This is a lovely mint example of a Staffordshire Buffalo Pottery, Deldare, Dr. Syntax “Star Gazing” plate circa 1911. Beautiful green color’s, wonderful scene and surround in this 9.25″ plate. It sold for $1395 in a buy it now.

Buffalo Pottery’s Deldare Ware is very collectible and typically features an Arts and Crafts/ Art Deco motif.

This 7 3/4″ example, is dated 1911 and signed by artist J. Gerhardt, the vase has irises, butterflies and kingfishers.   It sold for $3250 in Ebay in May 2009.

Larkin and Hubbard, of Buffalo, New York, left their jobs at a Chicago soap factory in 1875 to manufacture soap in Buffalo.  In 1892, the company was reorganized as the Larkin Soap Manufacturing Company.  Hubbard held a 50% interest, and was Secretary.  Larkin ran manufacturing, while Hubbard was responsible for merchandising.

Hubbard was the king of premium, for examples:

• A set of six “solid silver” teaspoons–solid German silver, without any real silver metal in them. The teaspoons were “given away” with a package selling for $6 and containing laundry and toilet soaps, washing compounds, and perfume.
• A “Chautauqua Lamp” - tall brass kerosene lamp with a silk shade.  The lamp was “given away” with a package of soap for $10
• A “Chautauqua Desk” was” given away” with soap.

About 1890, Hubbard introduced the Club Plan-A System of selling soap products with premiums to groups, typically women’s clubs. Generous credit terms were extended.   to such groups. Premium marketing was so successful that Hubbard was able to retire on January 7, 1893.  Then “Roycroft” happened, he became enraptured with William Morris, the head of the English Art-and-Crafts movement and started the Roycrofters in East Aurora.

The success of Hubbard’s soap-merchandising schemes was so tremendous that the next logical step was for the Larkin Company to manufacture its own premiums. One of the first factories to produce premiums was Buffalo Pottery built by and wholly owned by the Larkin Company in 1901-02. It operated 9 kilns and by 1911 employed 250 people. Louis H. Bown was in charge of manufacturing.

Buffalo Pottery’s first production were semi-vitreous china. The ware was of such quality that it soon entered the regular wholesale trade channels, and by 1908 the pottery had selling agencies in New York, Chicago, and St. Louis. By 1911, Buffalo pottery was being exported to 27 countries. During the 1914-18 war, the company turned to the manufacture of hotel china. After the war, semi-vitreous ware and Deldare made a brief come-back, but were abandoned in the 1920s.

Buffalo pottery was clearly marked.  Frequently the year of manufacture is added.  On deco rated with overglaze or underglaze painting, the signature or initials of the decorator were frequently added.

This 1911 Buffalo Pottery mark was found on a piece of Emerald Deldare Ware.