Comanche Pottery

A user contributed these images, which is nice. The 'Kathy 7"' was surprising to me:

It is hard trying to research Comanche Pottery. Even though a piece seemed to be marked NC, it was in none of my North Carolina pottery books. Researching it on the Internet just nets you a pile of misinformation or incomplete information. The only thing people seem to universally get right about Comanche Pottery is that it has nothing to do with the native american tribe. So, since I was a little annoyed everything I saw only had a small bit of truth, I do not have all of the citations but can only offer you most of the story:

Comanche Pottery was a brand owned by Ron Allen. Ron Allen (in 1934) and his brother were born in Comanche, Texas. He high tailed it out of there in 66 for Oxford, Mississippi, and perhaps, some time before or sometime after he had started "designing" pottery (there were some pieces hand marked Texas, and many businesses start in someone's head years before being incorporated). Some time after, then, he may have moved to North Carolina, and later back to Oxford, MS (or he may have just had a place there to do business out of sometimes); another possibility is that the pieces that appear to be marked NC actually all say INC (probably untrue of all, though some are, see final paragraph below). He "designed" pottery in all these places and may have made some of it (unclear), but also had employees, including one employee or collaborator who signed some pieces Kathy. He was known as a lifelong entrepreneur and if he is the same Ron Allen who spent time in NC (most probably as he definitely owned a factory there), then while there he founded a Washington, DC antique store in 1981 with another guy who actually ran it. According to his Oxford obituary he also had "various" other businesses, like a hardware store, a pet store, and some others. So after he moved (back?) to Oxford, he lived for some many years and died in 2015.

I found on Collectors Weekly something that said Comanche pottery was made in Comanche, TX, and that is *mostly* false and *partly* true (some was made in TX, but it was also made in MS and in NC, and you'll find it marked for all of the above places); his obit said he lived in Oxford,MS from 1966 to 2015, that is *possibly* or *partly* false, as he might have lived in NC for part of that time or had dual residence. Facebook experts say Comanche pottery went out of business in Texas in the 80s, that is *partially* false, as it was in 4 states by 1981 and may be a brand he used long after that.

Finally, there is one relatively authoritative source that cleared it all up. Are the pieces marked INC? Are they marked NC? Probably both, as Lehner's Encyclopedia of US Marks says Comanche Pottery, Inc started in Texas in 1978 (interesting, as he hadn't lived there for 12 years), opened a 2nd plant in Oxford, MS (also in 1978?), and then 14 months later opened a 3rd plant in Lumberton, N.C. Then it says Comanche opened a distribution center in Orlando, FL in 1981. So that's a pretty large operation, makes you wonder why there's so little information about it online. Now, I have come across bad information in Lehner's before as time brings more information to light, but it is mostly a good resource and the details in this suggest it is based on much better information than is out on the Internet right now.

TLDR; Comanche Pottery was a brand owned by Ron Allen from Comanche, Texas, but was produced in Oxford, Mississippi, AND Lumberton, North Carolina AND Comanche, TX, in AT LEAST the late 70s and the 80s.

His Oxford, MS obituary:

☀https://www.colemanfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Ronnie-Allen/#!/Obituary

Quinton (Nubbin) Allen also put in some time at the NC factory. His obituary:

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/quinton-allen-obituary?pid=156042034

News of the DC antique store founded with an NC partner closing:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-news/sales-from-a-bygone-time-the-brass-knob-antique-store-to-close-after-38-years/2019/08/07/f7926192-b496-11e9-8f6c-7828e68cb15f\_story.html