Haeger Pottery

Haeger Pottery started as a Dundee, Illinois brickyard along the Fox River in 1852 using clay from the riverbank. David H. Haeger, a German immigrant, became part owner of the Dundee Brickyard in 1871. Within a year Haeger was sole owner and had extended the business to include tile. After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Haegar shipped bricks into the city to help rebuild Chicago. By the 1920s the brickyard's production included teaware, luncheonware, crystal and glassware. At the Century of Progress Exposition in 1934 in Chicago, Haeger Potteries' exhibit included a complete working ceramic factory where souvenir pottery was made on the spot. [http://www.haegerpotteries.com/haeger.php?section_id=3#1934 Retrieved on Nov. 22, 2006]

In 1934, Royal Arden Hickman (1893-1969) joined the firm to design a line of artware sold under the brand name "Royal Haeger". Hickman was the chief designer from 1938-1944. Items produced during Hickman's tenure are marked "Royal Haeger by Royal Hickman U.S.A. R-###". During the 1950s, Hickman, no longer employed by Haeger Pottery, contributed designs to the company as a freelancer.

Currently, Haeger Pottery has a national sales base, attracting many tourists and shoppers to its factory, especially during its summertime tent sale. Haeger pieces have become collectible in recent years. [ http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/403.html Retrieved on Sept. 21, 2006]