TECO

THE AMERICAN TERRA-COTTA CO., CHICAGO, ILL.

Warren Schneider, © 2007

The American Terra-Cotta and Ceramic Co. have recently placed upon the market a new product which is known as Teco ware. It is made in plain shapes, usually with modeled or relief designs, covered with a dull or matt glaze of a peculiar grayish-green tint. It is stamped with the word “Teco,” derived from the title of the company.

Source: Marks of American Potters by Edwin Atlee Barber, 1904.

The Encyclopedia of Ceramics

Teco is the name given to the pottery productions of the American Terra-cotta and Ceramic Company, of Chicago. It is very similar in appearance to the Grueby ware, having the same mat ground, the colors mostly inclining to greens: but lacks some of the essentials which make Grueby what it is. An effect not found in the latter is realized in Teco in the form of a beautiful silver luster, though we are by no means sure that it adds to the value of the mat glaze. These mat glazes, so suggestive of repose, are charming in them selves, and anything beyond a mere suggestion of relief work seems to detract from their value. Pottery is but a side issue with the company, and though experiments have been in progress since 1880, they have several times had to be abandoned owing to the pressure for the staple products of the company. The shapes are extremely varied and some of them are of mammoth size.

Source: The Encyclopedia of Ceramics by William Percival Jervis.

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