Identification Resources
Contents
Ashtray Index
The Ashtray Index will lead you to listings of an ashtray in all of the catalogs that list it. All you need is the design number, which usually appears on the back of the ashtray.
The catalogs, in turn, provide additional information such as the different glazes used with the design. And note that different catalogs frequently list different glazes for an ashtray.
Most catalog titles are as they appear in the Directory of Catalogs and Resources available in the Royal Haeger Pottery Collectors Facebook group under Files; additional catalog titles, annotated with the footnote [2], are as they appear in Haeger Pottery Catalogs and Brochures available in the Haeger Pottery Enthusiasts Facebook group under Files. Members of these groups are granted access to view the catalogs, and group membership is free.
Instructions
The index may be sorted in one of two ways:
- Ordered by Catalog Number: Scroll down to the catalog number, and you will find all of the catalogs that list the ashtray.
- Ordered by Catalog Date: Scroll down to a catalog, and you will find all of the ashtrays that are listed in that catalog.
Also, note that where you see a catalog number highlighted in red 1065 it is a link to the photo(s) of that design on our website. Try clicking on this one to see how it works, then use the Back button in the lower-right of your screen to return.
Identifying Ashtrays
Identifying ashtrays in Haeger's later catalogs is difficult and a bit arbitrary for a couple of reasons:
- Haeger stopped naming its products and began presenting only numbers.
- As smoking became less popular Haeger stopped making so many ashtrays with resting spots for cigarettes and started selling multi-purpose trays, dishes, and bowls. For example, you may see the same design displayed as both a candle holder and an ashtray.
Glaze Identification
The Glaze Gallery displays all of the ashtrays shown on this website in order by glaze name.
In addition, two resources are available in the Royal Haeger Pottery Collectors Facebook group:
- Under Media > Albums you will find photo albums for most of the known glazes, with most albums containing many different examples. You can scroll down the page looking at the covers of the albums, then look into the albums you think might match the glaze you are working to identify.
- Under the Files heading you will find Haeger Glazes A thru L and Haeger Glazes M thru Z, indexes by glaze name with links to the glaze albums.
And, of course, you can learn a great deal from the Books listed below.
Glaze Code Index
The Glaze Code Index equates glaze codes to their corresponding glaze names and will assist you with the regular catalogs from the 50s through 70s that list glaze codes but don't include keys to their meanings. Earlier and later regular catalogs, and all the floral and lamp catalogs, identify glaze names within the catalog.
Facebook: Catalog titles are as they appear in the Directory of Catalogs and Resources available in the Royal Haeger Pottery Collectors Facebook group under Files. Members of the group are granted access to view the catalogs, and group membership is free.
Instructions
Glaze codes can be inconsistent over the years. For example, in one catalog B represents Blue and in another Briar. Therefore it is important to consider both the dates the Ashtray Index indicates the ashtray appeared in catalogs and the date of the catalog that provided the meaning of the code.
Also, note that the catalog titles present the dates of the catalogs that provided the glaze code meanings and should not be misconstrued to represent the years glazes were in production.
And while most of the meanings came from code keys found in catalogs, some were derived from catalogs that displayed one example of a glaze with the code and another with the name.
The index may be sorted in one of two ways:
- Ordered by Alphabetic Code: Scroll down to a glaze code and you will find the dates of the catalogs the code appeared in.
- Ordered by Catalog Date: Scroll down to a catalog and you will find a listing of all the glaze codes found in that catalog.
Photo Galleries
There are two photo galleries on this website:
- Ashtray Gallery presents over 200 ashtrays and accessories in order by design number, plus ashtrays made to advertise companies, organizations, and celebrations.
- Glaze Gallery displays all of the ashtrays shown on this website in order by glaze name.
Gallery Nomenclature
These notes explain the format used in the presentation of information on each ashtray or accessory appearing in the Ashtray and Glaze galleries.
The caption under the first photo of the ashtray or accessory includes the following elements:
- Description: Haeger was often inconsistent in describing an ashtray or accessory from one catalog to the next, even one page to the next. We use the most complete description we could find. Where there was no description at all or the design simply appeared in a group titled Ashtrays, we use a generic term such as Ashtray or Lighter.
- Size: Looking at the photos of individual ashtrays or accessories, you have no idea of size and a 5" ashtray can look just like a 12" so we include the longest dimension.
- When available, the measurement comes from a catalog and we present it like this:
Rectangular Ashtray 10"
- Otherwise, we get the size from the collector or seller who provided the photo and we present the approximate size like this:
Rectangular Ashtray ≈10"
- When available, the measurement comes from a catalog and we present it like this:
- Circa: Circa implies an approximate date, and that's the best we can offer. The dates come from the dates of the catalogs in which the ashtray or accessory is listed. Also, it is important to note that there are years for which catalogs have never been found.
Note: When an ashtray or accessory can't be found in a catalog, and its glaze can be identified, we state the dates the glaze was used in production, if known.
- Glaze: The name of the glaze if we've been able to identify it, else it will read "unidentified." Look to the catalogs for complete information on the different glazes used with a particular design.
- Photo Credit: The name of the person who provided the photo and gave us permission to use it. Sources include Michael's collection, other Haeger collectors, and sellers on eBay, Etsy, et al.
Catalog number prefixes and suffixes:
- For ease of reading, we always include a hyphen after a prefix and before a suffix whether they appear on the ashtray or not, e.g., R-1735 and 813-H. The catalogs are inconsistent in this matter.
- Where the catalog is inconsistent in listing numbers with prefixes and suffixes, e.g., R-1735 and 1735, and 813-H and 813, we include an explanatory note.
- Numbers Only Found in Catalogs: There are many examples such as 1066, 1066-GD, 1066-J, 1066-X, and 1066-XD where the catalog images all appear to be the same design, but only one of the numbers has been found on an ashtray. As is the case with 1066, the number found on an ashtray is most frequently the one without a suffix.
It appears that the suffixes found in catalogs are sometimes used to indicate a particular glaze or type of glaze. For example, 2124 is used in the listings of a number of solid-colored glazes while 2124-X is used with a number of colors of Graphic Earth Wrap glazes.
However, it is not possible to associate every ashtray with a catalog number specific to its glaze, so for consistency we don't do it at all. The only number we associate with an ashtray is the one that appears on the ashtray.
Facebook Groups
Books
There are five books written on Haeger Potteries. They are all out-of-print, but available through on-line booksellers.
In order of publication date:
- Collecting Royal Haeger – A Comprehensive Illustrated Price Guide Highlighting the 1930s and 1940s by Lee Garmon & Doris Frizzell, 1989
- Haeger Potteries through the Years – A Price Guide by David D. Dilley, 1997
- The House of Haeger 1914-1944 – The Revitalization of American Art Pottery by Joe & Joyce Paradis, 1999
- The House of Haeger 1944-1969 – The Post-War Era by Joe & Joyce Paradis, 2003
- The Haeger Glazes – The Ed Blas Collection by Ed Blas, 2004