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Show Fig. 77 Bed. Utah (Parowan?). Softwood, painted and grained. Ca. 1870. H: 142.0 cm.W: 135.0 cm. D: 193.0 cm. Collection of Ed Bennett, Salt Lake City. The decorative turned medallions applied to the head- and footboards of this bed and its central Utah provenance suggest that it may have come from Parowan's P.U.M.I. factory. The boldly turned posts with beehive finials and the exaggerated curves of the head- and footboards, together with the fantastic graining, make this bed an excellent example of traditional folk art. called in 1867. Although he produced some "tolerably good" ware, his success in St. George was limited: If I sell my ware to the merchant, I get no money; if I sell it to the factory, I get no money; if I sell to the Tithing office I get no money. If I get a little money it is furnished by the poor working man, and the purchase of my glazes consumes it all.21 Nearly every community had its potter who supplied the townspeople with jars, pots, crocks, milk pans, plates, pitchers, and teapots, made by hand from the local clays. The wares that have survived-traditional undecorated forms with colorful orange and brown glazes-attest to the skill and artistry of these craftsmen (Fig. 79). In the end, however, they could not compete. As Eardley lamented, "There is machinery made and used in large potteries that will do as much work in one day as a man can do in a month, but machinery can not be bought without money."28 Erich C. Henrichsen of Provo had the means to buy machinery; and his pottery, begun as a traditional shop in 1872, continued producing into the twentieth century. By then his business consisted primarily of unglazed machine-made flower pots and stoneware which he imported for sale in his Henrichsen Mercantile Company. When he retired the pottery was sold and eventually torn down.29 The largest craft group in pioneer Utah was the blacksmiths. Every town had its blacksmith to shoe horses and oxen, to repair farm equipment, and to manufacture hardware, tools, and kitchen utensils. Blacksmiths working in Utah before the railroad, however, were handicapped by a scarcity of iron. John Kay's advertisement in the Deseret News (1851) for "Pot Metal" was not unusual. "Ten cents per pound will be paid for old broken cast metal, at Woolley's store."30 While the Church promoted the development of an iron industry by calling settlers to the Iron Mission near Cedar City, blacksmiths ingeniously recycled any metal they could find. Also scarce was tin-"better here than gold," according to Brigham Young, who counseled the immigrating Saints to bring with them "sheet tin of the best quality." 31 Christopher Riding, a tinsmith called to settle in southern Utah in I860, used empty cans and old metal ware of all kinds to make buckets, milk pans, tin cups and plates, lamps, and candle molds (Fig. 81).32 As the nineteenth century came to a close, glass containers competed with tinware, which was by then almost entirely factory made. Ironware, tools, and implements were likewise mass-produced in urban factories. Nevertheless, blacksmiths fared much better than most other craftsmen; the demand for their services to shoe horses and do metal-repair work remained strong for many years. 79 |