A. R. Cole
Arthur Ray (AR) Cole (1892 to 1974), son of Ruffin Cole and brother to Charlie (CC) Cole, worked in his father’s pottery shop in Seagrove, North Carolina, from 1915 to 1925. He left to open his own shop, Rainbow Pottery, an active commercial enterprise from 1926 to 1941. Cole established Rainbow Pottery in Steeds, North Carolina, but later moved it to Sanford on US 1, the tourist highway linking New York with Florida. He was a creative designer who perfected unusual striped, multicolored glazes and large forms; his work was the product of a vivid rustic imagination.
Kiln openings at A.R. Cole Pottery (1941 to 1974), the renamed successor to Rainbow Pottery, were typically sellouts. The classic AR Cole Pottery earthenware vessel is crystal green with a brown underglaze breaking through at various places.
In the early days of Rainbow, A.R. Cole used a non-durable ink stamp. As a consequence, most early Rainbow pieces look unmarked. Cole later changed the mark to a circular ink stamp on the base under the glaze: “RAINBOW POTTERY/HAND/MADE/SANFORD N.C.” His mark for Rainbow’s successor was “A.R. COLE POTTERY/SANFORD, N.C.” impressed in a circle on the base.
Today A.R.’s daughters Celia (born 1924) and Neolia (born 1927) continue the pottery, now named Cole Pottery. They not only stamp their wares, but also write messages on the bottom.
Reference note by p4A.com Contributing Editor Pete Prunkl.