Howe All-School Reunion is Homecoming

September 18-19

Two of Van Briggle’s most desired vases are Lorelei and Despondency The Lorelei vase dates to the 1890s and was exhibited at the Paris Art Salon in 1903. It depicted a mermaid curved around the rim of the vase The story goes that Artus used Anne as his model One source claims that the inspiration for the piece came from the Lorelei Rock on the Rhine River and the legend created in 1800-1802 by Clemens Brentano in his novel GODWI.

Despondency, which allegedly depicted Artus’s body wrapped around the rim of the piece, was inspired by Artus’s knowledge that he was dying and would leave his beloved Anne behind These two are considered Artus’s finest designs.

I found some Van Briggle catalogs from 1989 that listed Lorelei and Despondency They were priced at $250. Depending on the date, glaze and potter, these pieces now sell up into the thousands today Nothing to be despondent about to collectors of this magnificent pottery

Dr Georgia Caraway, former director of the Denton County Museums for 14 years, and her friends opened the Howe Mercantile on April 25 Store hours are Thursday through Saturday noon until 8 p.m. In addition to Tips, Tools, & Techniques: Caring for Your Antiques and Collectibles, she has written four Denton history books and is working on a fifth history about the North Texas State Fair and Rodeo