Excerpts from a 1949 Speech by AMACO Founder T.O. Philpott

One of the original ceramic plaques created from photo transfers which led to the discovery of Permoplast. Today, six of these original plaques hang in the AMACO/Brent Contemporary Clay Gallery.

After World War I, a friend of mine came back from England with an idea that we could make ceramic plaques out of photographs. We formed a company…The Fine Arts Ceramic Company of the United States. The plaque artist developed an oil-based modeling clay. We attempted for quite some time to reproduce these plaques, but due to lack of equipment, we were unable to make them commercially. Therefore, The Fine Arts Ceramic Company had to fold up for financial reasons, but the same stockholders took the modeling clay idea and started up what is now The American Art Clay Co., Inc.

[After other owners dropped out of the venture] I practically owned the company and was solely responsible for its operation. I had no money to operate the company and was making my living from [my] drugstore. That first year I sold $4,000.00 worth of modeling clay to schools. The second year, $6,000.00, which wasn’t too bad when you stop to figure that we were selling it for 15¢ and making it and getting it ready to ship at 3¢ per lb. The third year I sold the drugstore and devoted all my time to the American Art Clay Company.

One of the early Permoplast packaging.

Immediately upon devoting my entire time to the company, I got the modeling clay in colors, packaged it, and submitted the product to Woolworths in New York City. Within six weeks I had $20,000.00 worth of orders to be delivered to the Woolworth stores throughout the United States anytime up to September 1st. This was the beginning of the American Art Clay Company. We were to deliver modeling clay that year to Woolworth and to retain our school supply volume and actually make $6,000.00 clear money.

The first Lesson Plan/Book written for teachers. Download a complete PDF (6.4mb) version of this book.

We found stores and schools were reluctant to buy [Permoplast®] because they did not know how to use the product. Therefore we created this 40-page, 6″ x 9″ handbook of modeling and began giving them away to educate and stimulate interest in our product. The [tactic] worked.

The AMACO/Brent Contemporary Clay Gallery has on display a permanent collection of the pottery manufactured during the five years AMACO had a commercial pottery in the factory.

AMACO develops ceramics for school art programs through experimentation in a commercial pottery

We found that the Permoplast® modeling clay was being used only in the primary, kindergarten, and intermediate grades. Not many schools had Ceramic Departments, and they all recognized the advantage of taking a basic material like clay and using it in school [to] combine modeling, designing, decorating, and all the things necessary in art.

In order to be able to develop clays, glazes, and pottery equipment for schools, we put in a complete commercial pottery department in our factory. We manufactured commercial pottery for about 5 years. During this time, we gained considerable knowledge of different types of clays, glazes, decorating materials, supplies, and equipment necessary for the promotion of these materials for schools.

Up to this time there had  been no source of ceramic supply for the schools. After we had  enough information and knowledge to be helpful to the schools, we closed the commercial pottery and began promoting the use of clay, glazes, and equipment to schools throughout the country.

First electric kiln made for schools

AMACO's production schedule for 1950 was set at 2000 electric kilns for the school market, with prices ranging from $18.95 for a build-it-yourself kit up to $790 for the largest fully assembled model.

It was easy to see what type of equipment schools needed. We had already started working on a small electric kiln [which] was then offered to the schools as the first electric kiln in the educational field. Today, we’re selling electric kilns that go up to 2000°F temperature in eight different styles, sizes and prices–all the way from an $18.95 kiln, which you build yourself, up to a $790.00 kiln. We have our schedule set for the manufacturing of 2,000 electric kilns for 1950.

This circa 1970 AMACO 3-C kick pottery wheel evolved from earlier models built in response to government request for a wheel to help rehabilitate injured veterans from WW-II.

Government requests development of wheels

Immediately after World War II, we were asked by the government through the Occupational Therapy Department to develop kick wheels, motor driven wheels and different types of wheels for their hospitals for use by the patients. They wanted to develop the muscles in legs and feet through kicking processes.

Proud development of specialty products for illustrating on ceramics

One of the things which we developed in the last ten years, and that we’re most proud about is our underglaze and overglaze decorating sets. Before World War II, decorating pottery required considerable skill and most potters began as apprentices. This was due to the fact it took a considerable imagination on the part of the decorator to be able to decorate with colors that one knew was going to be different after the firing process. When we developed semi-moist watercolor paints for schools, our ceramic engineers wondered how this idea could be applied to ceramics. From this came our Semi-Moist Underglaze and Overglaze pan sets. These colors are virtually the same, from the time you brush them onto the pottery, to the time you remove the fired piece from the kiln.

T. O. Philpott
Founder & CEO 1919-1966

Semi-Moist Underglazes and Overglazes that fired true-to-color were developed post-WWII and are still available today.

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