Roseville Pottery was incorporated in 1892 after purchasing the J.B. Owens factory which began operating in 1885. Early plants were both in Roseville and Zanesville, Ohio.  Early production was utilitarian wares in both places. At no time did Roseville produce “artwork” in Roseville.  The first art pottery line was made in Zanesville and was called Rozane.  With John Herold’s arrival as art director and designer in 1900, the pottery began making a competing art line for each new product produced by the Weller Pottery Company.  

In 1917 Frank Ferrell was hired as the art director and remained at Roseville until 1954.  He developed the Pine Cone line derived from ideas he had suggested at Weller.  It became the most popular line ever made at Roseville.  In 1918 the new trademark “Roseville U.S.A.” was adopted when Russell T. Young took over as general manager.  In 1931 Russell’s mother became president and the firm name was changed to Roseville Pottery.  The firm continued to make production ware  until 1954 when all the designs and contents were sold.

Frank Ferrell was a highly original designer working at Roseville for 36 years and he designed many lines of pottery. Following the great depression he designed two new lines of pottery each year, one in January and one in July— each containing dozens of different shapes within each new line. His Pine Cone line supported the factory throughout the depression, when the company could survive marketing non-essential artware.  Ferrell’s tenure at Roseville represented the pottery’s finest artistic accomplishments and allowed America’s households to afford and display pottery in their homes, enjoying the many pots created by his imagination offering up shape, color and design in an amazing variety of form.

Sourced from Kovel’s American Art Pottery, Ralph and Terry Kovel, 1993

Collectors’ Compendium of Roseville Pottery, Vol III, Randall B. Monsen, 1997