Purchase Tickets
Although the collection within the Bellingrath Home has long been praised for its valuable decorative arts there are some surprises to be found. On the Riverside Porch for instance, is a large blue pottery “trophy vase” standing nearly 20” high. Its base is marked CATALINA and this is a souvenir the Bellingraths purchased on their visit to the west coast in 1934.
In the diary kept by Amelia Moore Edgar who went on the trip with her husband Ernest acting as chauffeur, she describes a visit to Catalina Island on Friday, September 7, 1934. Her entry noted that “We had lunch at the country club and all the dishes and glasses were Catalina pottery in gay colors.” Before embarking on a glass bottom boat, “We stopped by the cutest little pottery shop and I couldn’t resist some colored glasses and plates.”
There is no mention of her husband’s aunt purchasing the vase but its distinctive mark confirms it came from that island some 48 miles south west of Los Angeles. It was developed as a resort in 1894 and sold in1919 to William Wrigley, Jr. who had founded his chewing gum empire in 1891 and was later an owner of the Chicago Cubs. That team would spend spring training on the island from 1921 until 1951.
Catalina Clay Pottery
The Wrigley family wanted to preserve the island and its natural state and enforce strict conservation methods. They set up the Catalina Clay Pottery Factory in 1927 to provide employment to island residents. The firm produced unusual pottery objects as well as decorative tile.
David Renton, who had worked for Wrigley and had developed the production of pottery and tile, retired, and since the pottery works had never been a big money-maker, the molds were sold to a California company and the pottery works closed in April of 1937.
Catalina Island continues to thrive as a popular resort today.