Stunning images, thorough research, and exclusive material make this a book for many audiences: those who enjoy collecting Haeger, Stangl, or Fulper as well as those who enjoy reading history and good prose. For the Haeger collector, there are three lavishly illustrated price guides, a detailed account of Haeger's early artware production, and profiles of four of the companies' lead designers. Royal Hickman fans will find his profile to be the most extensive account of his life yet printed, including information on his work before, during, and after Haeger. Also, included are never-before published sketches of his Haeger creations. For the Fulper and Stangl collector, there is exclusive material that provides a detailed account of the "Haeger-Fulper Connection" as well as never-before published sketches made by Martin Stangl while at Haeger. There are a battery of Fulper images not seen in print in more than half of a century. Even the most serious Fulper collector should find much "new" material here.

The industrial pottery at Abingdon, Illinois, made artware from 1934 to 1950 before returning to its mainstay, plum-bingware or sanitary-ware, as it was called at "The Pottery." Yankee ingenuity was used to cope with the Great Depression when managers came up with the idea of making artware using their usual "industrial strength" materials and processes. This decision resulted in artware with unusually strong bodies and glazes. For the veteran collector of Abingdon Pottery as well as the novice, this is an Encyclopedia of Shapes, a Dictionary of Colors, a Holy Grail of Collecting, richly illustrated in over 700 photographs and painstakingly researched. It also has a detailed value guide according to mold number and mold type.