HaegerAshtrays.com

No. 114

Explanatory Note

This ashtray was not manufactured by Haeger, but rather the mold was sold from a Haeger molds catalog. We haven't found a mold catalog with a violin in it, so the date the violin mold was sold is unknown. We do know that the violins manufactured for sale by Haeger were listed in their 1960 catalogs.

The mold was likely sold to a pottery shop open to local hobbyists. The shop would cast clay pieces and sell them to their customers. Included with the price paid for the piece the hobbyist could visit the shop as necessary to complete the painting of their item with glazes, then the shop would fire the piece in their kiln to complete the production process. Pottery shops for hobbyists continue to operate in this manner to this day.

Such pieces were often inscribed by the hobbyist, either in the glaze or as was the case in this example directly into the clay.