, he turned to the art of china painting. Mrs. Maria Longworth Nichols and Mrs. Learner Harrison, two of his neighbors, were captivated by the new art, and they joined him, using his colors until they could import some for themselves. Later, Karl Langenbeck became the first ceramic chemist in America. In 1886 he founded the Avon Pottery, which he operated for one and a half years. Karl joined with Herman C. Mueller, in 1894, and they organized the Mosaic Tile Co. of Zanesville, Ohio.

Owens’ enterprise expanded rapidly and, in 1896, he entered the art pottery field. His first product was the “Utopian” ware which was similar to Weller’s “Louwelsa, Rookwood’s” standard brown ware, and George Young’s brown “Rozane” ware. During the decade he made art pottery, many of the now famous names in the American art pottery history were at some point associated with Owens Pottery. These names include W. A. Long, Frank Ferrell, Karl Langenbeck, John J. Herold, Herb Hugo, Albert Radford, and John Lessell and Guido Howorth from Austria-Hungary. Frank Ferrel came to Owens Pottery about 1907, and then later became designer for Roseville Pottery. These men were but few of the experts that were employed by the Owens factory. It is believed that between 1896 and 1907, Owens Pottery produced over 48 distinct art pottery lines and created more new lines during this period than any of the firm's competitors.