The Swank pottery exhibit was a temporary exhibit that was shown in the Frank & Sylvia Pasquerilla Heritage Discovery Center.

What A Crock! Johnstown Potteries of the 19th Century
This exhibit closed on January 9, 2006. Click here to buy this exhibit catalog online. The Johnstown Area Heritage Association is delighted to present a new temporary exhibit, "What A Crock! Johnstown Potteries of the 19th Century," in the second-floor galleries of the Frank & Sylvia Pasquerilla Heritage Discovery Center. Admission to the exhibit is included in your regular museum admission (which is free to JAHA members -- click here to find out how to become a JAHA member).
"What A Crock" includes more than 100 pieces -- about a dozen are from JAHA's archive, and the rest are borrowed from private collectors. Although the exhibit focuses on the Swank pottery, it also includes pieces from several Johnstown-area potteries of the 19th century, including the Hamilton & Pershing and A.J. Haws Potteries.
During the 1800s, pottery was used for a range of household and farming purposes, The exhibit features crocks ranging in size from 1/4 gallon up to 5 gallons, all of which were intended for food storage -- dairy products, preserves, cakes, and more. Other household items include jugs, pitchers, and flower vases. Almost all pieces are stamped with the manufacturer's name, and most are hand-decorated with a distinctive blue glaze. An array of other items were also produced, including sewer pipes, spittoons, children's coin banks and more. The salt-glazed pottery was typically hand-decorated with blue glaze and was available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Today, these beautiful pieces of "everyday art" are highly prized by collectors.
As a part of the project, JAHA conducted extensive primary research into the history of the Swank firm -- although Swank pottery is well-known among collectors, the history of the firm that produced it was relatively unknown.
"What A Crock" traces the 120-year history of the Swank firm, from its beginnings in Somerset County through several Johnstown-area locations, until the end of the 19th century when glass canning jars became widely available and the demand for pottery decreased. At that time, the Swank firm began to focus on refractory materials for the steel industry, which was then entering its heyday in Johnstown. The firm would go on to serve virtually every major steel manufacturer in the country before closing in the 1980s.
The story of the Swank pottery will be permanently preserved in a full-color catalog that will be available long after the exhibit is over. The catalog, which includes more than 150 color photographs, shows the range of Swank pottery products and how collectors can identify them. It includes photographs of every piece in the exhibit, as well as pieces that JAHA was unable to borrow. In addition, a history of the Swank firm is included, summarizing the results of JAHA's research. The catalog is available for sale in the gift shops of the Heritage Discovery Center and Johnstown Flood Museum, priced at $14.95; it may also be purchased online. Click here to view this item in JAHA's online museum store.
JAHA thanks the Penelec Fund of the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, whose support has helped make this exhibit possible. JAHA also extends a special thanks to all the collectors who generously loaned pottery to the exhibit and shared their knowledge with us.