Celebrating Monmouth, Illinois’ historic tradition of creating quality stoneware and pottery is the idea behind our annual Pottery on the Square Swap Meet event on June 27th, 2009 starting at 8:00am. Monmouth’s history with stoneware and pottery dates back to the 1890’s and continues today with Western Stoneware and Maple City Pottery, both of Monmouth.

Beginning at 8:00 a.m. and running until noon, on Monmouth’s Public Square, activities will include a pottery and stoneware swap meet, pottery demonstration, and window displays of rare pottery pieces. A pottery/stoneware consignment auction will begin at 9:30am. The public is welcome to bring vintage items the day of the event for the auction or can register them ahead of time and have them advertised on the auctioneer’s website www.burnsauctionservice.com. Swap meet and consignment auction participants are not limited to Illinois pottery, but pottery items must be vintage.

Also returning to the event this year is the pottery appraisal clinic beginning at 8:30am, where knowledgeable Illinois pottery collectors will be on hand to examine pieces of Illinois pottery brought by the public. In 2007 a rare Macomb Pottery Duck Decoy was brought to the Appraisers Booth and it was purchased for $2,500 by a board member of the Lakeview Museum in Peoria, Illinois, for the museum’s collection of Illinois duck decoys. They have been searching for this particular decoy for over 15 years. There were only a couple dozen made and it was a perfect example.

Another rare piece, a Bardolph Pottery Pig, was brought to the appraiser’s booth that had an estimated value of $1,500 to $2,000. The individual didn’t even know it was worth that much money, and decided to keep it.

In conjunction with the event the Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce is offering to the public an opportunity to purchase a handcrafted limited- edition, Western Stoneware brown pig that measures approximately 3 ¼ inches tall and 6 ¾ inches long. Western Stoneware Monmouth, IL and the maple leaf are embossed on one side with “Pottery on the Square, June 27, 2009, Monmouth, Illinois” decal on the other side. 2009 is embossed on the pig. Orders are currently being taken for the Western Stoneware pigs that will be available the day of the event. The deadline for orders is June 1^st, 2009, and they are priced at $45. Shipping charges vary based on quantity.

Creating the Western Stoneware pig began with the assistance of a local artist, William DeSelms, of Pheasantry Studio, from Roseville IL. Bill carved in clay a replica of the pre-1906 Monmouth Pottery pig with Western Stoneware and the maple leaf on the side. With the hardened clay replica he constructed silicone rubber mold in which he made the casting. The casting is a two part resin compound mixed with tiny glass particles. The resin casting and the silicone rubber mold was taken to Western Stoneware. Using those pieces they commissioned the construction of the stoneware mold. The stoneware mold ended up being a complicated eight piece mold.

For more information on the event or the commemorative Western Stoneware pig please contact the Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce at 309-734-3181 or e-mail maccdir@maplecity.com. You may also go to the tourism page of the Chamber’s website, www.monmouthilchamber.com.