Paul Revere Pottery: Complete Guide to History, Marks, and Value

Paul Revere Pottery stands apart from virtually every other American art pottery firm. Founded in 1906 in Boston, it was not created as a commercial enterprise alone but as a social and educational initiative designed to provide meaningful work, artistic training, and economic opportunity for young immigrant women in one of America’s most densely populated urban neighborhoods.

Operating until 1942, the pottery produced a wide range of decorative and functional wares that blended Arts & Crafts ideals with social reform, making it one of the most historically significant American potteries of its era. The pieces are beautiful objects in their own right. But they also carry the story of the young women who made them, the philanthropists who supported the enterprise, and the progressive ideals that shaped its thirty-six-year history.

This guide covers the full history of the pottery, the people behind it, its distinctive design language, how to identify and date pieces through marks, what drives value in today’s market, and how to approach buying and selling with confidence.

Paul Revere Pottery: Recent Sold Prices at Crafted Auctions

Piece	Sale Date	Hammer Price
Paul Revere Saturday Evening Girls Pottery 1920s Blue Ceramic Creamer Pitcher	Jan, 2026	$80
Paul Revere Saturday Evening Girls Pottery 1920s Blue Stripe Dudley Pitcher	June, 2025	$90
Paul Revere Saturday Evening Girls Pottery 1925 Goose Medallion Pitcher Levine	Feb, 2025	$250
Saturday Evening Girls SEG Paul Revere Pottery 1926 Scenic Creamer	May, 2025	$425
Saturday Evening Girls SEG 1921 Art Pottery Ship Trivet Tile	Feb, 2025	$700

All prices are hammer prices from Crafted Auctions sales. Buyer’s premium applies. Results reflect competitive online bidding by registered collectors nationwide.

To understand what drives these results, and what separates a common example from a significant piece, start with the story behind the pottery.

The Setting: Boston’s North End in 1906

To understand why Paul Revere Pottery was created and what made it significant, the setting matters enormously. The North End of Boston in the early twentieth century was one of America’s most densely populated immigrant neighborhoods, home primarily to waves of Italian and Jewish immigrants who had arrived in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries seeking opportunity in America.

The neighborhood was poor, overcrowded, and underserved by the social and educational institutions that served other Boston communities. Young women in particular had limited access to education, vocational training, or cultural life beyond their immediate domestic circumstances. The settlement house movement, which sought to bring education, culture, and practical skills into urban immigrant communities, was gaining momentum nationally, and Boston had its own version of this progressive tradition.

It was in this context that the Saturday Evening Girls Club and, eventually, Paul Revere Pottery came into being.

Origins: The Saturday Evening Girls Club

The Saturday Evening Girls Club began around 1899 at the North End Branch of the Boston Public Library. It was organized by Edith Guerrier, a Boston librarian with progressive social convictions, who wanted to create a structured, enriching environment for the young immigrant women in her branch’s community.

The club met on Saturday evenings, the one time when young working women had freedom from their weekday obligations, and offered a range of activities: reading, music, discussion, and various crafts. The goal was not simply to occupy time but to provide the kind of cultural education and community that these young women had little other access to.

Edith Brown, Guerrier’s close collaborator and the person who would shape the pottery’s artistic direction, joined the program and introduced ceramics as both a creative outlet and a viable economic skill. Their shared conviction was that art and craft could be simultaneously beautiful, educational, and financially sustaining, for the women who made the pottery and for the organization that employed them.

Founding the Pottery: 1906

By 1906, the ceramics component of the Saturday Evening Girls program had grown into something more structured. Italian and Jewish immigrant girls were being trained in pottery-making, work initially took place in private homes and temporary locations, and a kiln was installed with professional guidance brought in to develop technical standards.

The Move to Hull Street: 1908

In 1908, operations moved to 18 Hull Street in Boston’s North End, a location near the Old North Church, the historic landmark most associated with Paul Revere’s famous 1775 midnight ride. The proximity to this symbol of American history was not accidental. The pottery adopted the name “Paul Revere Pottery” after this move, linking the enterprise to the American democratic tradition and providing a name with immediate cultural resonance.

The Hull Street address became the pottery’s identity during its early years. Paper labels from this period read “Bowl Shop, S.E.G., 18 Hull St., Boston”, the abbreviation S.E.G. standing for Saturday Evening Girls.

The Library Club House

The pottery operated out of the Library Club House, a settlement-style community center funded by Boston philanthropists. The goal was to provide employment, purpose, and cultural enrichment in equal measure. Activities at the house extended well beyond pottery, music and dance programs, lectures, classes, and social development were all part of the program. The pottery was both a workplace and a community hub.

The People Behind the Pottery

Edith Guerrier (1870–1958)

Guerrier was the organizational force behind the Saturday Evening Girls and the pottery. Her background as a librarian shaped her conviction that access to education and culture was not a privilege but a right, including for immigrant communities that the broader social institutions of the period largely ignored. She managed the organization’s social and administrative dimensions throughout its existence.

Edith Brown (1864–1932)

Brown was the artistic soul of Paul Revere Pottery. As the pottery’s primary designer and creative director, she developed the visual language that defines the pottery’s most celebrated work, the incised outlines, hand-painted color fields, nature-inspired motifs, and distinctive matte glazes that collectors recognize immediately.

Brown’s artistic philosophy combined beauty and utility. She believed that well-designed, honestly made objects should be accessible to ordinary households, not just wealthy collectors, and priced the pottery accordingly. She also insisted that fair wages be built into product pricing, a progressive economic position for the period. Her death in 1932 marked the beginning of the pottery’s long decline, though it continued for another decade without her.

Mrs. Helen Osborne Storrow (1864–1944)

Helen Osborne Storrow was the pottery’s essential financial patron throughout its existence. A Boston philanthropist committed to settlement house work and progressive social causes, Storrow provided the funding that sustained the operation during years when revenue from pottery sales alone would not have covered costs. The pottery operated at a financial loss for much of its life, Storrow’s support made its continued existence possible.

Her death in 1944, two years after the pottery itself closed, marked the end of the entire enterprise that she had helped sustain for nearly four decades.

Growth and the Brighton Move: 1915

By the early 1910s the pottery had achieved genuine commercial success. Over the course of its history, more than 200 young women participated in the program, with around 15 to 20 workers active at any given time. The wares gained popularity for their distinctive decoration, accessible pricing, and ethical production model.

In 1915, a new, purpose-built facility was constructed in Brighton, Massachusetts, a larger space that reflected the pottery’s growth and allowed for expanded production. The move to Brighton also corresponded with increased adoption of the “Paul Revere Pottery” name and “P.R.P.” mark on pieces, transitioning from the earlier Saturday Evening Girls identity.

Working Conditions and Social Mission

Unlike most industrial workplaces of the early twentieth century, or most pottery operations of the period, Paul Revere Pottery provided working conditions that were genuinely progressive by any standard:

• Clean, well-lit workspaces rather than the cramped and poorly ventilated conditions typical of period industry
• Shorter workdays than the factory norm
• Paid vacation time, an unusual benefit for working women of this era
• Opportunities for advancement through skill development

Workers moved through levels of skill, from less experienced positions learning from more skilled artisans in an apprenticeship-style environment, up through designer and kiln operator roles. The structure reflected the pottery’s conviction that the workplace itself should be educational and uplifting, not merely productive. The Overbeck sisters in Cambridge City, Indiana operated their pottery under similar convictions, prioritizing craftsmanship and individual artistic expression over volume production.

Pottery Styles and Design Language

The Defining Aesthetic

Paul Revere Pottery is immediately recognizable to collectors who know the work. The most characteristic pieces share a consistent visual vocabulary:

• Incised outlines in the clay defining the decorative design
• Hand-painted decoration filling the incised areas with soft, muted color
• Black or dark outlines giving the decoration a strong linear quality
• Matte and semi-matte glaze surfaces

This combination, incised outline, hand-painted fill, matte glaze, produces pieces that feel both handcrafted and graphically precise. The designs are clear and well-organized, reflecting Edith Brown’s training as a designer rather than a purely decorative sensibility.

Common Motifs

Nature-inspired imagery dominates the decorative vocabulary:

• Animals, ducks, rabbits, birds, turtles, and other creatures appearing frequently on children’s sets and decorative pieces
• Trees, particularly the stylized trees that appear on many landscape-themed pieces
• Flowers and botanicals
• Boston landmarks and architectural imagery, used especially on tiles
• Nursery rhyme scenes and children’s storybook themes

The animal motifs are among the most recognizable and widely collected, particularly on children’s sets where ducks, rabbits, and birds are depicted with a directness and charm that has endured well beyond the pottery’s Arts & Crafts context.

Glaze Colors

Paul Revere Pottery glazes are distinctive for their soft, harmonious quality:

• Yellow
• Green, in multiple tones from soft sage to deeper olive
• Blue
• Brown
• Cream
• Gunmetal tones, particularly used for outline work

Many pieces feature the combination of a cream or light ground with black-outlined decoration filled with soft color fields, this is the most immediately recognizable and most actively collected decorative approach in the pottery’s output. This distinguishes Paul Revere from Arts & Crafts makers like Teco Pottery, where a single signature matte glaze defined the entire output.

Forms and Product Lines

Functional Wares

The pottery emphasized objects that could be used, not merely displayed, a direct expression of the Arts & Crafts conviction that beauty and daily life should not be separated:

• Bowls and plates
• Cups and saucers
• Pitchers and serving pieces
• Lamps and desk accessories
• Paperweights and inkwells

Children’s Sets

Children’s sets were among the pottery’s most popular and commercially successful products, and among the most actively collected today. These included:

• Bread-and-milk sets (bowl, plate, and mug)
• Dishes decorated with animals or storybook scenes
• Personalized pieces with names, initials, or birth dates

The option for personalized pieces, custom-ordered with a child’s name or birth date, made these genuine gifts rather than generic objects and created pieces with both decorative and documentary value. Named or dated children’s sets are particularly sought after by collectors for their specificity and personal history.

Tiles

Tiles were an important and significant product line, featuring:

• Boston architectural scenes
• Historical imagery including Paul Revere references
• Fireplace and mantel installations
• Landscape and nature compositions

Complete tile installations are extremely rare. Individual tiles with strong subjects and good condition are actively collected and represent some of the most distinctive pieces in the Paul Revere output.

Special and Limited Production

• World War I doll heads: During World War I, the pottery briefly produced bisque doll heads intended for export. Wartime disruptions prevented these from being fully assembled or widely distributed. Surviving examples are genuine curiosities that document an unusual chapter in the pottery’s history.

• Custom and replacement orders: The pottery offered replacement pieces to match existing sets, a service reflecting the functional nature of much of their production. This means that pieces in a single household set might span different production periods.

Marks and Identification: A Complete Guide

Paul Revere Pottery marks provide reliable documentation of period and in some cases specific artist attribution. Understanding the marking system is essential for accurate dating and valuation.

Primary Pottery Marks

• “S.E.G.” — Saturday Evening Girls Typically incised into the clay. This mark is associated with the earlier production period, particularly the Hull Street years (1908–1915) and some early Brighton period production. The S.E.G. mark indicates the pottery’s original identity before the Paul Revere name became dominant.

• “P.R.P.” — Paul Revere Pottery Typically incised. This mark became more common after the move to Brighton in 1915 and represents the pottery in its more mature commercial phase. The P.R.P. mark is the mark most commonly encountered by collectors.

• Paper Labels Paper labels reading “Bowl Shop, S.E.G., 18 Hull St., Boston” date from the Hull Street period. These are relatively fragile and rarely survive intact, but when present they provide clear documentation of the early period.

• Round Stamp A round stamp featuring a historical figure reference (Paul Revere) appears on some pieces. This mark provides additional dating context.

Artist Initials

Individual artist initials appear alongside the pottery marks on many pieces, identifying the decorator who hand-painted the decoration. Because pieces were individually decorated by trained workers, artist initials add attribution specificity that increases collector interest.

Research into the specific artists who worked at Paul Revere Pottery is ongoing, and identifying an artist by initials sometimes requires cross-referencing with documented examples. The pottery’s relatively well-documented history compared to many commercial potteries means that attribution work is productive.

Dating Through Marks

Mark	Probable Period
Paper label “Bowl Shop, S.E.G., 18 Hull St., Boston”	1908–c.1915 (Hull Street period)
S.E.G. incised	1908–c.1920s (earlier production)
P.R.P. incised	1915–1942 (Brighton period)
S.E.G. + artist initials	Earlier production with individual attribution
P.R.P. + artist initials	Brighton period with individual attribution

The most historically significant pieces, and generally the most valuable, are those from the Hull Street period, marked S.E.G. or with early paper labels. Brighton period P.R.P. pieces represent the bulk of what collectors encounter.

Authentication: What to Look For

The Incised Mark Character

Authentic S.E.G. and P.R.P. marks were incised into wet clay before firing. The marks should appear as an integral part of the clay surface, slightly recessed, with clean edges consistent with careful incising rather than mechanical stamping. Marks that appear applied after firing or sit unusually on the surface warrant closer examination.

The Handmade Decoration Quality

Because all decorated Paul Revere pieces were hand-painted by trained decorators, the decoration should show the character of hand work, slight variations in line quality, the directness of incised outlines, and color application consistent with hand-painting rather than transfer printing. Mechanical-looking decoration on a piece attributed to Paul Revere Pottery is a concern.

Clay and Glaze Character

The pottery’s characteristic matte and semi-matte glazes have a specific quality, soft, non-reflective surfaces with natural depth and variation. The color palette is distinctive: the soft yellows, greens, blues, and gunmetal tones that define the decoration should look consistent with period hand-painted work rather than modern reproduction colors.

Condition Assessment

For decorative pieces and vases:

• Chips to rims and bases significantly reduce desirability
• Loss or wear to the hand-painted decoration is the most critical condition issue, decoration is the primary value element
• Hairline cracks through decorated areas are particularly damaging to both appearance and value
• Restoration should always be examined under ultraviolet light

For children’s sets:

• Chips to rims and handles are the most common damage type, these are functional objects that were used
• Complete, matched sets in consistent condition are significantly more valuable than equivalent individual pieces
• Personalized pieces with legible names or dates in strong condition are particularly desirable

For tiles:

• Cracks through the body are common given the age and how tiles were used
• Surface condition and glaze integrity are the primary considerations
• Intact framing or installation hardware adds context value

What Is My Paul Revere Pottery Worth?

The Key Value Factors

Production period and mark

Hull Street period pieces, marked S.E.G. or with original paper labels, are generally more valuable than equivalent Brighton period P.R.P. pieces. Early production represents the pottery in its most socially and artistically distinct phase.

Decoration quality and subject

The richness and execution of the hand-painted decoration is the primary value driver. Pieces with ambitious, well-executed animal or landscape subjects in strong original condition consistently outperform minimally decorated equivalents. Children’s pieces with strong animal decoration, particularly ducks and rabbits in vivid color, attract the most active collector interest.

Artist initials

Pieces with clear artist initials carry attribution specificity that adds collector interest. Researched and documented artist attribution adds more value than anonymous initials alone.

Personalization

Named or dated children’s sets, particularly those with legible, well-executed lettering and strong surrounding decoration, carry a premium for their documentary specificity.

Complete sets

Complete bread-and-milk sets or matched service pieces in consistent condition achieve significantly more than equivalent individual pieces. Assembly of complete sets has become increasingly difficult as pieces disperse.

Condition

Original, unrestored condition in strong decorative quality is the benchmark. Wear to the hand-painted decoration has a more direct impact on value than equivalent wear on purely glazed pottery, the decoration is the primary value element.

Tiles

Complete tile installations are extremely rare and would attract specialist institutional as well as collector interest. Individual tiles with strong architectural subjects and good condition are actively collected.

General Market Value Ranges

• Common P.R.P. period pieces with simple decoration: $150–$400
• Brighton period pieces with strong animal or landscape decoration: $400–$1,200
• Hull Street S.E.G. period pieces with good decoration: $600–$2,000
• Complete children’s sets in strong condition: $800–$3,000+
• Exceptional early pieces with ambitious decoration and artist attribution: $3,000–$8,000+
• Named/dated personalized pieces with strong decoration: premium above equivalent anonymous pieces

These ranges reflect general market conditions and should be verified against current auction results before any buying or selling decisions.

Auction vs. Private Sale

For quality Paul Revere Pottery, particularly Hull Street period pieces, complete children’s sets, and pieces with strong decoration and artist attribution, specialist auction consistently produces the strongest results. The collector base for significant examples is national, and auction exposure reaches buyers who specifically follow this category.

Private sale can be practical for common P.R.P. period pieces where convenience outweighs the difference in outcome. For any piece with significant decoration, period marks, artist attribution, or personalization, the competitive dynamic of auction is difficult to replicate.

Collecting Paul Revere Pottery: Strategy

The Social History Appeal

Paul Revere Pottery attracts two distinct collector communities: those who collect for artistic and decorative merit, and those drawn to the pottery’s social history and its connection to the progressive reform movement of the early twentieth century. The best pieces satisfy both communities simultaneously, which is why strong decorated examples with documented history can attract competitive bidding from multiple directions. Other small, historically significant regional potteries such as Ouachita Pottery in Arkansas attract collectors for similar reasons.

Prioritize the Hull Street Period

For collectors building a serious collection, Hull Street period pieces, marked S.E.G. or with original paper labels, offer the strongest historical significance and the most direct connection to the pottery’s founding mission. They are less commonly available than Brighton period pieces but more meaningful within the collection.

Children’s Sets as a Collecting Focus

Complete or near-complete bread-and-milk sets represent one of the most rewarding collecting goals in the Paul Revere category. They are increasingly difficult to find complete, they display well as groups, and they carry the personal history that makes the pottery’s social mission concrete. Named sets, where a child’s name was hand-lettered by a decorator, are the most specific and personal expression of this collecting area.

Tiles as a Distinct Subcategory

Tiles represent a distinct and visually compelling subcategory. Boston architectural subjects are particularly sought after as objects that combine Paul Revere Pottery’s artistic identity with Boston history. Individual tiles in strong condition are accessible entry points; complete installations are specialist acquisitions.

Artist Attribution Research

Because Paul Revere Pottery’s history is relatively well-documented compared to most American art potteries, investing time in artist attribution research, matching initials to known decorators, can pay off in both knowledge and market terms. Documented attribution transforms an initialed piece from an anonymous object into one with a specific human history. Collectors who value strong artist attribution often also pursue University of North Dakota pottery, where nearly every piece carries an identifiable artist mark.

Care and Storage

Decorated pieces:

• Handle carefully; the hand-painted decoration is the primary value element and should not be subject to abrasive cleaning
• Clean with a soft, dry cloth only; avoid water on decorated surfaces
• Do not use chemical cleaners or abrasive materials
• Display away from direct sunlight, which can affect matte glaze surfaces over time

Children’s sets:

• Store with soft padding between pieces; even pieces not on display should be individually cushioned
• Handle from the base rather than by handles or rims
• Keep complete sets together; never allow sets to become separated during storage or moves

Tiles:

• Store flat with soft padding between them
• Handle from the sides rather than the decorated face
• Never stack tiles without adequate padding between each tile

Resources for Collectors and Sellers

• Essential reference: Saturday Evening Girls: The Paul Revere Pottery, published references and auction catalog essays from specialist sales provide the most reliable attribution and dating tools

• Institutional collections: The Boston Public Library’s historical collections document the Saturday Evening Girls Club’s origins and the pottery’s early history. The Museum of Fine Arts Boston holds examples in its American decorative arts collection.

• Collector communities: The American Art Pottery Association (AAPA) maintains collector resources and community expertise that extends to Paul Revere Pottery.

Request a Professional Evaluation

If you have Paul Revere Pottery, whether individual pieces, a children’s set, tiles, or a larger collection, our team at Crafted Auctions can provide expert evaluation and guidance on auction placement and current market value.

We offer:

• Complimentary evaluations with no obligation
• Auction estimates based on current collector demand
• Professional photography and specialist catalog descriptions
• Nationwide marketing exposure to active collectors
• Transparent consignment terms with no hidden fees
• Payment within 30 days of sale

Submit photos of your piece, including the base mark, any artist initials, overall decoration, and condition details, to begin the evaluation process.

Learn more:

CraftedAuctions.com JustArtPottery.com