Marks and Markings of the Owens Pottery Company

Most of the pottery produced by J.B. Owens was marked on the bottom, usually impressed in the clay with various dies. The company name and shape number are the most common, but occasionally the name of the line is included. On decorated pieces the artist's cypher is normally found as well.

The company name is usually shown as "OWENS" either in block letter or cursive, but it can also be found with the JB initials preceding it as well. Early production pieces may carry a torch, shield, or crest JB logo. Occasionally they can be found marked "OWENSART" of "OWENZART".

The shape numbers are two, three, or four-digit impressed number from 01 through approximately 1326 and use a font that is fairly easy to identify. However, several other companies used similar fonts, including imports, so be wary of identifying a piece as Owens based purely on the shape number font.

The names of several lines were also used to identify the pieces. These impressed line names include: Utopian, Lotus, Cyrano, Feroza, Henri Deux, Oriental, Sunburst, and Mission.