Kenton Hills Porcelains

Kenton Hills Porcelains
Company type	Private
Industry	Ceramics manufacturing
Founded	1939
Founder	Harold Bopp
Defunct	1944
Headquarters	Erlanger, United States
Products	High-temperature soft paste porcelain goods (vases, bookends, figurines, lamp bases, flowerpots)

Kenton Hills Porcelains manufactured high-temperature soft paste porcelain goods from 1940 until 1943 in Erlanger, Kentucky, with sales extending through 1944. Their collection, crafted from local clays, featured items such as vases, bookends, figurines, lamp bases, and flowerpots.

Founding

The company was established by Harold Bopp, a ceramic engineer and former head of chemistry and color at Rookwood Pottery in Cincinnati, Ohio. After departing Rookwood in 1939, Bopp founded Kenton Hills Porcelains. He had previously suggested strategies to alleviate Rookwood’s financial difficulties during the Great Depression, emphasizing wholesaler partnerships to boost cash flow and the modernization of manufacturing processes. When Rookwood’s president John D. Wareham declined these proposals, Bopp resigned and joined forces with former colleagues to create a new pottery business based on his ideas.

Bopp initiated the Harold F. Bopp Manufacturing Company along U.S. Route 25 (Dixie Highway) in Erlanger, Kentucky. Production began on January 22, 1940, with the inaugural significant kiln firing taking place in May of that year.

Production and marketing

Kenton Hills Porcelains officially commenced operations on November 11, 1940. The initial year saw robust production and the establishment of marketing partnerships with leading retailers including Nieman-Marcus (Dallas), Marshall Field's (Chicago), Gump (San Francisco), Halle Brothers Co. (Cleveland), as well as New York’s Lord & Taylor, Tiffany & Co., and Georg Jensen Company.

Distribution was handled by Schoemaker & Company, Inc., based in New York, which represented Kenton Hills Porcelains for outlet store sales.

Artists and production staff

Many employees at Kenton Hills Porcelains were acquaintances or relatives of the founders, though records are incomplete. Significant contributors were involved in glaze formulation, decoration, mold creation, shaping, and firing processes:

Julian F. Bechtold (1896–1955)
Harold F. Bopp (1900–1986)
Paul Chidlaw (1900–1989)
Arthur Pabodic Conant (1889–1966)
Raymond "Ray" Frank Dawson (1889–1965)
Rose Mary (Brunner) Dickman (1887–1980)
Charlotte Haupt
Alza (Stratton) Hentschel (1911–1982)
William "Billy" Ernst Hentschel (1892–1962)
Leo Murphy
Harold Nash
John Reichardt (1894–1965)
John Schneider
David Warren Seyler (1917–2010)
Rosemary (Dickman) Seyler (1916–2006)
Mayo Moore Taylor (1893–1980)

Demise

Operations ended in early 1943 following intermittent kiln firings during 1942. Wartime changes prompted key staff departures: Seyler enlisted in the U.S. Navy; Bopp took a position at Corning Glass; Dawson and Reichardt moved into war-related industries; Hentschel returned to teaching at the Cincinnati Art Academy. The plant was leased to the U.S. Army for defense storage throughout World War II. Postwar evaluations found the facility severely deteriorated with kiln contamination issues. Despite these challenges, Rosemary Dickman Seyler maintained the salesroom’s operation until 1944.

Schoemaker & Company did not complete the final shipment to outlet retailers, resulting in unresolved legal disputes over financial damages. Remaining glazed pieces were sold to Crest Lamp Company.

David and Rosemary Seyler estimated that between 10,000 and 15,000 pieces were produced over three years. Importantly, Kenton Hills Porcelains never sold factory seconds, setting their product approach apart from others.

Museum collections

Although Kenton Hills Porcelains are relatively rare, several museums have acquired examples of their work. The most extensive public assortment is housed at the Behringer-Crawford Museum located in Covington, while the Speed Art Museum in Louisville also features some pieces.

References

Evans, Paul. Art Pottery of the United States (New York, NY: Feingold & Lewis Publishing Corp), 1987.
Nicholson, Nick & Marilyn Nicholson. Kenton Hills Porcelains, Inc.: The Story of a Small Art Pottery, 1939–1944 (Loveland, OH: D. A. Nicholson), 1998.
Nicholson, Nick & Marilyn Nicholson. "Kenton Hills Pottery: An Artistic Success but a Wartime Casualty" Journal of the American Art Pottery Association 12:10 (September/October 1996): 6–11.
Payne, Warren & Julie Payne. Clear As Mud: Early 20th Century Kentucky Art Pottery (Paris, KY: Cane Ridge Publishing House), 2010.