"Author and historian Bob Batchelor tells the compelling story of this artisanal ceramics company, still operating in the heart of the Ohio River Valley from its founding to present day. Filled with behind-the-scenes artist and creator interviews, stories of Rookwood's avid collectors, as well as never-before-seen images and documents from the company's historic archives, you will see why Rookwood remains a pillar of true craftsmanship. Published to coincide with Rookwood's 140th anniversary, this beautiful, collectible, fully illustrated volume tells the rich story of this female-founded, female-owned great American art pottery company"--provided by publisher.

At a manor called Rookwood Place, there existed a legend claiming that a death would follow after a branch of an ancient tree would break. After a branch does fall from the tree, Piers Rookwood, the owner, dies. It is revealed to Luke Bradley that he was the son, and thus heir, of Piers Rookwood along with the fact that Piers Rookwood murdered Bradley's mother. At the same time, Rookwood's wife, Maud Rookwood, puts forth her own schemes to ensure that her son, Ranulph Rookwood, is able to claim the inheritance for himself. In the heap of schemes, treasons and love triangles shows up Dick Turpin, a highwayman and thief, who is introduced at the manor under the pseudonym Palmer. While there, he makes a bet with one of the guests that he could capture the old Rookwood inheritance for himself.

The nation's premier private collection of Rookwood art pottery featuring American Indian portraiture is on display at the Cincinnati Art Museum from October 2007 to January 2008. Rookwood and the American Indian: Masterpieces of American Art Pottery from the James J. Gardner Collection is a remarkable exhibition catalogue that will be of interest well beyond the exhibition because of its unique subject matter. Fifty-two pieces produced by the Rookwood Pottery Company are showcased, many accompanied by black-and-white photographs of the American Indians portrayed by the ceramic artist. In addition, the catalogue includes a brief biography of each artist as well as curators' comments about the Rookwood pottery and the Indian apparel seen in the portraits. The catalogue also presents two essays. The first, "Enduring Encounters: Cincinnatians and American Indians to 1900," by ethnologist and co-curator Susan Labry Meyn, describes American Indian activities in Cincinnati from the time of the first settlers to 1900 and relates these events to national policy, such as the 1830 Indian Removal Act. Rookwood and the American Indian, by art historian Anita J. Ellis, concentrates on Rookwood's fascination with the American Indian and the economic implications of producing that line. Rookwood and the American Indian blends anthropology with art history to reveal the relationships between the white settlers and the Native Americans in general, between Cincinnati and the American Indian in particular, and ultimately between Rookwood artists and their Indian friends.

Over 800 color photos display the ceramic art pottery made by Rookwood Pottery from 1880 through 1967. Hand-painted decoration by Albert R. and Anna Marie Valentien, Matt Daly, William Hentschel, Kate C. Matchette, Mary Nourse, and Kataro Shirayamadani, among others, are shown on vases, urns, candlesticks, and plates. The text provides a history of the company, a detailed bibliography, and an index.